Carbon neutral certification · UK
Carbon neutral certification: what is still current
The two standards most UK carbon neutral claims still cite have both been withdrawn.
PAS 2060 was withdrawn at the end of 2025, and its named successor, ISO 14068-1:2023, was itself withdrawn on 11 September 2026.
This page sets out what a carbon neutral claim can rest on today, and what the law asks of it.
PAS 2060
PAS 2060: withdrawn, and it cannot be obtained
PAS 2060 was the BSI specification most UK organisations used to demonstrate carbon neutrality.
BSI stopped delivering the PAS 2060 scheme from 1 January 2025, and set a period of 24 months from the publication of ISO 14068-1:2023 before the PAS 2060 document itself was withdrawn.
The UKAS migration deadline was 31 December 2025, the date by which every remaining PAS 2060 verification had to be completed and PAS 2060 left the accreditation schedule.
So a search for “PAS 2060 certification”, a “PAS 2060 consultant” or “PAS 2060 approved schemes” now leads to a credential nobody can issue.
A verification opinion issued for a past period stays valid for that period.
A 2023 PAS 2060 declaration is not a false statement about 2023; it is simply not a current credential.
Never describe PAS 2060 in the present tense, and never claim an old opinion was invalidated.
Three dates, three different facts
- 1 Jan 2025BSI stops delivering the scheme
No new PAS 2060 verifications are sold or started.
- Nov 2025The document's withdrawal period ends
BSI set a 24-month period from the November 2023 publication of ISO 14068-1:2023.
- 31 Dec 2025Last opinions issued
UKAS removes PAS 2060 from the accreditation schedule.
Source: BSI Knowledge, BS ISO 14068-1:2023 record · UKAS technical bulletin
ISO 14068
ISO 14068-1:2023 is withdrawn too — ISO 14068:2026 replaces it
BSI named ISO 14068-1:2023 as PAS 2060’s successor, and most of the market migrated to it during 2025.
ISO’s catalogue record for ISO 14068-1:2023 now reads “Withdrawn”, with withdrawal dated 11 September 2026, and names ISO 14068:2026 as the revision.
The successor standard drops both the part number and the words “Transition to net zero” from its title.
Its scope, in ISO’s words, is achieving and demonstrating carbon neutrality “through the quantification, reduction and offsetting of the carbon footprint”, with reductions and removals within the value chain taking priority over offsetting.
ISO gives the new edition’s publication date only as September 2026, so this page gives no day.
ISO certifies nobody: an organisation is verified against the standard by a third party, and “ISO 14068 certified” describes that verification, not an ISO award.
| Withdrawn edition | Successor | |
|---|---|---|
| Designation | ISO 14068-1:2023 | ISO 14068:2026 |
| Title | Climate change management — Transition to net zero — Part 1: Carbon neutrality | Climate change management — Carbon neutrality |
| Status | Withdrawn 11 Sep 2026 (stage 95.99) | Publication dated 2026-09 by ISO |
Climate Neutral Certified
The Climate Label certifies funding, not neutrality
Climate Neutral Certified no longer exists.
The Change Climate Project replaced it with The Climate Label from 2025, and describes the change as moving away from a “carbon neutrality” model.
Certified companies now show a threshold level of funding for climate projects, a Climate Transition Budget of $15 per tonne for 2025, rather than matching emissions tonne for tonne.
Badges printed before 2025 are still on packaging and websites, and the live label behind them now certifies something else.
What a claim rests on today
Four things a carbon neutral claim can rest on
| Basis | What it is | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| Third-party verification against ISO 14068 | An assessment of a defined subject and period against the ISO carbon neutrality standard, with reductions prioritised over offsetting. | ISO issues no certificate; the credential is the verifier's opinion for that period. |
| A VCMI Carbon Integrity claim | Silver, Gold or Platinum, by the share of remaining emissions covered by credits, after four foundational criteria. | VCMI says credits "are not counted as internal emission reductions"; Platinum is not a carbon neutral claim. |
| Credits under CCP-Approved methodologies | ICVCM approves methodologies and versions against its Core Carbon Principles. | The label says nothing about a given credit's performance, and programme eligibility is not credit approval. |
| A qualified, substantiated marketing claim | A claim that states its basis — including how much rests on offsetting and which scheme — as the ASA expects. | No UK scheme makes a claim lawful; substantiation and clarity do. |
UK and EU law
Lawful in the UK if substantiated; restricted in the EU
No UK instrument targets carbon neutral or offsetting claims.
What binds is general consumer law: the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 prohibits unfair and misleading commercial practices from 6 April 2025, and its Schedule 20 blacklist says nothing about carbon, climate or offsetting.
The DMCC Act replaced the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, which continue only for acts before that date.
The CMA’s Green Claims Code still cites the repealed regulations, but the CMA says its guidance continues to apply in substance.
The ASA applies CAP Code section 11, and its settled position is that an unqualified “carbon neutral” claim is misleading.
In the EU, Directive (EU) 2024/825 bans, from 27 September 2026, any claim based on offsetting that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive greenhouse gas impact.
The UK has no equivalent, so a campaign running in both markets needs two answers.
