6. How do I sell carbon units?

1. When can I sell my units?

2. Find a buyer

3. Receive payment for your units

4. Transfer or assign/retire carbon units to your buyer

1. When can I sell my units?

Only verified Woodland Carbon Units can be used to compensate for emissions/ as an offset, but Pending Issuance Units can be used to help a company plan to be net zero by a given date or at some point in the future. See the claims that companies can make.

• Selling Pending Issuance Units 'upfront': Once your project is validated and your Pending Issuance Units are listed in the registry, you have a 'product' to sell. This will be soon after the trees are planted. The units have a 'vintage'/timestamp as to when they will be delivered and the buyer can only use them to help with their plans to be net zero in future. Remember: Pending Issuance Units are not guaranteed - at verification they could be marked as 'not delivered'
• Selling Woodland Carbon Units once verified: Once a particular vintage is verified (at year 5 and every 10 years) your Pending Issuance Units will be converted to Woodland Carbon Units. These can be used by a company to offset their emissions or claim net zero straight away. Woodland Carbon Units are guaranteed and protected by the Woodland Carbon Code buffer if sold

Some project developers sell all the carbon up front as Pending Issuance Units from a project to one buyer. Others sell smaller amounts of a particular 'vintage' to different buyers. Some wait to sell verified Woodland Carbon Units after each verification.

2. How do I find a buyer?

There are a number of ways to find a corporate buyer:

• Ask local businesses or those which you have business links with
• Once your project is validated, we'll add you to the list of project developers with units available to sell. We'll add a case study if you can provide text/pictures.
• Offer your units 'for sale' on the 'Request for Information' platform within the UK Land Carbon Registry
• Ask one of the retail aggregators listed below. These companies have corporate clients who want to buy Pending Issuance Units to help with their net zero plans or Woodland Carbon Units to offset their current year's emissions.

In England only, it is also possible to sell your carbon units to Government, as they are verified. If you would like to have the option to sell your carbon units to Government, you need to register with the Woodland Carbon Code and enter a Woodland Carbon Guarantee auction, BEFORE you have started planting. Find out about the next auction here.

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3. Receive payment for your units

Agree a price with a buyer and receive payment for your units. The price varies, depending on the costs of creating and managing the woodland and the range of benefits that it provides. See recent average carbon prices in the UK.

Voluntary carbon units are not a VAT-able commodity, so you do not need to charge VAT.

4. Transfer or assign/retire units to your buyer

See also How to transfer units or assign Pending Issuance Units to a buyer on registry (pdf) and How to retire Woodland Carbon Units on behalf of a buyer on the registry (pdf)

Larger volumes? - Buyer has own account? 

Buyers of larger volumes can open an account on the UK Land Carbon Registry to manage their purchased carbon units - from either the Woodland Carbon Code or the Peatland Code. If a buyer has an account on the registry, they have more flexibility to manage their own units and to use/retire them when they are ready or wish to do so, but there is a fee to open an account. Their carbon units will also be visible on the 'Holdings' page of the UK Land Carbon Registry. Where buyers have accounts, you can transfer units to their account in a similar way to transferring cash through internet banking.  

Smaller volumes? Assign or retire units on your buyer's behalf

If your buyer does not have or want their own account, then you can 'assign' Pending Issuance Units or 'retire' Woodland Carbon Units, 'tagged' with the buyer's name and a comment as to the intention. It's less easy for the buyer to see all their purchases in one place, although they can search/find units with their name tagged, but they do not need to manage an account. The units are then effectively taken out of your account/circulation.

• ‘Assign’ Pending Issuance Units: Your buyer will be able to see their units on the 'Assigned Credits' page of the UK Land Carbon Registry with their name against them, and these units will be automatically ‘retired’ when verified, assuming the sequestration has occurred.
• ‘Retire’ verified Woodland Carbon Units: Your buyer will be able to see their units on the 'Retired Credits' page of the UK Land Carbon Registry, with their name against them, and they can refer to this page when they declare their use in an annual greenhouse gases emissions report.