The future is fair

Fairtrade Carbon Credits
For 30+ years, Fairtrade has facilitated social justice throughtrade. We understand supply chain challenges and can convene
the right partners to find innovative solutions. Fairtrade is themost recognized and trusted certification mark, with consumers
overwhelmingly indicating that they have a positive impressionof a brand that carries the FAIRTRADE Mark.
Fairtrade smallholder farmers and their communities have been hit
the hardest by climate change, despite contributing the least to carbon

Fairtrade by the Numbers

653,042CO2teqtotal verified carbon emission
reductions to date

80,000emissions. Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns are impacting

credits available for purchaseyield, product quality and increasing the prevalence of crop disease. Yet we

66,000depend on many of these farmers to grow our food.
The Fairtrade Climate Standard was launched in 2015 with the aim ofsupporting farmers and communities to raise their ability to respond tochanges in climate by promoting greater fairness and inclusiveness within
the carbon market. With this backdrop, Fairtrade Carbon Credits projects
were developed as a tool to include and benefit producers who bear thegreatest impact of climate change.

Why Fairtrade Carbon Credits?
Fairtrade Carbon Credit projects enable producers make their contribution
to climate change mitigation while adapting to climate change. Farmers
are encouraged to implement projects such as replacing the use of woodfuelled stoves with renewable energy such as biogas, and farmers are also
encouraged to plant trees to protect the environment they live in. Throughthese actions carbon emissions are reduced, and communities earn analternative income. They can sell these credits to companies who wish to
demonstrate their contribution to the reduction of emissions while also
working to reduce their existing carbon footprint.

households are engaged in
Fairtrade Carbon Credit projects
in Burkina Faso, India, Lesotho,
Uganda, Ethiopia, and Peru

330,000

people have benefited to date

€7.2 million

generated in sales so far – eachcredit valued at the Fairtrade
Minimum Price or above€450,000Fairtrade Premium paid to
producer organisations toincrease their climate resilience

Fairtrade Carbon Credits
in partnership withProducer
empowerment

Climateresilience

CommunityBuildingThe world’s
fairest carbon
credits

The main goal of the Fairtrade Climate Standard is to ensure
fairness in the voluntary carbon market. This is done by supporting
smallholder farmers and their communities to develop their own
carbon projects and sell their Fairtrade Carbon Credits at a fairprice. Communities across Latin America, Africa and Asia are alreadyexperiencing a range of benefits from certified projects.

Democracy, transparency

Producer ownership andBenefits for producers

All producers participating in thelocal capacity building

The Standard enables

projects have a voice and vote in

Producers can take a more active

smallholder farmers and ruralthe decision-making process ofrole in carbon projects, throughcommunities to access thetheir organisation. The term andimproving their climate change

carbon market by making it

conditions of Fairtrade transactions

knowledge, building project

simpler and more financially

are included in the Fairtrade

management skills, including

sustainable for the long term.

producer and buyer contracts,

contribution to the monitoring andmaking the process transparent for

maintenance. Most importantly,

both parties.

the producers own the carbon
credits they generate.

Fairtrade Minimum Price for

An extra Fairtrade Premium

each credit sold. Higher thanpayment of €1 - 1.50 per credit

the going market price, thepaid to the producer organization

Minimum Price works as a safety

for them to invest in climate

net to ensure that projects areadaptation plans of their choice.

financially sustainable and viable.
It covers the participation costs for
producers and rural communities.

Credible carbon emissions

Improving the sustainability

Benefits for the buyer

with end buyer reductionsof your supply chain

Businesses can contribute

Businesses purchasing Fairtrade

The purchase of Fairtrade Carbon

towards climate protection

Carbon Credits at the end of

Credits for your business helps

by purchasing verifiable

the supply chain must put inreduce your carbon footprint

Fairtrade Carbon Credits.

place a credible plan to reduce

through a direct investment

their emissions and increasingly

towards moving the production

compensate their emissionsof your product towards a low-with Fairtrade Carbon Credits,

carbon economy through acontributing to climate protection.

collaborative approach.

Purchase from a credible brandFairtrade and Gold

Fairtrade is the most recognisedStandard Certified

certification mark, and highly

The projects are both Fairtrade andtrusted by consumers.

Gold Standard certified, meaningthat the emission reductions and thebenefits to the local communities
are measured and verified.

PROJECT

Cookstoves for
Coffee Farmers
Location
Ethiopia
Number of households
6000
Implementation timeframe
2015-2022
Fairtrade Carbon Credits sold
30,786
Total revenue obtained
for the credits€252,445
Fairtrade Premium received:€43,924

Projects certified against
the Fairtrade Climate
Standard are contributing

11

to the achievement of

Sustainable
Development
Goals

Coffee bushes need shade trees

shade trees and income

to be productive. But in thediversification. The installation

arabica coffee growing regionof renewable energy stovesof Gimbi in Ethiopia, there hasfrom the project has contributed

been severe forest degradation

towards reducing deforestation

which has subsequently led toand improved the overall

decreased coffee productivity.
One of the major causes ofthe degradation is the useof firewood for cooking. The
Fairtrade certified projects

environment of the area. It hasalso improved the health ofwomen and created more time
for them for other activities
instead of collecting firewood.

worked with the Oromia Coffee

A further benefit of theFarmers’ Cooperative Union toproject is that women in thetrain farmers in sustainablecommunities earn income

agricultural practices, suchthrough the manufacture of theas efficient land use, planting

stoves themselves.

Fair is working together
Fairtrade offers multiple ways that companies and brands can put their values intoaction. Work with us to transform your supply chain and discover what is fair throughpurchasing Fairtrade Carbon Credits or working on customised projects. For detailed
information and support, visit https://www.fairtrade.net/act/fairtrade-for-businessor contact your local National Fairtrade Organization.

thefuture
is fair