From October 1, 2026 we will not allow the use of offsets for providers who wish to be verified and listed in our Green Web Dataset.
While offsets are currently allowed under our existing verification guidelines, we strongly discourage any new verification requests from relying on offsets.
Why we no longer allow Offsets
While offsets may have value elsewhere, they do not decarbonise the energy being used to power hosting infrastructure. Given that we are focused on phasing out fossil fuels, we feel that continuing to allow providers to use offsets to make green claims about their services would reduce the meaningfulness of our dataset and compromise its credibility.
In recent years there has also been significant conjecture around the quality, reliability, and trustworthiness of many carbon offsetting programs. A recent report from the SBTi (Science Based Targets Initiative) examines the use of carbon credits and offsets and their ineffectiveness as measures towards a meaningful energy transition (full report). This has led to questions being asked both internally within our organisation, and externally from members of our community, about the validity of sustainability claims that are based on offsets.
What Hosting Providers Can do Instead
We understand that there are hosting providers operating in regions where there are limited/no options for finding data center operators running on 100% renewable energy. In these regions, we have seen providers in the past rely on offsets as a means to show their commitment to sustainability.
While offsets will no longer be accepted as a means of verification, we encourage providers who currently rely on offsets to switch to purchasing unbundled Energy Attribution Certificates (EACs) or Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) that match the time and region for which they are making their claim.
For hosting providers who currently rely on offsets for their verification, you would effectively replace your purchased offsets with equivalent EACs or RECs the next time you reverify with us.
Where can I find i-Recs?
Providers can purchase I-RECs, or similar unbundled certificates, for the regions in which their hosting infrastructure operates. A good source of information for this can be found at https://www.trackingstandard.org/world-map/.
You can also find a list of accepted EAC systems by country in Appendix D of the 24-7 Carbon-Free Coalition Technical Standard.