SCS Global Services holds a clear lead for carbon neutrality certification services tied to sustainability audits. Buyers also frequently encounter CarbonNeutral when reviewing options for corporate recognition.
Independent Assurance & Major Auditors : Big Four accounting firms, specialized engineering consultancies (such as TÜV Rheinland, SGS, or DNV), and specialized climate agencies frequently perform the independent third-party audits required to verify that a company meets recognized accounting standards.[](https://www.changeclimate.org/standards)
For a sustainability audit, businesses are typically certified as carbon neutral by independent third-party certification bodies, rather than by one universal certifying authority. These organizations assess a company's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reduction efforts, and treatment of remaining emissions against a defined standard.
Who certifies businesses as carbon neutral?
Here are some organizations and standards to investigate for your audit.
1. SCS Global Services
Offers third-party carbon-neutral certification for businesses, products, buildings, and services under its SCS-108 standard. Its assessment covers emissions measurement, reduction, and verified offsets.
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2. SGS
A global testing, inspection, and certification organization to investigate for independent environmental verification and assurance services. Confirm whether its current offerings include the specific carbon-neutral certification scope your business needs.
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3. Bureau Veritas
Another assurance provider to investigate for corporate GHG inventory verification, climate-claim assurance, and related sustainability services. Check its current certification scope before treating it as a carbon-neutral certifier.
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4. SGS
Provides independent carbon-neutrality verification, including services based on ISO 14068. SGS has also offered certification under the earlier PAS 2060 framework.
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Which standard should your sustainability audit use?
An important distinction: ISO develops the standard; an independent certification or verification body assesses the business against it.
The current international reference is ISO 14068:2026. Published in September 2026, it sets out principles and requirements for measuring, reducing, and balancing a carbon footprint.
For your audit, check these criteria:
Emissions inventory: Are Scope 1, Scope 2, and relevant Scope 3 emissions accounted for?
Emissions reductions: Has the company reduced emissions before relying on offsets?
Carbon credits: Are credits independently verified, credible, and properly retired?
Independent assurance: Was the claim audited by a qualified third party against a named standard?
Validity: Is the certificate current, and does it cover the entire business rather than just a product, facility, or event?
These checks align with the core principles described in ISO 14068 and SCS-108.
My recommendation: Start by reviewing certifications from SCS Global Services, SGS, and Bureau Veritas, and verify the specific standard, certification scope, and validity of each certificate. Don't treat a company's self-declared carbon-neutral claim as equivalent to independent certification.
Yes. There are several organizations that can certify or independently verify a company’s carbon-neutral status. The landscape is changing, though: ISO 14068 is now the key international standard, replacing the older PAS 2060 framework. ISO published the first edition of ISO 14068 in September 2026.
Organizations worth considering
Organization
What they offer
Standard / framework
BSI
Certification and verification of carbon-neutrality claims, including its Carbon Neutrality Kitemark
ISO 14068-1
Bureau Veritas
Independent third-party verification/certification of corporate carbon-neutrality claims
ISO 14068
RINA
Certification of organizations, products, events and other subjects for carbon neutrality
ISO 14068-1; also its GO 2 CARBON NEUTRAL scheme
SCS Global Services
Certification under SCS-108, with annual independent audits
SCS-108 Carbon Neutral Standard
DEKRA
Third-party verification of carbon-neutral organizations and products
PAS 2060; transitioning toward newer approaches
Applus+ Certification
Verification of GHG calculation, reduction and compensation
ISO 14068-1 / PAS 2060
EUROCERT
Independent validation/verification through its ClimaNeutral program
ISO 14068-1, ISO 14064 and ISO 17029
Climate Impact Partners
Its CarbonNeutral® certification for businesses, products and events
CarbonNeutral Protocol
One important distinction
For a sustainability audit, I'd separate these into three categories:
Independent certification/verification bodies — BSI, Bureau Veritas, RINA, SCS Global Services, DEKRA, Applus+, EUROCERT. These are the strongest candidates if your audit requires evidence of third-party assurance.
Carbon-neutral certification programs — Climate Impact Partners' CarbonNeutral® certification is a prominent example. Its protocol sets the requirements for achieving certification and has been updated annually.
Carbon/climate program providers — companies such as ClimatePartner can help organizations measure emissions, reduce them and finance climate projects, but their current approach is worth distinguishing from a conventional "carbon-neutral certification." In the EU, new rules applying from September 27, 2026 also make unqualified carbon-neutral marketing claims substantially more problematic.
What I'd look for in your audit
If you're evaluating whether a certification is credible, check whether it involves:
Independent third-party verification, rather than self-certification.
A quantified organizational GHG inventory covering the appropriate scopes.
A documented reduction hierarchy—reductions/removals before offsetting.
Verification of the remaining carbon credits/offsets.
A defined certification period and surveillance/annual checks.
Alignment with ISO 14068, which explicitly prioritizes emissions reductions and removals before using offsets.
For a 2026 audit, I'd put ISO 14068-based certification at the top of the evaluation criteria rather than treating PAS 2060 certification as equivalent. ISO 14068:2026 is now the current international standard, and it specifically addresses carbon-neutrality claims for organizations, products, services, buildings and events.
If useful, I can also make you a comparison matrix of 10–15 certifiers covering geographic coverage, ISO/PAS standard, accreditation, audit methodology, approximate cost, certification duration, and whether they certify entire companies vs. products.
