Critical
Serious failures that prevent a net zero claim until resolved.
The Net Zero Standard
The world is watching.
Your claims should hold up.
Brown bear in a river // Tom Poole Photography
NoCO2 Net Zero helps organisations move beyond climate ambition and build a credible, evidence-backed pathway to net zero.
The NoCO2 Net Zero Standard is a credible framework that sets out clear, structured requirements for organisations making a net zero claim. It is designed to address unclear boundaries, delayed action, weak offset-based claims and over-reliance on carbon credits.
The Standard supports organisations to align with the science of net zero, the expectations of regulators, customers and stakeholders, and a credible long-term low carbon economy.
From ambition to
evidence-backed action
Many organisations have made net zero commitments, but few have a clear, documented and verifiable pathway for achieving them.
- Where will the result be located?
- Which emissions are attributable to the organisation?
- What reductions are required?
- What actions is the organisation taking?
- Are residual removals being used?
- Are carbon removals being used appropriately?
The NoCO2 Net Zero Standard answers these questions through a clear and structured process.
It aligns with the requirements of leading climate frameworks while extending them with practical guidance for evidence-based action, transparent boundaries, reduction-first planning and the responsible use of carbon credits and removals.
Why NoCO2 Net Zero?
A process designed to support claim integrity
Climate reporting can explain an organisation's emissions and targets. It does not, by itself, determine whether a net zero claim is credible.
The NoCO2 Net Zero pathway focuses on the substance behind the claim. It is designed to address unclear boundaries, delayed action, weak offset-based claims and over-reliance on carbon credits.
Reduction comes first. Carbon dioxide removals are reserved for residual emissions and shortfalls against the required reduction pathway.
How the Standard works
The NoCO2 Net Zero Standard is built around seven core elements.
The Standard separates emissions into three categories:
- Net Zero Inventory (NZI): emissions attributable to the organisation's net zero claim and subject to reduction or neutralisation.
- Non-Attributable Inventory (NAI): emissions disclosed for transparency but not counted toward the net zero claim.
- Influence Based Inventory (IBI): broader emissions outside the value chain that the organisation may influence through its actions, programs or policies.
This structure helps clarify what counts toward the claim, what must be disclosed separately, and where broader influence can still be reported transparently.
The Accelerated Reduction Timeline creates a year-by-year pathway from the organisation's initial Net Zero Inventory to its Net Zero Commitment Year.
This prevents back-loaded action and turns a distant net zero target into measurable annual performance.
If an organisation falls short of its annual reduction pathway, the shortfall must be addressed with eligible carbon dioxide removal credits.
The Standard includes Required Interventions: specific emissions reduction actions that organisations must implement.
These interventions are determined by industry, entity size, emissions category and materiality. They may include renewable electricity procurement, energy efficiency, fleet transition, refrigerant management, low-emissions procurement, supply chain engagement and other practical decarbonisation measures.
The Clean Alternative Assessment Methodology provides a structured way to assess fossil-fuelled plant, fleet, equipment and other assets under operational control.
The assessment determines whether clean alternatives are sufficiently available, mature and economically viable, and identifies two key transition milestones:
- the year from which new fossil-fuelled assets should no longer be acquired;
- and the year from which fossil-fuelled assets should no longer be used.
This helps organisations align procurement and asset planning with their net zero pathway.
The Prohibited Activities Schedule prevents organisations engaged in activities fundamentally incompatible with a credible net zero pathway from using the Standard to support a NoCO2 Net Zero claim.
This protects the integrity of claims and ensures the Standard is not used to legitimise activities that conflict with the transition to a low-carbon economy.
NoCO2 Net Zero does not treat all carbon credits equally.
Avoided emissions credits are not eligible for net zero claims. Only high-integrity carbon dioxide removal credits may be used to neutralise residual emissions or cover shortfalls against the reduction pathway.
Eligible removals must meet quality, permanence, additionality, verification, disclosure and no-double-counting requirements.
A NoCO2 Net Zero claim must be supported by an annual Public Disclosure Statement (PDS).
The PDS provides the evidence behind the claim, including emissions inventories, reduction progress, carbon removal use, data quality disclosures, non-conformance reporting, assurance information and director verification.
Claims must be clear, evidence-based and limited to the reporting period to which they apply.
Net Zero Statuses
The Standard recognises two ongoing project statuses.
Net Zero Committed
The organisation has set a net zero commitment aligned with the Standard's structured action pathway, disclosure requirements and conformance obligations in a transparent approach.
Net Zero Achieved
The organisation has met the Standard's reduction pathway for the reporting period, neutralised remaining emissions using high-integrity removals, and disclosed those outcomes transparently.
These statuses are retrospective. They apply only to the reporting period assessed and must be supported by evidence, assurance and public disclosure.
Assurance and conformance
The Standard requires independent assurance over emissions inventory requirements and a separate conformance assessment against the Standard's mandatory requirements.
This conformance system helps ensure that claims are not only ambitious, but accountable.
Major
Significant failures that must be disclosed and corrected.
Minor
Lower-level issues that must be addressed over time.
Compatibility with
other frameworks
The NoCO2 Net Zero Standard is designed to align with recognised greenhouse gas accounting and disclosure frameworks, including:
- GHG Protocol
- ISO 14064 series
- AASB S2 / IFRS S2 climate-related disclosures
It does not replace regulatory or voluntary reporting frameworks. It complements them by adding clear conformance requirements, reduction-first planning and public disclosure of net zero claims.
Start your NoCO2 Net Zero pathway
NoCO2 Net Zero is a credible pathway from climate commitment to evidence-backed action. It helps organisations define their claim boundary, plan a reduction pathway, use carbon removals responsibly, and disclose outcomes transparently.
Measure accurately. Reduce first. Disclose transparently.
Commit to change
Ready to take real action on climate?
CRI has been helping organisations reduce their emissions since 2006. Let's talk about what a practical pathway looks like for your organisation.
Full contact information