How to develop a corporate carbon credit strategy

This framework is designed to help businesses move from early-stage thinking to a fully-operational carbon credit strategy. Each step builds on the last, so don’t skip ahead. The sequence also reflects how carbon credits should sit within a broader sustainability strategy. They are not the starting point – they are introduced once your company has measured its emissions and made plans to reduce them.

What a corporate carbon credit strategy includes

A corporate carbon credit strategy should include:

• why you’re buying carbon credits

• how carbon credits fit alongside your emissions reduction plan

• what claims you intend to make

• how you will select, purchase, and manage projects

• governance and how you will review and adjust as the market evolves

Step 1 - Understand your ‘why’

Why this matters for your business

Before you make any decisions about carbon credits, your company needs to be clear on one thing: why it is engaging in the carbon market at all.

A clear ‘why’ anchors your corporate carbon credit strategy in real business priorities. A compelling rationale will typically draw on some or all of these key elements:

• Risk management
  A carbon credit strategy can help you manage climate risks across your operations, supply chain, and future regulation.
  
  

• Stakeholder expectations
  Having a carbon credit strategy shows customers, investors, and employees that you’re taking real, credible climate action.
  
  

• Commercial opportunity
  Carbon credit strategies give you an edge in tenders, sales, and brand positioning.
  
  

• Climate contribution
  A carbon credit strategy lets you take responsibility for emissions you can’t yet eliminate while you keep decarbonising.

Step 2 - Review business risks and establish the business case for carbon credits

Climate change is already affecting operations, supply chains, reputation, and financial performance. A strong business case connects your carbon credit strategy directly to these risks, making it relevant to teams beyond sustainability.

There are five key areas to assess:

1. Physical risk
   Exposure to extreme weather can disrupt operations, assets, and people.
   
   

2. Regulatory and policy risk
   Evolving rules on emissions, disclosures, and carbon pricing, with penalties for inaction.
   
   

3. Supply chain risk
   Climate impacts on the availability, cost, and reliability of key inputs and logistics.
   
   

4. Brand and market risk
   Rising expectations for credible climate action, with reputational risk if claims fall short.
   
   

5. Financial risk
   Poor sustainability performance can lead to increased costs, insurance pressures, reduced competitiveness, and restricted access to capital.

Carbon credits play a specific role here. They help address emissions that can’t yet be reduced, while contributing to broader climate action.

Step 3 - Integrate your carbon credit strategy into your emissions reduction plan from the start

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is treating carbon credits as a separate activity from their internal sustainability initiatives. This often leads to over-reliance on credits or a last-minute, reactive approach. Best practice is to integrate carbon credits alongside your emissions reduction plan from the beginning.

At this stage, you need to align two parallel tracks:

• Emissions reduction plan

  • Full measurement of emissions

  • Science-aligned reduction targets

  • Clear roadmap for operational and supply chain changes
    
    

• Carbon credit strategy

  • Approach to addressing residual emissions

  • How contributions scale over time

  • Alignment with recognised best practice

Start with your emissions baseline, then define your reduction targets. Only then should you define the role of carbon credits to address emissions that cannot yet be eliminated and contribute to climate action outside of your value chain.

A simple way to frame this:

• Reduce what you can

• Restore and contribute for what remains

• Report your progress

Step 4 - Identify carbon claims to target and the requirements of meeting them

Whether in reports, proposals, or marketing, what you say about your carbon credits will inevitably be scrutinised. Terms like “carbon neutral” or “net-zero” have specific requirements, and getting them wrong risks reputational and regulatory consequences.

At this stage, clarify what you want to say about your climate action. This might include:

• No formal claims, but communicating contributions

• Being “net-zero aligned” or on a pathway

• Achieving “carbon neutral” status

• Making product-level claims

Next, align your claims with recognised standards such as SBTi, VCMI, or ISO guidance. Claims should clearly reflect the role of carbon credits, avoid vague language, and be backed by appropriate evidence or verification.

Bring together sustainability, legal, and marketing teams early. Define:

• What you’ll claim over time (and why)

• What evidence is needed

• What reporting and verification processes must be in place (either voluntarily, or based on regulatory requirements)

If a claim feels uncertain, it’s better not to make it. Clear, accurate communication builds trust and ensures your strategy stands up to scrutiny.

Step 5 - Design your intended carbon portfolio for today and into the future

A well-designed portfolio balances impact (climate, nature, and social), risk, and future trends. Companies that don’t take a portfolio view to carbon credit procurement often default to short-term transactional spot-purchasing (usually, whatever is most cost-effective at the time). It’s this kind of buying behaviour that can cause trouble for businesses down the track.

There are three key dimensions to consider when planning at the portfolio level:

• Project type (avoidance or removal; nature-based or technology-based)

• Durability (some projects store carbon temporarily; others offer long-term storage)

• Co-benefits (some projects may support biodiversity or local communities)

The best approach (aligned with BVCM and Oxford Principles guidance) starts with a mixed portfolio that combines near-term impact projects with early investment in removals. Over time, the balance should shift toward higher-quality, more durable carbon removal.

Here’s a visual example of Ecologi’s Oxford Principles-aligned portfolio breakdown by cost and project type over time:

A simple way to structure this approach over time:

1. First, focus on near-term impact

2. Then, transition into removals

3. Create a long-term plan for investing in durable storage

This approach helps manage trade-offs, diversify risk, and anticipate where the market is heading.

