Websites and Studies that Rate Offset Providers and Standards

We, the CORE team do not evaluate or rate offset providers. But there are many other organizations that have done so included in the list below.

Evaluating offset providers is very difficult. Evaluation would require project by project in-depth review for  an accurate assessment. This type of project-specific review is beyond the scope and intent of this CORE website. Several studies do exist which have provided a review and/or rating of offset providers. We cannot assure the quality of any of these studies individually nor do we provide any recommendations of one offset provider over another. We encourage you to carefully review the parameters that each of these studies has used to rate and rank the offset providers. You might or might not agree with their choices. The websites are listed alphabetically. The studies are listed by date, starting with the most recent.

If you know of other similar studies, please let us know, we would be happy to list them. Please contact anja@sei-us.org

Please also read the sections What Makes Good Offsets? and Are Offset a Scam?
For a comprehensive list of offset providers, go here.

Websites:

Carbon Catalog

Carbon Catalog is a website with a directory of carbon offsets, listing and rating 100 offset providers and 394 projects worldwide. Carbon Catalog is an independent service. The listings and ratings follow transparent guidelines. Carbon Catalog does not sell offsets or have commercial relationships with providers. Carbon Catalog was founded by Gideon Greenspan and launched in September 2007.

CarbonOffsetList.org

This website is maintained by the Environmental Defense Fund and lists set of offset projects that they reviewed and recommend as real, additional and verified.

Carbon Offset Review

Lists carbon offset providers and their products.

My Offset Options

Lists carbon offset providers and their products. It has been created by an Australian company.

Reports:

Purchasing Carbon Offsets, David Suzuki Foundation, 2009

The David Suzuki Foundation and the Pembina Institute have prepared this guide to help Canadian consumers, businesses and organizations assess the quality of carbon offsets and the vendors that sell them. It includes a survey of 20 carbon offset vendors from Canada and around the world to help shed light on how these vendors are performing.

Responsible Purchasing Guide – Carbon Offsets

published by Responsible Purchasing Network and Carbonfund.org. General overview of how to conduct an invenotry and purchase offsets. Includes links to RFPs for the solicitation of bids for the purchase of offset credits.

Australian Carbon Offset Watch, September 2008

Carbon Offset Watch 2008 Assessment Report by C. Riedy and A. Atherton, The Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology (Introduction)
Download the pdf of the full report (Free)

The ENDS Guide to Carbon Offsets 2008

This Guide includes a comprehensive listing and rating of over 170 offset providers. It has to be purchased for £75. You can order it here.

Carbon Concierge

Carbon Concierge is an educational and consultancy organization that engages small, mid-sized and large businesses, as well as municipalities, to develop and implement climate reduction strategies. Carbon Concierge is a project of the Social Venture Network and Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI) and its operations are managed predominantly by BGI students and alumni. Download for free their 2008 report:
COPEM: Carbon Offset Provider Evaluation Matrix; Top North American offset providers evaluated and rated based on industry standards

Voluntary Carbon Markets: A Business Guide to What They Are and How They Work. March 2007

This is a general book on the voluntary market and does not include ratings of offset providers. By Ricardo Bayon, Director; Amanda Hawn, Editor; and Katherine Hamilton, Carbon Projects Manager; of the Ecosystem Marketplace.

Etude comparative des programmes de compensation volontaire de CO₂ en Europe, 2007

by Andre Heughebaert. Published by IEW the Federation of Environmental Organizations in the French speaking part of Belgium.
The study evaluated 15 European online offsetting programs available for private customers. Note this report is only available in French.

Voluntary Offsets For Air-Travel Carbon Emissions Evaluations and Recommendations of Voluntary Offset Companies

Anja Kollmuss, Benjamin Bowell, Tufts Climate Initiative, January 2007 Revision 1.2; January 27, 2007 , Revision 1.3; April 5, 2007 (Full disclosure: Anja Kollmuss maintains the content of the CORE website)

A Consumers Guide to Retail Carbon Offset Providers

This is a detailed report published by Clean Air – Cool Planet in December 2006.