Climate Active: Voluntary carbon neutral certification in Australia

Background

Climate Active certification builds on Australia’s earlier National Carbon Offset Standard/ Carbon Neutral Program launched in 2010. The framework expanded to additional certification categories (events, buildings, precincts) in 2017 and was rebranded as “Climate Active” in 2019. Today it is positioned by government as a program that encourages voluntary climate action, with certification based on an agreed emissions boundary for the chosen certification type.

What Climate Active asks companies to report

To be certified, entities must meet the relevant Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard for their certification type (e.g., organisations, products & services, events, and buildings).

Reporting implications

• Define and disclose your emissions boundary and carbon inventory (the boundary is a core concept and is presented in the Public Disclosure Statement).

• Public reporting: prepare a Public Disclosure Statement (PDS) and submit an annual updated reporting package to maintain certification.

• Validate/assure the claim: complete required technical assessments (generally on application and periodically, e.g., every three years) and arrange third-party validation per the program’s requirements.

• Demonstrate carbon neutrality: show the pathway of measuring emissions, reducing where possible, and offsetting remaining emissions, and report the claim in line with the Standard.

• Software support: some organisations use tools to streamline evidence capture and reporting—e.g., Trellis markets “compliance-ready reporting” aligned with frameworks like Climate Active, supporting Climate Active reporting workflows.

Verification and assurance expectations

Climate Active uses multiple integrity layers, including third-party validation requirements that vary by certification type and entity size (e.g., Type 1/2/3 validations), plus program-level checks. For buildings, the program includes an additional verification framework requiring independent verification for a minimum of 5% of applications annually, conducted under specified requirements.

Current status and outlook

As of January 2026, the Australian Government continues to operate Climate Active as an ongoing program offering carbon neutral certification across multiple certification types. In practice, organisations considering certification should plan for the program’s reporting package, public disclosure expectations, and validation/assurance steps from the outset.

Resources

• Government overview: DCCEEW – Climate Active

• Climate Active certification overview (certification types + broad requirements)

• Standards library (Organisations/Buildings/Products & Services/ Events/Precincts)

• Reporting requirements page (PDS, carbon inventory, technical assessment, validation)

• Third-party validation requirements (June 2024)