This section lays out the requirements for how organizations communicate their CarbonNeutral® certification and the supporting public disclosures which must be made.
Increasingly, stakeholders expect and require greater transparency when climate-related claims are made. It is critical to maintaining organizational trust and reputation. Climate-related claims are increasingly regulated by local laws as well, such as those in the European Union and California. Visit our climate claims regulation tracker page to find out more about applicable regulation in certain geographies.
Where an organization communicates its CarbonNeutral® certification to stakeholders it must publicly disclose information that is relevant to the communication. Table 13 provides the mandatory disclosures which may be made in support of CarbonNeutral® certification. It should be noted that local laws and regulations may require additional disclosures beyond those required here.
During the first year of certification, an organization may not have all the required information available to make a complete disclosure, especially at the commencement of the certification period. For example, it may be in the process of estimating its organizational carbon footprint and setting a reduction target. In these cases, the organization must disclose why the information is not yet available, its progress against that requirement, and update the disclosure as soon as reasonably practical.
The above disclosures represent the minimum information that must be disclosed in support of CarbonNeutral® certification. Organizations are highly encouraged to disclose further information above and beyond minimum requirements, which it considers relevant to enhancing the transparency, understandability or robustness of the claim for its audience.
