Buying carbon credits is straightforward for a small business. The harder parts are deciding how many to buy, and saying the right thing about them afterwards. This guide covers both. It is part of our buying guides; the guide to buying carbon credits explains the basics.
Start with your own emissions
Credits work best after you have cut what you can. VCMI’s Claims Code asks companies to set short-term emission reduction targets, aligned with net zero by 2050, before buying high-quality credits from outside their value chainSource 1. The SBTi goes further: credits must not be counted as reductions towards a company’s science-based targetsSource 2.
In practice, that means three steps before you spend anything on credits:
- Measure. Start with the emissions you can see on your bills and expenses: electricity, heating fuel, vehicles and travel.
- Cut. Act on the biggest sources first, such as switching energy supplier, changing vehicles or flying less.
- Decide what credits are for. Many small businesses buy credits for the emissions that remain, or as a contribution on top of their own reductions.
For flights, our flight emissions calculator gives the tonnes per passenger.
How to buy carbon credits for your business
Step 1: Measure your footprint
Estimate your emissions in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, starting with energy, travel and the goods you buy.
Step 2: Cut what you can
Set reduction targets and act on the biggest sources before you buy credits.
Step 3: Set a budget and a volume
Decide how many tonnes to cover and what you can spend, using published price ranges as a guide.
Step 4: Choose a seller and the credits
Pick a seller that serves small businesses and names the project, standard and registry before you pay.
Step 5: Check the retirement
Get the serial numbers and look up the retirement record in the public registry.
Step 6: Describe it accurately
Say what you did, with the tonnes retired and a link to the record, and avoid product-level neutrality claims.
How much to budget
Your budget is the number of tonnes multiplied by the price per tonne, and prices vary widely by project type. In Ecosystem Marketplace’s survey of 2024 deals, removal credits averaged $19.50 per tonne and reduction credits $4.05Source 3. These are averages of deals reported to the survey, so treat them as a guide rather than a quote, and compare each seller’s price per tonne.
A simple way to plan is to price two options: one using avoidance credits for all your remaining emissions, and one with a share of removals. Our page on removal vs avoidance credits explains the difference.
Which sellers suit a small business?
Retailers and marketplaces sell directly to businesses, usually online. Brokers and exchanges mostly work with larger organisations. The table shows which types of seller in our provider records say they serve small businesses.
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| Type | How you buy | Serves (from our records) | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retailer / offset shop | Sells credits it has already chosen, often at a fixed price per tonne, and retires them for you | Individuals, Small businesses, Companies | BuyCarbonOffsets.org *, Cool Effect, Ecologi |
| Marketplace | Lists credits from many projects or sellers, so you choose the project | Individuals, Small businesses, Companies | Carbonmark |
| Broker | Sources and negotiates credits for an organisation, usually through a sales conversation | Small businesses, Companies | Climate Impact Partners |
| Project developer | Runs or finances its own projects and takes money for them directly | Individuals, Small businesses, Companies | myclimate |
* Same operator · DisclosureWho each type serves and the examples come from the providers' own pages. Examples are listed alphabetically, not ranked.As of Oct 2026
Whoever you buy from, check four things: the registry serial numbers, retirement with your business’s name on the record, the standard, and the methodology. The ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles set a quality threshold, and credits that meet it can carry the CCP labelSource 7. On the Verra Registry, the retirement record can show your business as the beneficial owner if the account holder chooses to show itSource 6.
For a side-by-side view of individual providers, see where to buy carbon credits.
What can your business claim?
Claims are where most small businesses get into trouble, and the rules are tightening.
Claims: what the rules say
- EU. From 27 September 2026, EU member states must apply rules that ban claims, based on offsetting, that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the climateSource 4. Phrases such as “climate neutral” or “CO₂ neutral certified” are given as examples. Businesses can still advertise their investments in carbon credit projects, as long as the information isn’t misleadingSource 4.
- UK. The CMA’s Green Claims Code says businesses should be clear about whether they are reducing their own emissions or offsetting. Where they offset, they should give information about the scheme they use, which should be based on recognised standards and capable of objective verificationSource 5.
- Targets. Under the SBTi standard, credits are reported separately and never counted as progress against your reduction targetsSource 2.
A safe pattern is a factual statement: how many tonnes you retired, from which project, under which standard, with a link to the registry record. Our guides to the EU green-claims ban and carbon neutral claims go into more detail.
You can also present credits as a contribution rather than an offset. The Oxford Offsetting Principles note that credits can be bought and retired as extra climate action beyond your own value chain, without being used to cancel out your emissionsSource 8. For a small business that hasn’t measured its full footprint yet, this is often the more honest framing.
Keep good records
Keep a simple file for each purchase: the invoice, the project name and ID, the standard, the serial numbers, the retirement record link and the date. If a customer, investor or regulator asks about a claim, you can answer with evidence rather than a certificate alone. It also makes next year’s purchase easier to compare.
Red flags
Avoid these
- Credits sold as an investment. The FCA warns that people who bought carbon credits as an investment have reported they can’t sell themSource 9.
- No registry trail. If a seller can’t give you serial numbers and the registry, you can’t check what you bought.
- “Neutral” labels for your products. In the EU, offset-based neutrality claims on products are banned from 27 September 2026Source 4.
See carbon credit scams for more warning signs. If you are buying for a larger organisation, read buying carbon credits for companies; for the general steps, see how to buy carbon offsets.