Why go climate positive?

What does climate positive mean?

We should start by recognising that there is no "agreed" definition of the term "Climate Positive". As a result the term is used in different ways, which we acknowledge could be confusing. So, we would like to present 3 commonly used interpretations and offer our suggestion for addressing the confusion.

Interpretation 1

"Climate positive" means going beyond Carbon Neutral to offset or avoid at least 10% more CO2e than your current carbon footprint.

This is probably the most commonly used definition and for most organisations would involve the following process:

1. Calculate your full (Scope 1-3) baseline GHG emissions in CO2e.
2. Write a carbon reduction plan.
3. Each year, purchase and retire carbon credits to the value of at least 110% of your current carbon footprint.
4. Aim to reduce your carbon footprint year on year inline with Science-Based Reduction Targets.

Note: Just as we no longer recommend carbon neutrality as a preferred goal, we no longer support this interpretation as it does not have a scientifically valid basis. We acknowledge that this is a change in our position, but we think that it is more important to reflect current best practice than to hold onto an outdated method for the sake of avoiding potential embarrassment.

Interpretation 2

"Climate positive" means going beyond Net Zero to neutralise at least double your residual GHG emissions in CO2e.

We offer this as a new definition, which for most organisations would involve the following process:

1. Calculate your full (Scope 1-3) baseline GHG emissions in CO2e. This would also include any land-based GHGs and/or biogenic CO2 emissions. 
2. Reduce your emissions to no more than 10% of your baseline (if measured in absolute tonnes of CO2e) or 3% of your baseline if measured in intensity (tonnes of CO2e per £m revenue). These are known as your "residual emissions".
3. Each year, purchase and retire carbon credits, that remove CO2 from the atmosphere, to the value of at least double your residual emissions (e.g. 20% of your baseline emissions).
4. Maintain your total GHG emissions at or below your residual emissions level and continue to neutralise at least double your residual GHG emissions every year.

Note: We do support this interpretation as it is based on the scientifically valid approach of Net Zero, however we recommend using the alternative name "Carbon Negative" to avoid confusion with the 3rd interpretation (explained below). Thus we would re-write the above definition as:

"Carbon Negative" means going beyond Net Zero to neutralise at least double your residual GHG emissions in CO2e.

Interpretation 3

"Climate positive" means creating a mindset in your organisation that we categorise as "doing more good - not just less bad".

This involves focussing on the creation of "Carbon Handprints" alongside the key job of achieving Net Zero emissions. A handprint is a contribution that makes a positive change in the world to help improve the lives of others. A Carbon Handprint specifically helps someone else to reduce their carbon footprint. You can read more about our approach to carbon handprints here.

If we do this, we can massively increase our positive impact on the climate by multiplying our efforts many times over. After all, once you have reduced your footprint to zero there is nowhere else to go, but there is no limit to the potential size of your handprint.

This is our preferred definition of the term "Climate Positive", which we have used since Go Climate Positive launched in 2020.

What is the difference between "Climate Positive", "Carbon Negative" and "Carbon Positive".

These terms are the source of much confusion, as organisations tend to use them interchangeably to mean essentially the same thing.

The principle behind all these terms is to save more (usually at least 10% more) carbon than you are producing.

However, confusion often arises around whether the organisation using one of these terms is using "Carbon Neutral" or "Net Zero" as the benchmark for the comparison. This means that you need to dig below the surface of the headline and look at the detail of any claim of this type that an organisation makes.

Our preferred term for the mathematical interpretation of this principle is "Carbon Negative", since this is mathematically correct. We believe that the only scientifically valid benchmark for a claim of "Carbon Negative" is to base it on Net Zero. In other words a organisation should first meet the criteria for a claim of Net Zero before it can claim to be Carbon Negative. This is explained in Interpretation 2 above.

We prefer a mindset interpretation for the term "Climate Positive" which is explains in Interpretation 3 above.