Frequently Asked Questions

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide) generated by your actions. It includes direct emissions (like driving a car) and indirect emissions (like the energy used to produce goods you buy). Footprints are typically measured in kilograms or tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e).

Our AI-powered calculator uses emission factors from authoritative sources like DEFRA, EPA, and IPCC. While it provides a good estimate, actual emissions depend on many factors we can't measure precisely (your exact car model, local electricity mix, etc.). Use the results as a guide rather than an exact figure.

CO2e is a standard unit that expresses the impact of different greenhouse gases in terms of the amount of CO2 that would create the same warming effect. For example, methane is 28x more potent than CO2, so 1kg of methane = 28kg CO2e.

Global averages vary widely: Americans average about 16 tonnes CO2e/year, Europeans around 6-8 tonnes, while the global average is about 4.7 tonnes. To limit global warming to 1.5°C, we need to reach about 2 tonnes per person by 2050.

Carbon offsetting means compensating for your emissions by funding projects that reduce or remove greenhouse gases elsewhere. This could include renewable energy projects, forest conservation, reforestation, or carbon capture technologies. While it doesn't eliminate your footprint, it helps balance it out.

Quality matters enormously. We partner with verified offset providers using credits from established registries (Verra, Gold Standard, etc.) that ensure additionality (the project wouldn't happen without carbon finance), permanence, and no double-counting. That said, offsetting should complement, not replace, direct emission reductions.

Through our partner CNaught, we support a diversified portfolio including: renewable energy, methane capture, forest protection (REDD+), reforestation, regenerative agriculture, and emerging technologies like direct air capture. This diversification reduces risk and supports multiple pathways to net zero.

When you purchase an offset, we provide a retirement certificate showing the specific credits retired on your behalf. These credits are permanently retired in public registries and cannot be resold. You can verify retirements through the registry's public database.

When a carbon credit is "retired," it's permanently removed from circulation and recorded in a public registry. This ensures the credit can never be sold or used again. Your retirement certificate proves you've claimed that specific environmental benefit.

Simply describe your activities in natural language—like chatting with a friend. Tell us about your flights, drives, home energy use, diet, or purchases. Our AI extracts the relevant details and applies appropriate emission factors to calculate your footprint.

You can try the calculator without an account, but creating a free account lets you save your calculations, track your progress over time, and receive your offset certificates. Account creation takes less than a minute.

Offset prices vary based on project type and quality. Through Coffset, prices typically range from €10-60 per tonne of CO2e. Premium removal projects (like direct air capture) cost more but offer higher permanence. We display the exact price before you purchase.

We accept all major credit and debit cards through Stripe's secure payment platform. We don't store your card details—all payment processing is handled by Stripe.

Due to the nature of carbon credit retirement (once retired, credits cannot be unreturned), we generally cannot offer refunds. If there's an issue with your purchase, please contact hello@coffset.org and we'll work to resolve it.

No—offsetting is one tool among many. The most effective climate action is to reduce emissions at the source: flying less, switching to renewable energy, eating less meat, and choosing sustainable products. Offset what you can't avoid, but prioritize reduction first.

High-impact actions include: flying less (or not at all), switching to an electric vehicle or using public transport, eating a more plant-based diet, improving home energy efficiency, and choosing products with lower environmental impact. Our Learning Center has detailed guides on each of these.

We're committed to transparency and education. Our Learning Center provides free resources on climate science and sustainable living. We also work to make carbon awareness more accessible through our AI-powered tools. A portion of proceeds supports climate education initiatives.

We use your calculation data solely to provide the service—generating your footprint estimate and processing offsets. We don't sell your data. Analytics data is aggregated and anonymized. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

Yes. All payments are processed by Stripe, a PCI-compliant payment processor. We never see or store your full card details. The connection is encrypted with HTTPS.

Yes. You can request account deletion by emailing hello@coffset.org. We'll remove your personal data within 30 days. Some information (like purchase records) may be retained for legal compliance.