Voluntary climate contributions

A voluntary project contribution is a voluntary financing or support of climate protection measures outside of one's own value chain. It takes place in addition to the measures that a company takes to avoid and reduce its own emissions.

A voluntary project contribution can be made, for example, through the acquisition and retirement of issued emission reduction or removal units or through direct financing of a climate protection project. The form in which this occurs is explicitly stated.

The contribution is not included in the greenhouse gas balance. It:

• does not lower the declared PCF or CCF,

• does not undo emissions,

• is not an emission reduction within the accounted company or product life cycle,

• does not generate a "net PCF", "net CCF" or mathematical residual value of zero,

• does not justify any claim that a company or product is climate-neutral, emission-free or climate-friendly.

The term "contribution" thus describes the support of a climate protection effect outside of one's own balance boundary. It does not describe any offsetting against the accounted emissions.

Key takeaway: A voluntary project contribution supports climate protection. It does not change one's own emissions balance.

The framework regulates how natureOffice documents voluntary project contributions and what minimum information is required for a traceable allocation. In particular, it covers:

• the distinction of the contribution from PCF and CCF,

• the determination of the reference object and the reference period,

• the determination of an emission-related reference quantity, if applicable,

• the distinction between tonne-based and financial contributions,

• the selection and documentation of projects, standards and units,

• procurement, allocation and retirement,

• registry and serial number verifications,

• the handling of rounding, forecasts, portfolios and corrections,

• the status of the contribution and the Corporate Contribution Record,

• permissible communication statements and those not covered by the framework.

The framework does not regulate the calculation of the underlying PCF or CCF. The separate natureOffice methodological frameworks for Product and Corporate Carbon Footprints apply for this purpose.

For voluntary project contributions, there is no single, generally binding standard that definitively regulates all issues, from accounting and project quality to corporate communication. The natureOffice framework therefore combines several clearly defined foundations:

• The GHG Protocol requires greenhouse gas inventories and emission credits or climate protection impacts used outside the organizational boundary to be reported separately.

• The Science Based Targets initiative classifies climate protection outside the value chain as a supplement to, and not a replacement for, one's own decarbonisation.

• The Core Carbon Principles of the ICVCM formulate quality principles for emission credit programmes and categories, including traceability, transparency, independent validation and verification, additionality, robust quantification, permanence, avoidance of double counting, and protection of people and the environment.

• The rules of the respective project and certification standard used determine how projects are validated, impacts quantified, verified, issued, transferred, and retired.

• The EmpCo regulations set limits for environmental claims made to consumers. In particular, product-related claims must not be based on offsetting greenhouse gas emissions and thereby asserting a neutral, reduced, or positive environmental impact.

These foundations serve different purposes. The recognition of a project or the certification of issued units is not to be equated with a certification of the contributing company, the product, the Corporate Contribution Record, or this natureOffice framework.

natureOffice does not claim conformity with any external claims or target standard unless this has been explicitly verified and reported for the specific case.

natureOffice applies the following principles to voluntary project contributions:

• Separation: Accounted emissions, reductions within the accounting boundary, and project contributions outside the accounting boundary are presented separately.

• Clear assignment: Each contribution receives a clearly designated reference object, a time period, a quantity or financial scope, and a unique record.

• Traceability: Project, standard, registry, quantity, and retirement details are documented in such a way that the origin of the statement can be traced.

• No double use: A retired unit must not be resold, transferred, or assigned to another contribution.

• Prudent statement: Communication does not go further than the underlying evidence. Project financing is not claimed as a specific carbon impact in tonnes without corresponding quantification and verification.

• Temporal and methodological consistency: Reference period, accounting version, project vintage, procurement, retirement, and documentation date remain distinguishable.

• Versioning: Changes are documented in a traceable manner. Former records are not silently overwritten.

The voluntary project contribution complements one's own climate work. It does not replace it and must not delay it.

Measures within one's own organisation or product life cycle can – assuming methodologically comparable accounting – change the PCF or CCF. Examples include lower energy consumption, material changes, process improvements, the use of lower-emission energy sources or modified logistics.

