In 2024, Canada committed to cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 45 to 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2035. The commitment is part of a broader goal to reach net-zero by 2050, and Canadian businesses can play a key role in this ambition.
Carbon credits can help to enable your business’ environmental goals
Recent data from the RBC Climate Action Institute found nearly seven-in-ten business leaders consider adopting GHG reduction strategies as a priority of the C-suite, with the majority saying their role is equal to governments in meeting GHG reduction targets.
“Businesses want to take a leading role in combating climate change and reducing their impact on the world,” says Brian Hong, director of the Environmental Markets Solutions Group, within RBC Capital Markets. However, simply cutting emissions isn’t always viable.
“For most businesses, there’s a limit to what they can actually do within their value chain to mitigate emissions,” says Hong. Businesses are looking at innovative options like carbon credits: tradeable certificates generated by projects that avoid, reduce or remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, like renewable energy, forestry or carbon capture, to broaden their climate strategy.
It can be an empowering approach. “With carbon credits, you can choose to use your dollars to support many different types of projects,” he says. “There are over 100 different types of carbon offset projects now, and that list is growing.”
According to market intelligence from ClearBlue Markets, there were around 5,000 projects across the ten largest international crediting registries at the end of 2024. Collectively, these projects issued 280 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of credits in 2024, reflecting an 11% year-over-year decline. That brings the total number of carbon credits issued since the Paris Agreement, signed in late 2016, to more than 2.1 billion credits, with the total available supply (less retirements) standing at approximately one billion credits.
It’s a rapidly evolving market. Hong offered some insight on how business leaders navigate carbon credits as part of a wider climate plan.
Understanding your business’s scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions
GHGs are typically broken into three categories — Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3, explains Hong.
Scope 1
These are direct emissions from sources controlled or owned by your company. “That could be your heating or your vehicle fleet…things like that,” says Hong. This can also include things like boilers, furnaces, or on-site equipment.
Scope 2
These are indirect emissions from the energy bought by your company. This includes electricity, steam, heating or cooling.
Scope 3
This category is reserved for indirect emissions generated from your products and services. “So if you’re a manufacturer selling a computer, your clients’ actual use of that computer would be Scope 3,” says Hong. Other emissions from waste generated or materials used, staff commutes with vehicles not owned by the company, and business travel also fall under this category.
Understanding your business’ Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions is the first step in carbon accounting, the process of quantifying your environmental impact and developing strategies to reduce your GHG profile.
For companies, tackling Scope 2 often comes down to investing in renewable energy. “Scope 1 and 3 are where we would compensate for those emissions through carbon credits,” says Hong.
How do carbon credits work?
“One carbon credit is equal to one ton of carbon dioxide,” says Hong. “So when you buy a carbon credit, you’re essentially buying a service from one of these project developers that they will avoid, reduce or remove one ton of carbon on behalf of your business.”
There are various exchanges that sell carbon credits, similar to buying a stock. “The more common thing nowadays, which is a direct result of some of the greenwashing concerns that have been present in the voluntary carbon market, is to source credits directly from the projects,” says Hong. It offers an opportunity to talk with the developer, or learn more about the project by going to see it.
“My team at RBC does that facilation,” says Hong. “We try to match those clients who are generating the carbon credit supply with those that want to use these credits as part of their climate strategies.”
The projects attached to these credits are diverse, from reforestation efforts to more complex and innovative technologies like direct air capture, a technology that essentially vacuums carbon from the air, or other forms of carbon capture and storage. Hong sees it as an opportunity for companies to support something new or innovative outside of what they normally do as a business.
How much do carbon credits cost?
Alongside the diversity of project types, the price of carbon credits can differ widely.
“Since these are commodities, they do have varying values and the values do change day to day or year to year in the voluntary carbon market,” says Hong. The price of the credits can range from $0.50 to $1,500. “That price transparency can be quite tricky.”
Because of that, Hong recommends working with an intermediary or carbon credit advisory firm. “We do a lot of due diligence on the supply to ensure when we’re providing a credit to a client, it’s one of high quality and they can trust that carbon reduction or removal has actually happened.”
The aim is to find credits that have undergone due diligence and have a low perceived risk while still aligning with your budget and carbon offset strategy.
