The UK Government's Quality Assurance Scheme for Carbon Offsetting

Who can participate in the Scheme?

Offset providers

An offset provider can seek approval for the offsets they sell.

Offset providers may sell both approved offsets and offsets that do not meet the requirements of the Scheme.  However, only approved offsets may display the Quality Mark, in accordance with the Scheme’s Quality Mark usage guidelines, available here. These offsets must be distinguished from unapproved offsets to avoid consumer confusion. The Approval Body will monitor websites and publicity material to ensure that this distinction is made clear.

It is the offset provider’s responsibility to ensure that all of the criteria required to qualify for approval of an offset under this Scheme are met.

Offset providers need not be based in the United Kingdom to apply for approval of offsets or use the Quality Mark. Offset providers based in the United Kingdom must cancel credits to the Environment Agency’s Emissions Registry. This requires the opening of an account at www.emissionsregistry.gov.uk. Offset providers based outside the United Kingdom without a UK registry account are required either

1. to open an account with their respective national registry to cancel credits and to nominate the approval body as a third party representative to enable access to check credit cancellations; or
2. to provide clear confirmation of the cancellation of the appropriate quantity of credits from a registry connected to the UNFCCC international transaction log. 

Resellers of offsets

Any offset reseller can seek approval for the offset(s) that they sell and use the Quality Mark.

Where approved offsets are resold by resellers it is the offset provider’s responsibility to ensure that all of the Scheme’s requirements are met, including the calculation of emissions, environmental integrity and the supply of consumer information.

There are two categories of resellers: small and large. Small and large resellers should consult their provider of approved offsets on the appropriate arrangements for using the quality mark with approved offsets

Large resellers

There are a number of large companies who use offset providers to service sales of offsets made alongside the sale of a good or service. Recognising that checking these organisations’ compliance with the scheme will be less burdensome for the Approval Body a new category of ‘Large Reseller’ is introduced.

A large reseller is defined by the scheme as a company/organisation that:

• Only sells approved carbon offsets that are sold together with other goods and services; and
• Has an annual turnover or balance sheet total that is greater than £8 million; and
• Does not sell carbon offsets as its primary business.

Small resellers

To avoid putting smaller companies that sell relatively low volumes of offsets as an ancillary service at a market disadvantage the Scheme allows such companies to use the Quality Mark with approved offsets that they resell

A small reseller is defined by this Scheme as a company/organisation that:

• Only sells approved carbon offsets that are sold together with other goods and services; and
• Has an annual turnover or balance sheet total that is equal to or less than £8 million; and
• Does not sell carbon offsets as its primary business