In contrast, supporting an external climate protection project takes place outside the accounting boundary. It remains additional information alongside the balance sheet.

A voluntary project contribution is not dependent on a specific level of reduction, a science-based target or a specific corporate status having been achieved beforehand. Whether a company pursues such targets and what progress it achieves is independent information and must be proven separately.

Reduction changes one's own balance sheet. A project contribution supports impact outside this balance sheet.

natureOffice distinguishes at least two forms of documentation:

Tonne-based project contribution

The contribution is reported in tonnes of CO₂e. The prerequisite is that a corresponding number of clearly identifiable emission reduction or removal units have been issued in accordance with the rules of a designated programme and assigned to the contribution or retired.

The tonne figure indicates the quantity of units used. It is not presented as a deduction from emissions.

Financial or project-related project contribution

The contribution is documented as a monetary amount, project financing or a specifically supported activity. Insofar as this does not result in a quantified, verified and issued tonne impact according to a recognised methodology, no corresponding t-CO₂e quantity is claimed.

Both forms can co-exist, but will not be merged into a single tonne figure without a common methodological basis.

Key takeaway: Financing can be documented as financing. A tonne impact requires robust proof of tonnes.

A Corporate Contribution Record can document different reference objects:

• a company or an organisation,

• a Corporate Carbon Footprint for a specific reporting year,

• a product or service,

• a Product Carbon Footprint and a defined product quantity,

• an order, a delivery, or a clearly described scope of services,

• an event or activity with a defined calculation basis,

• a voluntarily defined contribution amount without allocation to a PCF or CCF,

• a pure project financing without product allocation and without claimed emission offsetting.

The reference object is described in such concrete terms that the record cannot be transferred to other products, quantities, time periods, or organisations.

If no product allocation is intended, this is explicitly stated. A general corporate contribution will not be subsequently presented as a contribution for individual products, unless there is a verifiable allocation of quantities for this purpose.

A voluntary project contribution can be aligned with an assessed emission quantity. The underlying value must be clearly designated for this purpose.

The following must be documented as a minimum:

• Subject of the assessment,

• Assessment or reporting period,

• Result and unit,

• System or assessment boundary,

• Basis of calculation,

• Assessment and methodology status,

• Origin of the data,

• Audit status of the assessment.

The emission data may have been calculated by natureOffice, automatically generated using ecozoom, professionally verified by natureOffice, or provided by the company or a third party. The respective status will be made visible.

The inclusion of a value in a Corporate Contribution Record does not automatically imply that natureOffice has prepared, professionally verified, revalidated, or externally verified the underlying assessment.

If a reliable assessment is lacking, a voluntary financial project contribution can still be documented. It will then not be presented as a tonne-for-tonne reference to an audited emission quantity.

The reference quantity is the emission quantity on which the level of a tonne-related contribution is based. It remains separate from the actual contribution quantity.

Corporate reference

In the case of a corporate reference, the reported gross result of the designated CCF or the designated partial balance sheet is used as a matter of principle. Scope, reporting boundary and excluded categories are also specified.

Product reference

In the case of a product reference, the PCF per functional unit or reference flow is multiplied by the clearly documented product, sales or order quantity:

Reference quantity = PCF per unit × allocated number of units

Unit conversions, quantity bases and, if applicable, product groups or reference products used are documented.

Freely defined contribution quantity

A company can also determine a contribution quantity independently of a complete balance sheet. In this case, it is not claimed that the quantity corresponds to the total emissions of a company, product or period.

The reference quantity is always a value before the voluntary project contribution. External emission credits, avoided emissions or previous project contributions are not deducted.

The record distinguishes between several time references:

• Accounting or reference period: Period in which the underlying emissions or quantities were generated,

• Project year or vintage: Period in which the certified project impact was achieved,

• Procurement date: Date of acquisition or transfer,

• Retirement date: Date of the permanent decommissioning of the units in the registry,

• Documentation date: Date on which the Corporate Contribution Record was created or updated.

