FAQ

Here are the most common questions we get about Puro.earth. If there’s something more specific that you would like to know, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

General
What is Puro.earth?
Puro.earth is the first carbon crediting program focused exclusively on carbon removals. It’s a pioneering initiative to make carbon removal robust and verifiable.
General
What does the word Puro mean?
Puro is derived from the Latin purus, meaning to cleanse or purify.

In Finnish, Puro means a stream, which serves as a metaphor for the flow of capital towards carbon net-negative companies.
General
How is Puro.earth different from all the other carbon crediting programs?
Most carbon offset schemes focus primarily on emission reductions. Puro.earth focuses exclusively on carbon removal and pioneered several of the world's first crediting methodologies for engineered carbon removal. We require removal methods that can be scientifically verified, that capture and store CO₂ durably, and have industrial scaling potential.
General
What is a CO₂ removal method?
It is a way to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and store it for the long-term, in a stable form. All of Puro Standard's verified methodologies guarantee durable storage of 100+ years, some even thousands of years.
General
What is a CO₂ Removal Certificate (CORC)?
A CORC is an independently verified document that confirms that 1 metric ton of CO₂ has been removed and durably sequestered from the atmosphere using one of the removal methods certified under the Puro Standard. Our suppliers sequester more CO₂ than they emit with only net negative emissions being credited.

CORCs are issued ex-post based on CO₂ removal activities that have been independently verified prior to issuing the CORC. It is issued in the Puro Registry to the supplier, purchased by the buyer, and retired once the buyer has reported its usage.
Buyer
How can I buy CORCs?
You can negotiate a bilateral agreement directly with an accredited CORC supplier or purchase CORCs through a third-party marketplace. Puro.earth has discontinued its online marketplace in 2022 and does not act as a counterparty to transactions.

CORCs are available as spot purchases as well as through advance market commitments where the buyer agrees to buy CORCs from a future issuance at a pre-agreed price. It is also possible to purchase Pre-CORCs. Pre-CORCs are digital assets that represent validated projections of future carbon removals. They convert into CORCs after removals are verified. Pre-CORCs enable prepayments for future carbon removals, making suppliers less dependent on more expensive forms of financing. Buyers benefit from a discount and greater flexibility as Pre-CORCs are tradeable.
General
What shall I do with the CORCs after they are on my account?
CORCs can be utilized to neutralize carbon emissions reported in a sustainability or annual report, or they can be resold. If you want to use them to neutralize emissions, then the certificates need to be retired in the Puro Registry so their ownership cannot be changed anymore. These CORCs are no longer tradable and onward sale of the indicated certificate numbers is prohibited. Please note that Pre-CORCs cannot be used to neutralize emissions and can therefore not be retired. The buyer needs to wait until they have been converted into CORCs.

To retire your CORCs you need to identify the beneficiary of the CORCs, purpose, the emissions period, and the location. You will receive an official diploma stating that you have neutralized your emissions with carbon removal with the following information:
- name of the beneficiary
- amount of tonnes that were neutralized
- name of the carbon removal supplier
- carbon removal method
- date of payment
- tracking numbers of the CORCs
- a public link to the registry cancellation statement
You can use the diploma in your sustainability reporting and corporate communications. You may activate CORCs in your account for different beneficiaries.
Buyer
What are the benefits of buying CORCs?
Most importantly, companies who buy CORCs neutralize their carbon emissions with carbon removal.

