Dear readers,
In times of stricter EU requirements, the focus is shifting more towards voluntary climate protection while at the same time increasing transparency obligations. From 2025, many companies will have to provide detailed information on how they are reducing their emissions and offsetting unavoidable residual emissions as part of the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive). This repeatedly raises questions about the double counting of offsetting services.
Today, I would like to explain how the two levels - corporate voluntary offsetting and the national climate balance - can work together harmoniously and why eva certificates are a reliable component of a sustainable climate strategy.
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Voluntary climate protection and double counting - two levels, one goal
Companies must make their climate strategies transparent as part of the CSRD.
The SBTi (Science Based Target initiative) to set their net-zero targets and make a voluntary public commitment to achieve them within a certain period of time. In order to become climate-neutral, CO₂ emissions must be completely avoided within the company or at least reduced as much as possible. The voluntary climate protection market offers CO₂ certificates to compensate for unavoidable residual emissions.
These certificates represent a certain amount of CO₂ that is offset by climate protection projects. Many companies would like to use regional certificates to offset their residual emissions, for example by reforesting or converting forests (into climate-resistant forests) in Germany or Europe and offsetting the emissions where they are generated. That is why we at eva have developed the first forest climate standard for the creation of forest climate certificates.
What exactly is behind the publicly criticized so-called double counting?
In addition to the climate performance of a company, the climate performance of each country is also recorded. This national climate balance includes all climate performance for reducing or offsetting emissions - similar to economic values in gross domestic product (GDP).
However, just as with GDP, the country's climate performance results from that of the individual companies instead of being counted "twice" - as is often wrongly assumed. It is the companies and consumers that generate emissions and offset them accordingly; the country only records the overall climate performance and does not take any additional measures. At most, the state sets regulatory incentives and framework conditions for climate-conscious action by consumers and companies.
Since government and corporate climate targets always interact within the same national territory, the EU Commission has developed the CRCF (Carbon Removal Certification Framework, insert link) as a quality framework for European climate certificates in the voluntary carbon market.
One example:
The crediting of a climate performance at company level and in the NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions) is not double counting as long as the company accounts within its own national borders. If, for example, a Japanese company were to offset with German certificates, the EU (for Germany) would have to make a so-called Corresponding Adjustment that removes the climate performance of the certificates from the EU balance sheet and adds it to the Japanese balance sheet.
The same applies vice versa, of course. Non-EU certificates always require corresponding adjustments if they are to be used for offsetting purposes! This is why European companies achieve the greatest impact for their national carbon footprint when they invest in European certificates.
With our forest climate standard "made in Germany", we want to support this clear demarcation and strengthen the trust of forest owners, emitters and investors alike. For a transparent further development of the voluntary climate protection market in Europe.
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CSRD and the role of eva certificates
With the introduction of the CSRD, companies were obliged to disclose how they deal with their CO₂ emissions. The focus is primarily on avoiding and reducing emissions. Voluntary offsetting is an option for unavoidable residual emissions - provided it is transparent and comprehensible. This is where eva certificates come in:
Ex-post certificates
These refer to already realized and verified CO₂ removals from European forestry projects. They enable immediate offsetting and can be included directly in CSRD reporting.
Ex-ante certificates
These certificates document future CO₂ bindings, for example from reforestation projects following natural disasters. Direct compensation of current emissions is therefore not initially possible.
In the first step, these certificates are primarily used to pre-finance climate protection projects and offer forest owners the decisive advantage of being able to take immediate measures, for example for reforestation.
However, companies also benefit in terms of their medium to long-term offsetting and purchasing strategies, as eva publishes a projection for each certified climate protection project that shows when how many ex-ante certificates will be converted into ex-post certificates.
These ex-post certificates can then be used to offset unavoidable residual emissions. The eva forest climate standard, which was developed in collaboration with experts, forestry companies and scientists, guarantees maximum transparency.
All issued units are clearly registered, decommissioned and methodically handled separately and each company's contribution to climate protection is documented in a legally compliant manner.
CSRD and the role of eva certificates
The combination of voluntary climate protection and the CSRD opens up new opportunities for companies: on the one hand, they can offset their unavoidable residual emissions in a targeted manner and, on the other, they benefit from clearly structured reporting.
With eva certificates, we not only want to ensure that every climate performance is recorded correctly, but also make trustworthy, regional climate protection possible through high standards and validated methods with the broad participation of key stakeholders.
For us, transparency is crucial in order to continue to promote sustainable investment in European forestry projects in the future and actively contribute to the EU's climate targets
More on this topic in our article on EU-CRCF.
Conclusion
In summary, it can be seen that voluntary climate protection in combination with the stricter EU requirements and the CSRD opens up new opportunities.
Through the targeted use of eva certificates, companies can offset their unavoidable residual emissions transparently and credibly without double counting in the national climate balance sheet. Instead of representing competing efforts, corporate measures and government climate targets work together harmoniously - similar to economic performance in gross domestic product.
Through the clear separation between accounting at company and national level and the differentiated use of ex-ante and ex-post certificates, eva creates a standardized and trustworthy framework for the voluntary carbon market. This not only enables emissions to be offset immediately, but also promotes regional climate protection and the expansion of sustainable forestry projects in the long term.
Ultimately, this creates a win-win situation for companies, the state and our planet - characterized by transparency, clear standards and a shared commitment to climate protection.
Best regards,
Rüdiger Meyer
Managing Director eva service GmbH
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