Step 6 - Review and select high-quality projects

If portfolio design sets your direction, project selection determines whether your strategy actually delivers the impact you’re looking for. In the voluntary carbon market, quality varies widely, so choosing the right projects is critical to avoiding reputational risk and making a genuine climate impact.

What defines a high-quality carbon credit

High-quality carbon credits should meet a set of well-established integrity principles. These include:

• Additionality – the project would not have happened without carbon finance

• Permanence – the carbon benefit is durable and not easily reversed

• Robust quantification – emissions reductions or removals are accurately measured

• Independent verification – third parties validate and verify project performance

• No double-counting – credits are only claimed once

• Transparency and traceability – clear documentation and registry tracking

• Wider impact – environmental and social co-benefits where relevant

How to assess project quality in practice

To assess project quality, you’ll need to look beyond surface claims. Projects should be evaluated across three layers:

• Carbon standard – is it credible and well-governed?

• Methodology – does the approach to measuring impact hold up?

• Project design – how well is it implemented on the ground?

Tools such as our Carbon Projects Assessment Framework can be a useful starting point for evaluating carbon credits. Ratings agencies can also help compare projects, but they’re only part of the picture. The best approach combines third-party data with internal due diligence, including ongoing monitoring and risk management.

Key questions to ask:

• How does the project assess and verify quality?

• Does the project have credible evidence to support durability and impact?

• How will the project manage risks over time?

For many businesses, this level of assessment may require specialist support through a partner you trust.

Project tracking

Pre-purchase evaluation is necessary for carbon credit purchases, but so is ongoing monitoring of projects. It’s important to continue monitoring your carbon projects, tracking any updates from ratings agencies or methodology revisions, or any news that may surface about the project.

If a project you hold is downgraded or faces credibility questions, you need to know early in order to act, which might involve seeking remediation, adjusting your portfolio, or updating your disclosures.

Step 7 - Select carbon credit purchasing options and enter contracts

Once you’ve designed your portfolio, the next step is determining how you’ll buy. Buying carbon credits is not a typical purchase – how you buy credits will affect how much you pay, how much risk you are exposed to, and whether you have access to high-quality supply over time.

There are three main options:

• Spot purchases
  Buying credits that already exist. Simple and flexible, but often volatile in price and limited in access to top-tier projects.
  
  

• Forward contracts
  Agreeing now to buy credits delivered later. Helps lock in pricing and secure supply, but carries delivery risk.
  
  

• Offtake agreements
  Long-term commitments to future supply from a specific project. More strategic and can provide the enabling finance, especially for high-quality or emerging removals, but requires deeper due diligence.

We recommend using a mix of purchase types. Spot purchases can meet short-term needs, while forward or long-term offtake agreements help secure future supply and manage costs.

Before entering contracts, think about:

• Pricing stability and exposure to volatility

• Insurance in the event of delivery risk (if projects underperform)

• Contract protections, such as replacement credits

• Transparency around registry and credit retirement

In practice, align your purchasing mix with your broader strategy, and involve finance, legal, and procurement teams early. Set clear criteria for risk, approvals, and documentation.

Focusing on this step strengthens your strategy, helping you secure better projects, manage uncertainty, and stay ahead as the market evolves.

Step 8 - Communicate transparently and adhere to carbon claims best practice

Even a strong strategy can be undermined by poor communication. Stakeholders expect clarity, honesty, and consistency, and scrutiny is only increasing. Done well, communication builds trust and supports your brand. Done poorly, it creates confusion and greenwashing risk.

Transparent communication means being clear about what you’re doing and why. This includes:

• Explaining the role of carbon credits in your strategy

• Distinguishing between emissions reductions and external contributions

• Sharing what projects you support and why

• Clearly stating what claims you are making

Your messaging should align with the claims you defined in Step 4 and remain consistent across reports, marketing, and customer communications.

Key principles:

• Use precise, simple language

• Ensure alignment across sustainability, legal, and marketing teams

• Back up claims with data and, where needed, verification

Build a clear communication framework with standardised language, approval processes, and consistent reporting. Avoid overstating impact or implying that credits “cancel out” or “offset” emissions. If a claim feels uncertain, it’s better to be conservative and transparent.

Step 9 - Continually review and evaluate progress

A carbon credit strategy is not something you set and forget. The market is evolving quickly, and your business will change too. Without regular review, even a strong approach can become outdated.

To stay on track, build a structured review process across four areas:

• Emissions and reduction progress: Are you reducing emissions in line with targets? Has your trajectory changed?

• Portfolio performance: Are projects delivering as expected? Are there new risks or quality concerns?

• Market developments: Are standards, technologies, or expectations shifting?

• Claims and communication: Are your claims still accurate and aligned with best practice?

In practice, this means setting clear ownership and a regular cadence:

• Annual reviews to reassess strategy and portfolio direction

• Quarterly or biannual check-ins to track progress and address issues

Tracking key metrics over time helps support better decisions and clearer reporting.

As market expectations move toward higher-quality credits, durable removals, and greater transparency, your strategy should evolve as well. Building in flexibility makes it easier to adapt without starting from scratch.