These time details are not interchangeable. For example, a credit retired in 2026 can represent a project impact verified in 2023 and be allocated to a CCF for the reporting year 2025.

Partial periods, short financial years, multi-year balance sheets and quantity-based orders are explicitly designated. A contribution for a specific period may not be carried forward to subsequent years without a new allocation.

A tonnage-based contribution should, where possible, be based on actual, established balance sheet or sales volumes.

If a contribution volume is determined before the end of the reference period on the basis of a forecast, this shall be marked as a provisional allocation. The forecast shall contain at least:

• the database used,

• the forecast period,

• the calculation status,

• the expected volume,

• the scheduled reconciliation date.

At the end of the reference period, the forecast and actual volume are compared. Any shortfall is compensated for by additional allocation and retirement, provided the documented contribution approach requires this. Any surplus remains documented as an additional contribution or – provided the units have not yet been retired and are contractually freely available – reallocated according to a transparent rule.

Units that have already been retired will not be reversed and will not be allocated to another record.

A final Corporate Contribution Record shows the actual underlying volume or the final volume determined.

For a tonne-for-tonne aligned contribution, natureOffice rounds the calculated reference quantity up to the next full tonne of CO₂e.

Contribution quantity in t CO₂e = rounding up of the reference quantity to the next whole tonne

Example:

• Calculated reference quantity: 9.876 t CO₂e

• Documented contribution quantity: 10 t CO₂e

A reference quantity that is already an integer remains unchanged. No commercial rounding or rounding down is applied.

The rounding up applies exclusively to the contribution quantity. The PCF or CCF remains with its original calculation accuracy and is not altered by the rounding up.

If several individual items are merged into a single combined record, the unrounded reference quantities are generally added up first and then rounded up at the record level. Deviating contractual units of measurement or rounding rules are explicitly documented.

The difference between the reference quantity and the contribution quantity is an additional voluntary contribution. It does not represent a correction to the balance sheet.

‘Tonne for tonne’ describes solely the quantitative scaling of the contribution: for every full or started tonne of the designated reference quantity, at least one issued unit of one tonne of CO₂e is allocated and retired.

The approach does not mean:

• that emissions and project impact are physically identical or simultaneous,

• that own emissions have been neutralised, offset or compensated,

• that the projects are within the own value chain,

• that the PCF or CCF is zero after the contribution,

• that different types of projects are equivalent in every dimension of impact.

The term may therefore only be used in conjunction with the explanatory contribution logic and the associated record.

A contribution quantity can be allocated to a single project or to multiple projects.

In the case of a portfolio allocation, the record or a linked detailed view shows at least:

• all included projects,

• the respective standard and project type,

• the quantity allocated to each project,

• the associated vintages,

• the registry and retirement proofs,

• the sum of the allocated units.

The sum of the project-related quantities must correspond at least to the tonne-related contribution quantity documented in the record. Non-retired reserves or general inventories are not reported as contributions already made.

A single unit can only be allocated to one record or to a clearly documented collective retirement. If a collective retirement is distributed among several customers or records, natureOffice maintains an internal allocation register that maps the partial quantities clearly and without overlaps.

For tonne-based project contributions, natureOffice only uses units from designated programmes with publicly documented rules for project registration, quantification, independent auditing, issuance, tracking and retirement.

However, the approval of a programme alone is not a blanket statement of quality for every project, methodology or vintage. Depending on the project type and intended use, natureOffice therefore additionally considers:

• the specific methodology applied and its version,

• the validation and verification status,

• the monitoring period,

• the project and registry documentation,

• the treatment of additionality, uncertainty, leakage and permanence,

• precautions against double counting,

• social and environmental safeguard requirements,

• known changes, suspensions or objections.

Which programmes, methodologies and project types natureOffice currently accepts is versioned in an internal approval list. The specific Corporate Contribution Record always names the standard actually used.

