Carbon neutral describes an organization, product or activity whose measured greenhouse gas emissions have been balanced by an equal amount of carbon offsets or removals over a set period.
Carbon neutral means that the greenhouse gas emissions from an organization, product, event or activity over a defined period have been measured and balanced by an equivalent quantity of carbon credits or removals. The claim usually covers a defined boundary, such as Scope 1 and 2 only, which should always be stated.
Standards such as ISO 14068-1, published in 2023, set out requirements for carbon neutrality claims and place more emphasis on reductions before offsetting.
Carbon neutral claims can rely mostly on offsets and often cover a narrower boundary. Net zero requires deep emission reductions across the value chain, with only residual emissions balanced by permanent removals.
A conference organizer measured the emissions of a two-day safety summit, including venue energy, catering and attendee travel. It reduced what it could, then retired verified credits for the rest, and published the calculation alongside its carbon neutral claim.
No. Net zero is a stricter, longer-term goal focused on reductions across all scopes.
They can if the boundary is unclear, the offsets are low quality or the company makes few real reductions. Regulators in several regions now scrutinize these claims, as covered under greenwashing.
Yes. The claim applies to a specific period, so it must be recalculated and rebalanced each period.
Part of SafetyIQ's EHS glossary: plain-English definitions of workplace health and safety terms.
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