How to buy

In this chapter:

  1. How to buy Forest Carbon units
  2. Before you buy credits
  3. Decide whether you want PIUs or FCUs
  4. Decide how you'd like to receive your units

1. How to buy Forest Carbon units

Companies can compensate for their emissions using verified carbon units from FCC projects. Units can be purchased from Project Developers; this page sets out what you need to do to make a purchase. Units are housed in the International Carbon Registry (ICR).

2. Before you buy credits from the Forest Carbon Code or another carbon standard

Forest carbon projects contribute to just one of a hierarchy of actions that can help to combat the effects of climate change. Before considering buying any carbon credits, including Forest Carbon Units, businesses and other organizations should:

  • Understand and measure their carbon footprint (Scope 1, 2 and where possible Scope 3 emissions)
  • Set science-based targets to reduce emissions in line with Iceland’s commitment to be Net Zero by 2040

Take action to reduce Scope 1, 2 and where possible Scope 3 emissions in line with your emissions reduction plan. Expectations of high integrity buyers in the carbon market are being set out by the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative.

3. Decide whether you want PIUs or FCUs

Once you are on track with your emissions reduction plan, look at What are PIUs and FCUs - remembering that PIUs are an 'advance' purchase and are not guaranteed. See Where to Buy Carbon Units to find project developers and other agents with PIU and FCU available to sell.

4. Decide how you'd like to receive your units

Open your own account

Open an account on the ICR Registry to manage purchased carbon units. With this account you can buy both PIU and FCU. If you have an account on the registry, you have more flexibility to manage your own units and to use/retire them when you are ready or wish to do so, but there is a fee to open an account, this option is useful for buyers purchasing larger volumes of credits.

Ask a project developer to 'assign' PIUs or 'retire' FCUs in your name

The project developer can ‘tag’ units with your name to confirm the purchase, without you needing to have your own account. Any units purchased upfront as Pending Issuance Units will automatically be 'retired' once verified, assuming sequestration has occurred. It's less easy to see all your purchases in one place, but The ICR Registry keeps a public record of Assigned PIUs and Retired FCUs.

Discuss with a project developer

Find the units you would like to buy in one of these ways:

  • View the list of project developers with either verified Forest Carbon Units or validated Pending Issuance Units to sell
  • Contact a project developer from the list to talk about your needs, and projects they have in the development stages that may be a good match for your business
  • View the 'Holdings' page in the ICR Registry to see who has carbon units in their account and contact the account holder
  • If you have an account on the ICR Registry, see which units are advertised ‘for sale’ on the Request for Information (RFI) Platform, when you are logged into your account

Pay for your units

Once you've found carbon units you'd like to buy, you need to agree a price with the project developer and pay for your units. The price varies, depending upon market conditions, the costs of creating and managing the forest and the range of benefits that it provides.

Receive your carbon units

The project developer will confirm your purchase in one of two ways:

  • If you have an account on the ICR Registry, the project developer will transfer the carbon units purchased to your account. You can see all the units you purchased in one place and can retire verified Forest Carbon Units when you are ready to use them against your GHG emissions.
  • If you don’t want to setup an account, the project developer can:
    • 'Assign' Pending Issuance Units to you (you will be able to see your units as 'Assigned Credits' in the ICR with your name against them, and these units will be automatically 'retired' when they are verified)
    • 'Retire' verified Forest Carbon Units on your behalf (you will be able to see your units’ status reflected as 'Retired' in the ICR, and you can refer to that documentation when you declare your use of those units in your annual GHG emissions report)