Certification according to a project standard refers to the subject matter described in the standard. It does not automatically certify natureOffice, the contributing company, a product or the accuracy of all communication statements.

natureOffice aligns its project and unit selection with the following quality characteristics:

• Effective programme management: The programme has published rules, responsibilities, grievance, and sanction mechanisms.

• Traceability: The project, issuance, transfer, and retirement of units are traceable in a registry.

• Transparency: Essential project, methodology, monitoring, validation, and verification information is accessible or verifiable.

• Independent validation and verification: The project concept and achieved impacts are assessed by qualified third parties in accordance with the programme rules.

• Additionality: The credited impact must go beyond a plausible baseline scenario and would not have occurred anyway without the incentive of the project.

• Robust quantification: The baseline, project impact, uncertainties, and, if applicable, leakage effects are determined conservatively in accordance with a recognised methodology.

• Permanence: For projects with reversal risks, appropriate monitoring, buffer, insurance, or replacement mechanisms are in place.

• No double counting: An impact is not issued multiple times and the same unit is not used multiple times. The respective status under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement is taken into account or disclosed, where relevant and available.

• Sustainable development and safeguards: Risks to people, local communities, indigenous groups, and the environment are identified and addressed according to the rules of the standard.

• Contribution to the transition to net-zero: The project should not lock in technologies or practices that are incompatible with the long-term transition to a low-emission economy.

This assessment is a project- and procurement-related quality assurance by natureOffice. It is not an additional project certification.

Depending on the project type and available documentation, the following information in particular is recorded:

• Project name and project ID,

• Project proponent or programme participants,

• Country, region and, if applicable, project location,

• Project type and technology or measure used,

• Project standard and programme version,

• Applied methodology and methodology version,

• Project duration and crediting period,

• Status of validation, registration and verification,

• Monitoring period and vintage of the units,

• Issued unit types allocated to the record,

• Registry and registry link or registry reference,

• Documented contributions to sustainable development,

• Significant project-specific risks and safeguarding mechanisms, where relevant.

Communicated impact and SDG details are limited to the scope covered by the project or standard documentation. natureOffice clearly indicates if information originates from the project proponent or standard and has not been independently verified by natureOffice.

Emission reduction or avoidance units and removal units are based on different impact logics.

Emission reduction or avoidance units represent a difference compared to a methodologically defined reference scenario.

Removal units represent the extraction of CO₂ from the atmosphere and its storage.

natureOffice documents the respective project type and does not present reductions and removals as methodologically identical without explanation. For removal projects, storage duration, reversal risk, monitoring, and safety mechanisms are particularly taken into account.

For projects with mixed impacts, the type of unit actually issued and retired is reported.

The voluntary project contribution may consist of different project types. However, the mere equivalence in quantity of the credits does not justify equality in their technology, permanence, additional impacts, or risk profiles.

An ex-post unit is issued for an emission reduction or carbon dioxide removal that has already occurred, been monitored and verified in accordance with the programme rules.

An ex-ante or planned impact refers to an expected future impact. It can be an important form of early project financing, but is not yet an impact that has already occurred and been verified.

A final natureOffice project contribution, expressed in tonnes of CO₂e, is fundamentally based on issued and retired units. Planned impacts or pre-financed projects are characterised as project financing or expected impact until verified issuance.

An expected impact is not phrased in the past tense and is not reported together with already issued units as a single "retired quantity".

The vintage refers to the period in which the underlying emission reduction or CO₂ removal was achieved according to the rules of the project programme. It is not to be equated with the year of purchase, retirement or documentation.

natureOffice documents the vintage or monitoring period of the units used. In the case of multiple vintages, the distribution is shown by quantity or documented in a traceable manner.

An older vintage is not automatically unsuitable. Its suitability depends, among other things, on the project type, methodology, ongoing additionality, current project activity, verification status, market context and communication purpose. natureOffice checks these points according to a documented procurement rule.

A record must not create the impression that the project impact occurred in the same period as the underlying emissions if the vintages differ from one another.