Other benefits include:
- Being part of the solution - buyers accelerate the carbon removal economy. As volumes of carbon net-negative processes grow, more carbon is removed from the atmosphere.
- Telling the world - communicating your climate action delights customers, inspires employees, and influences peers.
- Creating carbon-neutral products or services - Once you calculate the carbon footprint of your product or service, you can bundle CORCs to each unit to make them carbon-neutral.
- Ease of reporting - As CORCs are scientifically measured they can be used to match Scope 1 (Direct), Scope 2 (Indirect), and Scope 3 (Indirect value-chain) emissions as reported in ESG, sustainability, and annual reports.
- Credibility - When creating the CORC, we considered the requirements of companies who are looking to fulfill ambitious climate commitments and want to avoid reputational risks associated with low-quality carbon offsets.
General
How does my purchase incentivize the carbon net-negative economy?
Buying CORCs from our suppliers or partner marketplaces creates an economic driver to accelerate the development of the carbon removal ecosystem today. Carbon removal suppliers receive a new revenue stream, which allows them to invest in R&D, operations, and sales. CORC buyers neutralize their CO₂ emissions and create carbon-neutral products and services for their customers.
Carbon removal methods
Which carbon removal methods do you support and how did you choose them?
See an overview of carbon removal methods here. We used the following criteria:
- Has to be easy to measure scientifically
- Has to remove carbon from the atmosphere for a long time (at least 100 years)
- Has to be mature enough for scaling (out of the laboratory and have no unsolved challenges that would prevent large-scale industrial deployment)
Carbon removal methods
How is the number of issued certificates determined?
CORCs are issued based on the production output from registered suppliers' production facilities. The number of credits issued to the project’s account in the Puro Registry is the number verified by the third-party auditor. To determine the number of certificates for a volume of production output we require:
- A scientific report or a certificate that states the net emissions of the product (i.e. Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) or Environmental Product Declaration (EPD))
- Production volume of said product
- Usage of the product (e.g. to ensure the product is not burned)
Puro Standard
Is Puro.earth open for new carbon removal methods?
Yes. If you know about a process that fulfills the criteria in the previous questions and have independent evidence to back it up, please let us know. If you are a supplier you can make a claim to Puro.earth for the amount of tons of CO₂ that your production sequestered retrospectively in the last 12 months. Once we have this information then we start a verification process. If you don’t have an LCA, we can put you in contact with companies who can do it for you.
Buyer
My company produces a lot of emissions. Can I keep on emitting and just compensate for it all?
No. The priority should always be to reduce your own emissions. Carbon removal credits should only be used for hard-to-abate emissions.
Buyer
How can I be sure that something actually happens?
We work with independent third parties who verify all production net-negativity claims for removal certificates. At the moment our partners are DNV GL, a global leader in ISO certification, Bio Inspecta, and Energy Link Services.
Buyer
What does it cost to neutralize 1 ton of emissions?
The price of the CORC is determined entirely by the supplier.
Buyer
I want to share on social media that I bought CORCs to neutralize the emissions of my company. What handles can I use?
#Puroearth #PuroCO2removal #PuroCarbonRemoval
Buyer
I do not know the amount of metric tons (or tonnes) of CO₂ my company emits. Can Puro.earth help us with the calculation?
There are many carbon footprint consultants in our ecosystem. Please check our Partners page!
Buyer
Can I buy CORCs of a specific methodology or country of origin?
Yes, you can choose a specific methodology and check the country of origin. A CORC is always equivalent to one metric ton of CO₂, no matter the method used or what the country of origin is. The most important thing is the climate benefit of the removal. If you would like, you can negotiate a pre-purchase agreement for a specific supplier.
Buyer
I need a very large number of CORCs, how can I ensure availability?
Advanced market commitments and Pre-CORCs enable you to secure future CORCs from projects in development. You can view current projects in development here. Simply contact the supplier to arrange your commitment or purchase Pre-CORCs.

