Offsetting Your Carbon Footprint: How It Works and Where to Start
Offsetting your carbon footprint: how it works and where to start
What carbon credits are, what retirement means, what it costs in the UK, and how to make sure your offsetting is credible.
The three steps: measure, reduce, offset
Credible offsetting follows an order. First, measure your footprint so you know your number. Second, reduce what you can through energy, travel and consumption changes. Third, offset the residual emissions you cannot yet remove. Offsetting is the final step, not the first. Start by measuring with our carbon calculator.
What is a carbon credit?
A carbon credit represents one tonne of CO2 that has been reduced or removed by a verified project. When you offset, you buy credits equal to your emissions. Projects fall into two broad types: removal, such as tree planting and peatland restoration, and avoidance, such as renewable energy that displaces fossil fuels.
What does retirement mean?
When a credit is retired, it is permanently cancelled on a public registry and given a unique serial number in your name. This is the step that makes offsetting real, because a retired credit cannot be resold or claimed by anyone else. If a provider cannot show you a registry record, treat the claim with caution.
Standards that make offsetting credible
Look for credits verified to recognised standards: Gold Standard and Verra VCS for international projects, and the UK Woodland Carbon Code and Peatland Code for domestic projects. These standards require independent verification, additionality and permanence.
How to avoid greenwashing
Good offsetting is transparent. Ask for the project name, the standard, the serial numbers and the registry link. Be wary of vague carbon-neutral badges with no evidence behind them. Reduction should always come before offsetting, and claims should be specific and checkable.
What it costs and how to start in the UK
Individuals can offset from £5.99 a month, and businesses from £566 a year. The right amount depends on your measured footprint. Start with the calculator, then choose a plan.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to offset your carbon footprint?
It depends on your measured emissions and the credit type. Individual plans start from £5.99 a month and business plans from £566 a year, scaled to your footprint.
Is carbon offsetting legit?
Offsetting is credible when credits are verified to recognised standards, permanently retired on a public registry in your name, and used to complement emissions reductions rather than replace them.
What is the difference between reduction and offsetting?
Reduction means cutting the emissions you produce, for example through insulation or flying less. Offsetting funds verified reductions or removals elsewhere to balance the emissions you cannot yet cut. Reduce first, then offset the residual.
Last reviewed: 4 July 2026 · Offset Britain
