They provide tools for organisations, products, services and events to measure and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (otherwise known as carbon footprint), and optionally offset it.
The carboNZero programme was created as part of a project called EBEX21 or Emissions Biodiversity Exchange in the 21st century.
[1] EBEX21 was established to assist landowners to retire or set aside marginally productive land and allow it to regenerate to create new areas of native forest.
In order to compensate the landowners for lost production, EBEX21 applies strict rules based on the Kyoto Protocol to allocate voluntary carbon credits that are pooled and sold through the carboNZero programme.
Companies that have achieved CEMARS or carboNZero certification include Antarctic NZ, Department of Internal Affairs (NZ), Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (NZ), Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA, UK) including Kew Gardens, Environment Agency (UK), Scottish Parliament, INIA (Department of Agriculture, Chile), Eurostar, High Speed Rail, Auckland International Airport, NZ Post, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare as well as universities, councils, district health boards including hospitals, and over 30 of the largest construction and utilities companies in the UK.