How we calculate
carbon neutrality.
Every GreenCircle certification is backed by a documented CO₂ calculation. This page explains the benchmarks we use, the safety margins we apply, and the reasoning behind every number — so you can verify everything yourself. No black box.
Our baseline: why 15 tonnes?
Our employee, person, and family products all offset a standard of 15 tonnes of CO₂ per person per year.
We arrived at this number by looking at per-capita carbon footprint averages across all 8 regions we serve — and setting our standard above the highest of them. The result is a single, conservative, globally consistent benchmark that does not need to be adjusted by country.
The EU average is approximately 9.0 tonnes per person per year. Most regions we serve fall well below that. The highest averages — outside the Gulf and North America — sit in the 10–13 tonne range. 15 tonnes sits comfortably above all of these, with a deliberate safety margin built in.
That margin matters. It means our certificates are never at risk of underclaiming, even as emission factors are updated year to year. A single published standard is also harder to manipulate and easier to audit than a country-by-country matrix. Any customer anywhere in the world knows exactly what is being offset on their behalf.
| Region | Approx. average CO₂/person/year | Covered by 15t standard? |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | ~1.6 t | ✓ Yes |
| Latin America | ~4.8 t | ✓ Yes |
| Asia Pacific | ~6–9 t | ✓ Yes |
| EU / wider Europe | ~9.0 t | ✓ Yes |
| Nordics | ~10–12 t | ✓ Yes |
| Oceania (AU / NZ) | ~13–14 t | ✓ Yes |
| North America (US / Canada) | ~14–15 t | ✓ Marginal — see note |
| Middle East / Gulf | ~15–20+ t | ⚠ See note below |
Carbon Neutral Employees
Covers the full carbon footprint of an employee — 15 tonnes offset per person per year. Priced at €135/employee/year.
At a benchmark procurement cost of approximately €9/tonne via verified Gold Standard and Verra VCS projects, the offset cost is €135. Pricing reflects the offset cost directly — overhead covers certification, administration, and digital delivery of assets.
€9/tonne reflects GreenCircle's internal procurement benchmark for verified carbon credits. Market rates for Gold Standard and VCS credits typically range from €5–20/tonne depending on project type and vintage.Carbon Neutral Person & Family
Same methodology as the Employee product — 15 tonnes per person per year — applied to private individuals and households. Family pricing is €135 × number of persons. Scope covers the full personal carbon footprint including home energy, transport, diet, and consumption.
Carbon Neutral Transport
Covers vehicle emissions based on annual kilometres driven per vehicle. Applies to both business fleets and private vehicles — the badge and certificate name differ, the calculation is identical. Priced per vehicle per year across four km tiers.
Emission factor used: ~120g CO₂/km — the European average for a mixed petrol/diesel passenger vehicle fleet under WLTP testing conditions.
Source: DEFRA UK Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors (2023). Average European passenger vehicle fleet.A minimum of 5 tonnes is applied per vehicle. This reflects the minimum viable transaction size for certified offset purchases via Gold Standard and VCS registries — not a claim about the vehicle's actual emissions at lower mileage tiers.
| Tier | Annual km | Tonnes offset | Price/vehicle/year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 15,000 km | 5 t (minimum applied) | €45 |
| Tier 2 | 25,000 km | 5.4 t | €54 |
| Tier 3 | 35,000 km | 6.3 t | €63 |
| Tier 4 | 45,000+ km | 9 t | €81 |
Carbon Neutral Website
Covers the energy consumed by web hosting infrastructure, data transfer, and the devices of visitors loading pages. Tiered by site traffic and complexity.
Emission basis: the average web page produces approximately 0.5g CO₂ per page view, derived from hosting energy consumption, data transfer, and end-user device energy use.
Source: Website Carbon Calculator methodology (websitecarbon.com). Estimates are indicative — actual emissions vary by hosting provider, CDN use, and visitor geography.| Tier | Site profile | Est. annual CO₂ | Price/year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Low traffic, simple site | ~200–400 kg | €299 |
| Standard | Medium traffic / ecommerce | ~400–800 kg | €475 |
| Advanced | High traffic / media-heavy | ~800–1,500 kg | €799 |
Carbon Neutral Digital Office & Digital Home
Covers energy consumption from digital devices, cloud services, video calls, and streaming — per employee or per household member. Tiered by usage intensity. The Digital Office and Digital Home products use identical calculations — the badge and certificate name differ.
Grid emission factor used: ~460g CO₂/kWh — the approximate global average grid intensity for electricity generation.
Source: IEA Electricity 2025 (445g CO₂/kWh in 2024); Ember Global Electricity Review 2024 (480g CO₂/kWh). We use a rounded midpoint as our baseline. Regions with dirtier grids will produce higher actual emissions — we do not adjust downward for cleaner regional grids.| Profile | Typical usage | Est. CO₂/person/year | Price/person/year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light | Basic email & documents | ~200–400 kg | €45 |
| Standard | Video calls, cloud storage | ~400–700 kg | €67 |
| Heavy | Data-intensive / heavy video | ~700–1,100 kg | €99 |
Carbon project standards
All offsets are sourced from projects certified under internationally recognised standards. GreenCircle does not manufacture offsets. Credits are sourced from verified third-party registries and retired on behalf of certified customers — meaning they cannot be resold or claimed by anyone else.
| Standard | What it means |
|---|---|
| Gold Standard | UN-backed. The highest-integrity voluntary carbon standard globally. Requires verified community and environmental co-benefits beyond the carbon reduction itself. goldstandard.org |
| Verra VCS | The most widely used voluntary carbon standard in the world. Rigorous independent third-party verification of every tonne claimed. verra.org |
What this program covers — and what it does not
A GreenCircle certification is a verified, third-party-backed offset of a defined and publicly documented CO₂ amount, with the right to communicate that action credibly.
It is not a full lifecycle assessment of your entire value chain. It is not a government-issued certification. It is not a net-zero claim — net-zero requires emissions reduction, not only offsetting. It is not a guarantee of zero environmental impact.
We will not overstate what this is. A credible, clearly scoped program — delivered consistently and transparently — is more valuable than a vague claim that cannot be verified.
Data sources: Eurostat Greenhouse Gas Footprint (2023) · Global Carbon Project (2024) · IEA World Energy Outlook & Electricity 2025 · EPFL Carbon Cube (2023) · DEFRA UK Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors (2023) · Ember Global Electricity Review 2024 · Website Carbon Calculator (websitecarbon.com) · Verra VCS Registry (verra.org) · Gold Standard Registry (goldstandard.org)
Emission benchmarks reviewed annually. Last updated: 2025.