Advice for navigating the carbon credit market
So how do you establish that value? Hong says there are many factors but a key trend in the market right now is permanence. “For carbon credits, generally the lowest kind of permanence bars are to avoid or remove a ton of carbon for at least 30 years,” he says. When you look at something like direct air capture, which Hong says falls into the more expensive carbon credit range (upwards of $1,000 for a credit), the carbon sequestration is estimated to last more than 10,000 years.
“You’re paying for that permanence versus a forestry project, which, despite its many environmental benefits, has a risk of burning down and releasing the carbon back to the atmosphere,” he says.
Another aspect that can influence the quality or cost of a carbon credit is innovation. “That’s why you’ve seen really high prices in engineered carbon removal or technology-based carbon removal, like direct air capture,” he says. “They’re new, they’re expensive to develop, so they have to charge that high price.”
The biodiversity benefits of a project can also factor into the price. “Is it helping protect an area of an endangered species? Does it significantly increase stormwater retention for an area? Does it help increase the overall biodiversity of a given area? Those things are quite important and valued in the market and will create a price premium,” says Hong. The biodiversity benefits of a project can also factor into the price. “Is it helping protect an area of an endangered species? Does it significantly increase stormwater retention for an area? Does it help increase the overall biodiversity of a given area? Those things are quite important and valued in the market and will create a price premium,” says Hong.
Social or community benefits factor in as well. Indigenous-owned and -led projects tend to see a price premiums.
Do carbon credits carry any risk for your business?
As for risks, Hong says businesses should be focusing on doing their due diligence or working with third-party advisors to ensure the projects are legitimate. “There’s been a ton of recent work amongst NGOs, governmental and regulatory bodies to ensure credibility and integrity in the supply of carbon credits so that these projects are doing what they’re saying they’re doing.”
Hong says there’s a lingering perception that buying carbon offsets is akin to a “get out of jail free card.” But according to non-profit Ecosystem Marketplace, companies investing in carbon credits are, on average, decarbonizing at nearly twice the rate of companies that don’t use carbon credits.
“They show a company is willing to go beyond what they’re already doing (because) this is an additional expense,” he says. “When you’re buying offsets, you then have a value on a ton of carbon within your organization and that can then be leveraged to figure out the business case for making sustainability investments.”
How your business can get started with carbon credits
As a voluntary market, it’s up to businesses to decide how it fits into an environmental mandate.
Hong’s advice: start small. “There’s been a recent coalition of consumer goods companies that have come together and said, we’re going to put a $15 price on carbon,” he says. “I think that $15 is a good lead to follow…You don’t need to be a huge multinational corporation buying millions of credits at $100-plus per ton. There are lots of good, impactful projects you can support in the $10 to $20 range.”
Ultimately, investing in carbon credits is about making progress on your environmental sustainability strategy. “If you want to move quickly in supporting climate action and mitigating your impact, carbon credits are one of the ways to do that today,” he says.
Hong uses the example of a business owner who wants to decarbonize their heating. “You have to build a business case to switch whatever natural gas or fuel system you have to an electric heat pump,” he says. Suppose your furnace is 10 years old with a 15-year life span. “You’re going to wait those five years until the end of life before you replace it with a heat pump… those things take time — they’re real investments and they drive real decarbonization.”
But in the interim, carbon credits can provide an option to compensate for your emissions, while other parts of your business may not be set up to at that very moment. “I see them as a really good stopgap and way to get involved today while you work on all the other things to help decarbonize your business for tomorrow.”
To help navigate the rapidly evolving carbon markets, RBC Capital Markets offers extensive expertise and full capabilities in emissions trading across both compliance and voluntary carbon markets. The Environmental Markets Solutions Group partners with RBC Capital Markets’ Environmental Commodities desk, established in 2008, to offer bespoke solutions to clients looking to operationalize their net-zero targets through carbon and renewable energy solutions.
This article is intended as general information only and is not to be relied upon as constituting legal, financial or other professional advice. A professional advisor should be consulted regarding your specific situation. Information presented is believed to be factual and up-to-date but we do not guarantee its accuracy and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. All expressions of opinion reflect the judgment of the authors as of the date of publication and are subject to change. No endorsement of any third parties or their advice, opinions, information, products or services is expressly given or implied by Royal Bank of Canada or any of its affiliates.
