Contribution claim
A statement that an organisation has funded climate action outside its own value chain without counting it against its own emissions.
Example
A firm might report funding a verified methane reduction project while keeping its footprint figures unchanged.
The catch
The wording must still avoid suggesting that the buyer's products have a reduced or neutral emissions impact.
Related terms
Methane, Audit trail, Calibration, Carbon neutral, Climate positive, Conflict of interest
In more depth
Contribution claim, explained.
A contribution claim sidesteps the arithmetic that sinks many offset claims. Because the funder never subtracts the tonnes from its own footprint, it does not compete with the host country, which may count the same reductions towards its nationally determined contribution, and a common route to double counting closes. The money still has to buy something real, so quality checks on the project apply as before.
Good claims are specific enough to check. Name the project and the period, state the money or the verified tonnes, and link to the registry record. Keep the claim apart from product messaging, where a green leaf printed beside it can imply the neutrality it avoids stating. It is the usual way to report beyond value chain mitigation.