--- title: "How our carbon credits are vetted | TrimCarbon" description: "How the credits behind TrimCarbon are chosen: our supplier's screening, ratings from Sylvera, BeZero, Calyx Global or Renoster, and public registries." url: https://trimcarbon.com/process language: en --- How credits are vetted # How your carbon credits are vetted We buy credits through the supplier that fills our orders. It screens projects, requires independent ratings and spreads each purchase across a portfolio. Here is what that means for the credits retired for your flying. [Start offsetting](https://trimcarbon.com/sign-up) ## From your payment to a retired credit Every kilogram you pay for follows the same four steps. 1. ### You pay for kg of CO₂ A plan or a one-time purchase covers a set number of kilograms of CO₂, worked out from your aircraft and your hours. 2. ### We order the same amount When your payment succeeds, we order credits for the kilograms it covers from the supplier that fills our orders, in an account kept for you. 3. ### The credits are retired The supplier fills the order from its portfolio and retires the credits on each project's public registry. Retiring a credit cancels it for good: nobody can use or sell it again. 4. ### You get a certificate Your certificate lists the projects behind your order, their registries and the retirement serial numbers, so anyone can check them. [See what a certificate looks like](https://trimcarbon.com/registry) ## You choose how you want to offset Offset a year of flying with a monthly or yearly plan, or buy a single tonne whenever you want. One-time or recurring one tonne once, or a monthly or yearly plan By flight hours pick your aircraft and hours, and we work out the kg of CO₂ Personal or business works for individuals and teams alike ## A diversified portfolio Carbon credits are not all equal. Our supplier builds diversified portfolios guided by the Oxford Offsetting Principles, so you don't have to pick projects yourself. Diversified offering Diversified by project type and geography Respecting Oxford Principles Guided by the Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned Offsetting Four quality checks Additionality, over-crediting, durability and double counting are assessed for each project ## Every project is independently rated Our supplier says fewer than 3% of projects on the market are eligible for its portfolios, and each must be highly rated by at least one independent rating agency. Independent ratings Highly rated by Sylvera, BeZero, Calyx Global or Renoster Rated before it's bought Projects without a high rating from one of these agencies aren't bought On public registries Issued on registries such as Verra, Gold Standard, ACR and Climate Action Reserve ## What the ratings look for Rating agencies score projects on the risks that have made some credits worth less than they claim. Our supplier only buys from projects that Sylvera, BeZero, Calyx Global or Renoster rates highly. Four of those risks: ### Additionality Would the project have happened without the money from credits? If it would, its credits change nothing. ### Over-crediting Does the project claim more tonnes than it avoids or removes, for example by comparing itself with an inflated baseline? ### Durability How long does the carbon stay out of the air? Carbon in a forest can be lost to fire; carbon stored in rock lasts far longer. ### Double counting Is each tonne counted once? A retired credit can't be sold again, and the same reduction shouldn't also count toward someone else's target. ## Avoidance and removal Most credits in the portfolios come from projects that avoid or reduce emissions. A smaller share comes from projects that remove CO₂ from the air. The two aren't the same. An avoided emission was never released, so nothing is taken back out of the atmosphere. A removal takes CO₂ out of the air, but carbon stored in forests and soils can be released again, for example by a fire. Some technology-based removals are bought for future delivery: they are paid for now and credited later. Until then they are a projection, and they can arrive late or fall short of what was planned. ## If a project under-delivers ### Registry buffer pools For projects that store carbon, such as forests, most registries hold back a share of every issuance. If stored carbon is lost, the registry cancels credits from that buffer to make up for it. ### Credits replaced by our supplier If a registry cancels a project, or suspends it for more than 12 months in a row, within three years of a purchase, our supplier replaces the affected credits tonne for tonne at no extra cost. [The conditions, and every project in the portfolios, are in our offset disclosures](https://trimcarbon.com/legal/offset-disclosures#accountability) ## What offsetting does, and doesn't, mean Offsetting pays for projects that avoid or remove CO₂ elsewhere. It doesn't remove the CO₂ your flights emit, and it doesn't make your flying carbon neutral, so we don't call it that. Cutting fuel burn comes first; offsetting covers what's left. A fair way to put it: "I funded the retirement of 2 tonnes of verified carbon credits through TrimCarbon", with a link to your certificate. [What you can say about your purchase](https://trimcarbon.com/legal/terms-and-conditions#claims) ## Check it yourself - [Registry · A public certificate for every offset · What every certificate shows, from the projects to the registry's retirement serial numbers.](https://trimcarbon.com/registry) - [Legal · Offset disclosures · The projects in the current portfolios, each with a link to its registry page.](https://trimcarbon.com/legal/offset-disclosures) - [Guide · Trace your carbon offset to the registry: a five-minute check · A certificate is only as good as the registry record behind it. Here is how to trace your offset to that record, why your name usually isn't on it, and how to read a rating.](https://trimcarbon.com/expertise/how-to-verify-carbon-offsets) - [Guide · Are carbon offsets a scam? The evidence, from a pilot who sells them · Not as a category. But a 2024 study of 2,346 projects found under 16% of their credits were real emission reductions, and one developer admitted reporting false data. Here are the red flags, and why no offset cancels a flight.](https://trimcarbon.com/expertise/are-carbon-offsets-a-scam) - [Guide · Forget “carbon neutral”: what pilots, flight schools and clubs can say after offsetting · EU rules that apply from 27 September 2026 ban calling a flight, a lesson or a rental hour “carbon neutral” because of offsetting. Who the rules reach, and the wording pilots, flight schools and clubs can use instead.](https://trimcarbon.com/expertise/carbon-neutral-claims-after-offsetting) ## Questions about the credits How projects are chosen, what happens to a credit, and what you can check. [Still have questions? Reach out](https://trimcarbon.com/contact) ### Do I choose the projects? No. Our supplier picks the projects and the split for each order from its portfolio. Your certificate shows which projects your order drew on. ### Can a retired credit be sold again? No. Retiring a credit on its registry cancels it permanently. The retirement serial numbers on your certificate let anyone confirm it. ### Where can I see the projects? Our offset disclosures list the projects in the current portfolios, each with a link to its registry page. Your certificate lists the projects behind your own order. ### Are carbon offsets a scam? Not as a category, but many credits have claimed more than they delivered. That is why our supplier only buys from projects an independent agency rates highly, and why every retirement is public. Our guide 'Are carbon offsets a scam?' covers the evidence and the red flags. ### Does offsetting make my flying carbon neutral? No. Offsetting funds projects elsewhere; it doesn't cancel your flight's emissions. Say what you did instead, for example that you funded the retirement of 2 tonnes of verified carbon credits, with your certificate as proof. ### What happens if a project fails? Registries hold back buffer credits for projects that store carbon. And if a registry cancels a project, or suspends it for more than 12 months, within three years of your purchase, our supplier replaces the affected credits. The conditions are in our offset disclosures. ## Offset the CO₂ from every hour you fly Retire rated carbon credits for the CO₂ your flights emit. Pick your aircraft and hours, and get a certificate for every order. [Start offsetting](https://trimcarbon.com/sign-up)