Three tiers, often collapsed into one
| Tier | Instrument |
|---|---|
| Law | DMCC Act 2024, Part 4 — misleading actions and omissions |
| Guidance | CMA Green Claims Code (2021) |
| Self-regulation | CAP Code section 11, applied by the ASA |
Sustainability reporting
What a UK SRS S2 report asks about credits
A company with a net greenhouse gas target that reports under UK SRS S2 discloses its planned use of carbon credits under paragraph 36(e).
That includes which third-party scheme will verify or certify the credits, so naming a withdrawn scheme does not answer the question.
How that paragraph works, and how it relates to the green claims rules, is covered in carbon credits in sustainability reporting.
An organisation that would rather set a genuine net zero target than rely on a badge can start with uksrs.org.uk’s guidance on choosing a net zero consultant.
To talk a specific claim through, you can book a free 15-minute call.
Frequently asked
Questions people ask
Can I still get PAS 2060 certification?
No. BSI stopped delivering the PAS 2060 verification scheme from 1 January 2025, and the last verification opinions were issued by 31 December 2025, when UKAS removed PAS 2060 from its accreditation schedule. PAS 2060 was withdrawn at the end of 2025. No provider can assess an organisation against it today, so a consultant or scheme offering "PAS 2060 certification" now is offering something that no longer exists.
Is an old PAS 2060 declaration now invalid?
No. A verification opinion issued for a past period remains valid for that period, so a 2023 PAS 2060 declaration is not a false statement about 2023. It is simply not a current credential, because nobody can be assessed against the standard any more. Do not describe it in the present tense, and do not claim it was invalidated.
What replaced PAS 2060?
BSI named ISO 14068-1:2023 as the successor. ISO then withdrew ISO 14068-1:2023 itself on 11 September 2026 and is replacing it with ISO 14068:2026, "Climate change management — Carbon neutrality", which drops the part number and the words "Transition to net zero" from the title. ISO gives the new edition's publication date only as September 2026.
Does ISO certify carbon neutrality?
No. ISO publishes the standard and certifies nobody. An organisation is verified against ISO 14068 by a third party, so "ISO 14068 certified" describes a third-party verification, not something ISO issued.
Is "carbon neutral" banned in the UK?
No. No UK instrument bans offset-based carbon neutral claims. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 prohibits misleading claims, and its blacklist of practices banned outright contains nothing about carbon, climate or offsetting. The ASA's settled position is that an unqualified "carbon neutral" claim is misleading, so the claim must set out its basis, including whether it relies on offsetting.
Is "carbon neutral" banned in the EU?
Directive (EU) 2024/825 adds to the EU's list of banned commercial practices any claim, based on offsetting, that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive greenhouse gas impact. Member States must apply it from 27 September 2026. It bites on product-level claims based on offsetting, and it does not apply in the UK.
Is Climate Neutral Certified still a current label?
No. The Change Climate Project replaced Climate Neutral Certified with The Climate Label from 2025. The new label certifies a level of funding for climate projects, set at $15 per tonne for 2025, and it makes no carbon neutrality claim at all.
How much does carbon neutral certification cost?
This page gives no price, because none of the verification bodies involved publishes a standard fee for ISO 14068 verification, and a characterised market range is not a sourced figure. Ask each verifier for a written quote against a defined scope and period.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner. Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- BSIBS ISO 14068-1:2023 product record — the 24-month period before PAS 2060:2014 is withdrawn
BSI's own statement of the PAS 2060 withdrawal period.
- UKASTechnical bulletin: ISO 14068-1 migration from PAS 2060
"31st Dec 2025 — Migration deadline — PAS 2060 to be removed from current schedule".
- BSICarbon neutrality verification page (formerly the PAS 2060 scheme page)
Carried BSI's PAS 2060 withdrawal notice and timeline; as read in September 2026 it describes ISO 14068-1 verification.
- ISOISO 14068-1:2023 catalogue record (standard 43279)
Withdrawn 11 September 2026, stage 95.99; "Revised by: ISO 14068:2026".
- ISOISO 14068 — Climate change management — Carbon neutrality (standard 94470)
The successor edition; ISO gives its publication date as 2026-09.
- Change Climate ProjectThe Climate Label (formerly Climate Neutral Certified)
The scheme owner's own account of the change of model.
- VCMIClaims Code of Practice v3.1 (15 August 2025)
Silver, Gold and Platinum claims; credits are not counted as internal reductions.
- EUR-LexDirective (EU) 2024/825 — Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition
Annex I point 4c and Article 4(1): applies from 27 September 2026.
- legislation.gov.ukDigital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Part 4
ss.225–227 (unfair, misleading practices) and Schedule 20; in force 6 April 2025.
- legislation.gov.ukDMCC Act 2024, section 252 — the CPUTR 2008 transition
The CPRs continue only for acts before 6 April 2025.
- ASACAP Code, section 11 — Environmental claims
Rules 11.1–11.7; unqualified claims could mislead.
- CMAGreen Claims Code (CMA146, 20 September 2021)
The CMA's six principles; unamended, and still citing the repealed CPRs.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures, ¶36(e) and ¶B70–B71
What a company with a net emissions target discloses about the credits it plans to use.
- ICVCMAssessment status — CCP-Approved methodologies
Approval attaches to a methodology and version, not to a credit's performance.
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