Frequently Asked Questions

What Is a Carbon Footprint?

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere as a result of an activity, product, service, or lifestyle. It is measured in kilograms or tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, written as kg CO₂e. The “equivalent” part matters because it accounts for other greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide, converted to the warming impact of CO₂.

What Is Carbon Offsetting?

Carbon offsetting means paying for projects that reduce or prevent greenhouse gas emissions somewhere else in the world. The idea is straightforward: if you cannot eliminate your own emissions entirely — whether as an individual, a business, or an organization — you can fund reductions elsewhere to balance out what you produce.

What Is a Carbon Credit?

A carbon credit is a certificate representing the reduction or removal of one metric tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent from the atmosphere. When a project prevents emissions — say, by replacing a coal plant with a wind farm — it can generate credits equal to the tonnes avoided.

Why Does Emissions Reporting Exist?

Organizations measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions so they can manage them. Without a clear accounting of where emissions come from, there is no way to set reduction targets or track progress. Governments, investors, customers, and business partners increasingly expect this transparency.

What Is the Difference Between Offsetting and Removal?

Carbon offsetting prevents emissions that would have happened — for example, by funding a wind farm instead of a coal plant. Carbon removal goes a step further: it actively pulls CO₂ that is already in the atmosphere back out. Both matter, but removal addresses the carbon that has been accumulating for over a century.

What Does Climate Impact Mean in Dollar Terms?

Every tonne of CO₂ released into the atmosphere causes real economic damage — more intense storms, lower crop yields, higher healthcare costs, reduced worker productivity, and rising sea levels. Climate impact translates these consequences into a dollar figure so that the true cost of emissions becomes concrete rather than abstract.

What Is Life Cycle Assessment?

Life Cycle Assessment, or LCA, is a method for measuring the total environmental impact of a product, service, or process from beginning to end — often described as cradle to grave. It tracks resource use, energy consumption, emissions, and waste across every stage.

What Do Environmental and Economic Climate Models Do?

Environmental and economic models for climate attempt to predict what happens — in both physical and financial terms — when greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere. They connect the science of warming temperatures to the economics of damage, helping answer questions about the real cost of continued emissions.

What is Embedded Offsetting for stores?

Embedded Offsetting puts a real carbon footprint on every product you sell and offsets the carbon in each paid order automatically. The footprint is measured from your own catalog, product by product, not estimated from order totals or category averages. Shoppers see the footprint on the product page and, if you choose, on your shop and collection pages; you decide which products take part.

It is merchant-settled: the offset purchases are billed to you, your shoppers are never charged and never see a payment step, and your checkout is never modified. It runs on Shopify through the CarbonGuru Offsetting app, on WooCommerce through the CarbonGuru Embedded Merchant Offsetting plugin, and on any other store or checkout through the footprint lines and order API in your CarbonGuru panel.

What do shoppers see on my store?

A footprint card on each product page you have switched on: the product’s carbon footprint in kg CO₂e and the note that it is offset at purchase. Everything else on the card is optional and off by default — the offset or removal cost, the estimated climate impact in dollars, a link to how the footprint was calculated, and the portfolio your store supports. On shop, collection and search pages you can add a smaller footprint tile under every product.

The card inherits your theme’s fonts and colors, loads after your page, sets no cookies and sends nothing your shopper types.

How do I add it to my Shopify store?

Install CarbonGuru Offsetting from the Shopify App Store, then click Connect your CarbonGuru account on the app page — you sign in or create a CarbonGuru account, accept the Merchant Terms and choose offsets or removals, and you are returned to your Shopify admin. Click Analyze my catalog, switch on the products you want live, and add the CarbonGuru footprint block to your product template in the theme editor (Online Store → Customize → Add block). Nothing to paste: the block finds your store’s settings itself.

Paid orders are reported to CarbonGuru automatically. Turn on automatic offsetting in your CarbonGuru panel once a payment method is saved; until then every order is recorded as a preview and nothing is charged.

How do I add it to my WooCommerce store?

Install the CarbonGuru Embedded Merchant Offsetting plugin from the WordPress plugin directory, open WooCommerce → CarbonGuru and connect your CarbonGuru account — keys and card placement are handled for you. Send your catalog for analysis, then switch products on from your WooCommerce Products list (Activate, Deactivate, Re-analyze and Remove are row actions) or from your CarbonGuru panel. A Display option adds footprint tiles to your shop and category pages.

What about Stripe Checkout, Payment Links, PayPal or a custom store?

Any store can take part. Your CarbonGuru panel lists a ready-made footprint line for every active product, keyed by your own product id or SKU, that you pass to Stripe or PayPal as the line item description so it prints on the checkout page. Your order handler then posts the paid order’s product ids and quantities to your merchant endpoint, and the order is offset like any other. Footprint tiles work on any page, including pricing pages, with one line of HTML per product.

Do my customers pay for the offsets?

No. Offsetting is merchant-settled: purchases are billed to the payment method saved in your CarbonGuru account. Your shoppers never see a charge, a fee or a payment surface, and your cart and checkout are never changed. What they see is proof on the page that the product’s footprint is offset when they buy it.

Which offsets or removals does my store use?

Your choice. Automatic offsetting purchases from the carbon offset or carbon removal portfolio you select in your CarbonGuru account — offsets are verified projects that avoid or reduce emissions, removals take CO₂ out of the atmosphere at a higher price per tonne — and you can change your selection at any time.

Where do the carbon footprints come from?

Each product is analyzed individually by CarbonGuru from your actual product data, not estimated from order totals or category averages. You review every footprint before switching a product on; nothing displays and nothing is offset until you do.

What data does CarbonGuru receive from my store?

Your product catalog, so it can be analyzed, and a notification for each paid order carrying the product ids and quantities, an order reference and the currency. It never receives your customers’ names, addresses, emails, phone numbers or payment details, and the storefront card sets no cookies. Uninstalling the Shopify app or deactivating the WooCommerce plugin disconnects your store server-side: keys are revoked and no further orders are reported.

What does it cost?

Embedded Offsetting is included with a CarbonGuru account on the Plus plan or higher. The Shopify app and the WooCommerce plugin are free to install. Offset and removal purchases are billed to your saved payment method at the portfolio’s current price per tonne plus a processing fee, and every purchase appears in your panel. Retired carbon cannot be un-retired, so offset purchases are final.

Can I pause or turn it off?

Any time. Pause automatic offsetting from your CarbonGuru panel, switch individual products off, or uninstall the app or plugin — disconnection is immediate and server-side. Orders already offset stay offset.

Topics

• Carbon Footprinting
• Carbon Offsetting
• Carbon Credits & Markets
• Emissions Reporting
• Carbon Removal
• Climate Impact & Social Cost
• Life Cycle Assessment
• Environmental & Economic Modeling
• For Commerce
• Embedded Offsetting Demo
• WooCommerce Plugin
• Get Started for Stores
• Merchant Terms