Procurement involves more than just ordering or paying for credits. For a documented tonne-based contribution, the units must be clearly identified and legally and technically available to natureOffice or the intended beneficiary.

Depending on the procurement channel, natureOffice documents:

• Supplier and contract reference,

• programme, project and unit type,

• vintage and quantity,

• registry account or transfer method,

• serial number range or unique unit IDs,

• transfer of ownership or availability,

• intended allocation to the customer, reference object and period,

• retirement order and proof of retirement.

Different statuses can exist between purchase, transfer and retirement. As long as a unit is still tradable or has not been clearly reserved for the specific contribution, it is not reported as a final contribution made.

Retirement – also referred to as cancellation depending on the registry – permanently removes an issued unit from further transfer and use.

For retirement, the following are documented, in so far as supported by the registry:

• Registry and account holder,

• Project and unit type,

• Quantity and serial number range,

• Vintage,

• Retirement date,

• Beneficiary or "retired on behalf of",

• Purpose of use or reference period,

• Public registry reference or proof of retirement.

For the natureOffice framework, a credit is only considered retired once the corresponding registry transaction has been completed and is verifiable. An invoice, a purchase contract or an internal reservation does not replace proof of retirement.

Units that have been retired for a record will not be resold, transferred, used for another period or allocated to any other record.

natureOffice distinguishes between a planned, commissioned and completed retirement.

A Corporate Contribution Record with the status documented is generally only issued once the required quantity has been retired and proof has been assigned to the record.

If advance information is required, the status is clearly designated, for example:

• Contribution planned,

• Contribution commissioned,

• Units procured or reserved,

• Retirement pending.

Such advance information must not give the impression that the retirement has already taken place.

In the case of forecast-based contributions, an initial retirement can take place before the end of the reference period. The subsequent volume reconciliation and, if applicable, an additional retirement are documented as a separate process.

Double counting can occur in different places. natureOffice distinguishes in particular between:

• Double issuance: For the same effect, units are issued more than once.

• Double use: The same unit is retired more than once or attributed to multiple contributions.

• Double allocation: A collective retirement is internally allocated to multiple customers or records beyond the same volume.

• Double claiming: Multiple actors claim the same effect in a way that implies exclusivity or offsetting.

• Double counting against state targets: An effect is claimed both for a voluntary private statement and in the context of national climate targets, without transparently treating the respective status.

natureOffice prevents double use and double allocation through unique unit IDs, certificates of retirement, and an internal allocation registry.

The natureOffice contribution approach does not claim any transfer or offsetting of the project effect against one's own emissions. Whether an authorisation and corresponding adjustment under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement exists for units is documented separately, where relevant and available. The absence of a corresponding adjustment is not masked by a neutrality or compensation claim.

Article 6 regulates forms of voluntary cooperation between states and contains requirements for the international transfer and accounting of mitigation outcomes. A so-called corresponding adjustment serves to consistently record certain internationally transferred outcomes in national greenhouse gas inventories.

Not every voluntarily used project unit has such an authorisation or adjustment. For a non-compensatory project contribution, natureOffice therefore does not claim that a state mitigation volume was exclusively transferred to the contributing company or offset against its own emissions.

Insofar as information on authorisation, labelling or corresponding adjustment is available for the units used, this can be shown in the Corporate Contribution Record or the project documentation.

Article 6 status, project standard, registry retirement and communication claims are different pieces of information and must not be equated.

In addition to their greenhouse gas reduction effects, many climate protection projects pursue other social or ecological objectives. These can include, for example, health, access to water, education, income, biodiversity or local employment.

natureOffice only documents such impacts to the extent that they are backed up by project documentation, monitoring reports, standard audits or its own reliable evidence.

A distinction is made between:

• intended project objectives,

• requirements verified by the project standard,

• measured indicators,

• verified results,

• qualitative project information.

The mention of a Sustainable Development Goal does not automatically mean that every single impact has been quantitatively verified. Phrases such as "certified SDG contribution" are only used if the specific standard and scope of the audit support this.

