Carbon neutral consultants: what they can still deliver

Carbon neutral consultants help an organisation measure the footprint of a defined subject and period, reduce what it can, decide whether and how to offset the rest, and document a claim that states its basis. They can also prepare for third-party verification against ISO 14068. They cannot issue a certificate themselves: ISO certifies nobody, and verification is done by a separate verifier.

Not for a current credential. BSI stopped delivering the PAS 2060 scheme from 1 January 2025, UKAS removed it from the accreditation schedule on 31 December 2025, and PAS 2060 was withdrawn at the end of 2025. A consultant offering "PAS 2060 certification" today is offering something nobody can issue. A PAS 2060 declaration for a past period stays valid for that period and should be described in the past tense.

ISO 14068 is the international standard for achieving and demonstrating carbon neutrality through quantification, reduction and offsetting, with reductions and removals in the value chain taking priority over offsetting. ISO 14068-1:2023 was withdrawn on 11 September 2026 and is being replaced by ISO 14068:2026, "Climate change management — Carbon neutrality". ISO gives the new edition's publication date only as September 2026.

A carbon neutral claim covers a defined period in which remaining emissions are balanced, usually by offsetting. A net zero target describes deep reductions over years, with only residual emissions neutralised. Carbon neutral consultants focus on the claim and its evidence; net zero consultants on the target and the reduction plan. The ASA treats unqualified versions of either claim as misleading.

No. No UK instrument bans offset-based carbon neutral claims. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 prohibits misleading practices from 6 April 2025, and its Schedule 20 blacklist contains nothing about carbon, climate or offsetting. The ASA's settled position is that an unqualified "carbon neutral" claim is misleading, so a claim must set out its basis, including how much rests on offsetting and which scheme is used.

For product-level claims based on offsetting, yes, from 27 September 2026. Directive (EU) 2024/825 adds to the EU list of banned commercial practices any claim, based on offsetting, that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive greenhouse gas impact, and Member States must apply it from that date. It does not apply in the UK.

Whether it represents removal or avoidance, whether additionality is demonstrated, whether its vintage matches the period being claimed against, and whether its methodology is CCP-Approved by the ICVCM. ICVCM approval attaches to a methodology and version, not to a single credit's performance, and a programme being CCP-Eligible does not make every credit it issues CCP-labelled. Nothing on this site is a recommendation to buy any credit.

No. UK SRS S2 paragraph 29(a) asks for absolute gross Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, and a company with a net target also discloses its gross target under paragraph 36(c). Credits are reported separately, as a statement about what was purchased, not as a reduction in the inventory.

This page gives no price. No consultant or verification body publishes a standard fee for ISO 14068 work, and a characterised market range is not a sourced figure. Ask each provider for a written quote against a defined subject, boundary and period.