To fulfill a climate claim, you can either retire the CORCs as a beneficiary, or resell them to other beneficiaries. For example, CORCs may be retired prior to your annual reporting, or just in time to communicate that you have neutralized the emissions of a specific event, store, flights, office branch, etc.
Buyer
Can I bundle CORCs with my products and services to make them carbon-neutral?
Yes, you can. First, you need to calculate what is the carbon footprint of your product or service, then you can bundle the amount of CORCs to each unit that will make them carbon neutral.
Fortum
What is the role of Fortum in Puro.earth?
Fortum, the leading clean energy company in the Nordics, encourages new startups to be developed within its Innovation and Venturing incubation process. Puro.earth was part of this process and the costs of setting up the venture were covered by Fortum. In June 2021, Nasdaq acquired a majority stake in Puro.earth.
Nasdaq
Nasdaq acquired a majority stake in Puro.earth. What value will Puro.earth add to Nasdaq?
For Nasdaq, Puro.earth will be a cornerstone in its ESG offering. Nasdaq will offer its current and potential clients access to Puro.earth's services to provide them with an opportunity to reach a beyond-zero carbon footprint.
Puro Standard
How was the Puro Standard developed?
The Puro Standard and crediting rules are managed by an independent, external Advisory Board established in October 2021. The Advisory Board governs all changes to Puro Standard as defined in their Terms of Reference. Before the formation of the Advisory Board, when the Puro Standard was first created in 2019, it was designed and managed by a group of 22 companies from 6 countries. This group of organizations was called the Original Signatories. They include: Fortum, IFPEN, AFRY (Pöyry at the time of signing), Compensate Foundation, Nordic Offset, SEB, Skanska, StoraEnso, Yara, South Pole, Fazer Group, TietoEvry, St1, L&T, S-Group, Eurapco, Valio, Carbofex, Orbix, Hirsitaloteollisuus.
A dedicated working group was created by the Original Signatories to develop the Puro Standard and carbon crediting methodologies between March and May 2019. Prior to the design phase, the Puro.earth project group met with and consulted more than 100 scientists, researchers, potential buyers, and projects. Puro.earth has since then been established as a separate legal entity, which resulted in the appointment of the independent, external Advisory Board in October 2021. The Advisory Board was established to house the Puro Standard and oversee the crediting rules.
All changes to Puro Standard are subject to the Advisory Board’s approval. New methodologies are co-created in working groups involving industry experts and are subject to public consultation before being presented to the Advisory Board.
Puro Standard
How does the Puro Standard maintain its independence?
Puro.earth suppliers use their discretion to decide how to take the credits to the market. The third-party verified credits are issued to the project’s Puro Registry account. Projects are free to sell their credits directly to corporate buyers in a bilateral agreement or through a third-party intermediary, such as a marketplace or broker, that is independent of Puro.earth. Puro Standard has no restrictions on sales channels or how to bring the credits to the market.
Puro.earth does not derive any revenue from brokerage or marketplace services. Puro.earth is not a party or a beneficiary in the market transaction. Puro.earth holds no equity in any members of the platform, and we have not established any revenue-sharing arrangements with the account holders.
Puro.earth requires all project’s carbon removal activities to be independently verified by a third-party auditor that has been approved to assess carbon removals against the Puro Standard. The project proponent is responsible for preparing all the documents needed for the audit. The number of credits issued to the project’s account in the Puro Registry is the number verified by the auditor.
Advisory Board
How are members of the Advisory Board selected?
The Advisory Board must consist of at least three members and a maximum of seven that have to be independent, non-executive, and with a mix of skill and experience. The Advisory Board is responsible for succession planning and nominating and evaluating candidate members. Appointment is decided by a majority vote with only Advisory Board members allowed to vote with the Chair casting the deciding vote in the case of a tie. The Advisory Board is also responsible for appointing a Chair among themselves. Puro.earth can nominate a secretary to support the work of the Advisory Board. The secretary has to be approved by the Chair of the Advisory Board.
Buyer
How do I become a buyer?
You can buy CORCs directly from one of our suppliers or via a third-party marketplace.
Suppliers
How do I become a supplier in the Puro.earth Marketplace?
Register your interest here. For a supplier to be issued CO₂ Removal Certificates (CORCs) the product that sequesters carbon and the production facility must be verified.

There are three steps to making a claim that your production is carbon net-negative:
1. You must have documented evidence of the carbon footprint of your production: an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) or a Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) for the cradle-to-gate carbon footprint of your production. If you don’t have an LCA or EPD, we can put you in contact with companies who can do it for you.
2. Please, send the EPD or LCA document to contact@puro.earth.
3. When we have this information, we will start a verification process by contacting you within the coming days.

If you have further questions please, contact us.