When selecting projects, natureOffice also takes into account available information on the involvement of local stakeholders, protective rights, grievance mechanisms and potential negative impacts.

Not every meaningful project support leads to the issuance of tradable carbon credits. natureOffice can therefore document direct financing or in-kind contributions as an independent form of voluntary project contribution.

In this case, the record specifies, for example:

• financed amount or scope of services,

• recipient or project developer,

• project and intended use,

• financing or performance period,

• agreed measures and reports,

• available implementation and impact status.

Without an applicable quantification methodology, verification and issued units, no guaranteed or retired tonnage is shown.

Estimates of expected impacts may be mentioned as a scenario or project forecast, provided that the methodology, assumptions, uncertainty and status are identifiable. They are not aggregated with retired ex-post units.

The Corporate Contribution Record – CCR for short – is the concrete, versioned documentation of a voluntary project contribution and its reference basis.

It can contain two separate information areas:

CO₂e profile

The underlying emissions or activity data are described here, for example:

• Reference object,

• Accounting or reporting period,

• Calculated or provided emissions,

• Calculation basis,

• System boundary,

• Accounting and audit status,

• Version and documentation date.

Project contribution

The approach and project reference of the voluntary contribution are documented here, for example:

• Contribution type and contribution approach,

• Reference and contribution quantity,

• Supported project,

• Project type, standard and region,

• Vintage and unit type,

• Retired quantity,

• Registry and retirement details,

• Documentation status and date.

The Record brings both information areas together on one page, but does not offset them against each other.

The Corporate Contribution Record documents CO₂e data and a voluntary project contribution. It is not a certification, not an award and not an environmental quality claim.

The network ID uniquely assigns the organisation within the natureOffice Contribution Network. It can connect multiple records and time periods with one another.

The record ID designates a specific Corporate Contribution Record along with its reference object, time period, status, and version status.

The QR code or the URL leads to the digital representation of the record or the associated detailed information.

These elements serve for identification and access to information. They are not a seal of quality, not a certificate number for the company, and not proof that every linked statement has been externally verified.

A QR code does not make a shortened statement permissible on its own. The content, supporting evidence, and overall impression of the specific communication remain decisive.

natureOffice separates the status of the underlying CO₂ value, the status of the project units, and the status of the record.

Emission data status

Depending on the origin and verification, the following can be indicated, for example:

• provided by the company,

• calculated automatically with ecozoom,

• created by natureOffice,

• professionally verified by natureOffice,

• revalidated by natureOffice,

• externally verified.

Project contribution status

Depending on the processing stage, the following can be indicated:

• planned,

• commissioned,

• units procured or reserved,

• retired,

• documented.

Record status

A record can, for example, have the status draft, documented, corrected, replaced, or archived.

The statuses are not mixed together. An externally verified project impact does not automatically make the underlying customer data externally verified. A professionally verified PCF does not automatically complete the retirement. A documented record is not a certification of the company or product.

A Corporate Contribution Record is versioned. Changes to significant details are not silently overwritten.

A new or corrected version may be required in particular in the case of:

• correction of the underlying balance sheet or sales volume,

• change of the reference period or reference object,

• supplementary retirement after a volume reconciliation,

• correction of project, vintage or registry data,

• change of documentation status,

• rectification of an incorrect assignment,

• new information on project or unit characteristics.

Retirements that have already taken place remain in force. If higher emissions or volumes are subsequently determined, a supplementary retirement can be documented. If lower emissions are determined, units that have already been retired are not reactivated; the difference remains as an additional contribution.

A replaced record remains traceable via its ID and its amendment note or refers to the valid subsequent version.

Quality assurance includes the following checks, depending on the type of contribution and scope of services:

• unambiguous description of the reference object,

• reconciliation of balance sheet, quantity and time specifications,

• verification of calculation and rounding logic,

• check of project, standard and vintage details,

• reconciliation of procured, allocated and retired quantities,

• verification of unit IDs, serial number ranges and registry documents,

• check against duplicate internal allocation,

• reconciliation of the record status with the actual process status,

• approval of public statements,

• versioning and archiving of evidence.

The depth of the check depends on the agreed scope of services. natureOffice documents which information was verified by itself and which was adopted from customers, suppliers, project developers, registries or standards.

Errors or significant new information are handled according to a documented correction process.

natureOffice

natureOffice is – where commissioned – responsible for:

• the application of this documentation framework,

• the calculation of the contribution volume according to the agreed approach,

• the selection or approval of suitable programmes, projects and units,

• the unambiguous procurement, allocation and retirement,

• the verification of registry and retirement certificates,

• the creation and versioning of the Corporate Contribution Record,

• the transparent labelling of status and boundaries.

Customer or contributing company

The customer is responsible for:

• the accuracy and completeness of the corporate, product, carbon footprint and volume data provided,

• the approval of the subject matter and reference period,

• the notification of relevant changes,

• the use of the Record exclusively for the documented subject matter,

• compliance with legal requirements in its own communications,

• the substantiability of additional statements regarding targets, reductions or sustainability achievements.

Project programme, project developers and verification bodies

These actors are responsible, within the framework of their respective rules, for project methodology, validation, monitoring, verification, issuance, registry management and, where applicable, certified additional co-benefits.

The responsibilities remain separate. Through the Corporate Contribution Record, natureOffice does not replace external project validation and does not automatically assume technical responsibility for emissions data provided by the customer or third parties.

The communication specifically describes who supported what, to what extent, in what timeframe, and via which project.

Suitable formulations are, for example:

"In addition to its own climate work, the company voluntarily allocated 10 t CO₂e to a climate protection project. For this purpose, 10 issued units from the project [name] were retired. The contribution is not offset against the Corporate Carbon Footprint."

or, in the case of financial project support:

"The company supports the project [name] in the period [period] with a voluntary financial project contribution of [amount]. No emission reduction of the company or product is derived from this financing."

Specifically, statements such as the following are not covered by this framework:

• "climate neutral", "CO₂ neutral" or "emissions-free" based on the contribution,

• "fully offset" or "compensated",

• "PCF/CCF after project contribution: 0",

• "emissions were reduced by the project", if the reduction is outside the organizational boundary,

• "certified company" or "certified product", if only projects or units are certified according to a standard,

• blanket statements about environmental friendliness or sustainability,

• impact or SDG statements that go beyond the audited project documentation.

The specific admissibility always depends on the wording, medium, target group, context and overall impression. The Corporate Contribution Record does not replace a legal review of an individual advertising statement.

In natureOffice's information-based approach, the label is not a seal of quality. It serves as a guide to specific information.

The project contribution is therefore not presented as a positive attribute of the product or company, but as a separately documented action:

• The CO₂ value remains visible.

• The voluntary contribution is shown alongside it.

• Reference quantity, project and proofs are disclosed.

• The absence of offsetting is explicitly explained.

• The QR code and Record ID lead to the detailed presentation.

The Corporate Contribution Record is therefore part of traceability, not part of a seal or neutrality logic.

The label does not show that emissions have disappeared. It leads to information about what was calculated and what was additionally supported.

Standards for greenhouse gas accounting, voluntary carbon markets, project quality, Article 6 transactions and environmental communication are continuously evolving. natureOffice therefore reviews this framework regularly and on an ad-hoc basis.

A review is carried out in particular in the event of:

• changes to the GHG Protocol or relevant ISO standards,

• new or amended statutory communication requirements,

• updates to project programmes and methodologies used,

• changes to registries or retirement processes,

• new findings on project risks or credit quality,

• further development of international quality and claims frameworks,

• significant changes to ecozoom or the Corporate Contribution Network.

Each published version is assigned a version number and an effective date. Significant changes are described in a change history.

The framework version applied to a specific record remains documented. A subsequent update of this general framework does not retroactively change existing records and does not automatically lead to a re-examination of earlier contributions.