Apple Embraces Jurisdictional Carbon Credits in Major Offset Milestone

Apple has taken a significant step in its sustainability strategy by retiring 100,000 jurisdictional carbon credits sourced from Guyana’s national forest protection program. This marks the first time the company has used credits issued under the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) registry, a shift from its previous reliance on Verra, a leading global carbon credit standard.

A landscape view of Guyana’s Amazon rainforest, with lush canopies, diverse flora, and a winding river. AI generated picture.

These TREES-certified credits (The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard) support Apple’s corporate carbon neutrality goals by compensating for emissions across its operations, including offices and data centres. According to ART registry data, the credits stem from large-scale conservation efforts that protect the Amazon rainforest and reduce deforestation-related emissions in Guyana.

Since 2020, Apple has actively retired carbon credits to maintain carbon neutrality for its corporate footprint. In 2023 alone, the company retired 485,000 carbon credits, sourced from Verra-certified projects in Kenya’s Chyulu Hills and China’s Guinan. Previous years saw Apple retiring 300,000 credits in 2022, 670,000 in 2021, and 70,000 in 2020.

Apple’s move toward jurisdictional carbon credits reflects a growing corporate interest in large-scale, region-wide climate solutions. Guyana pioneered this approach in 2022, becoming the first country to issue jurisdictional ART-certified credits, demonstrating how entire nations can generate verifiable carbon reductions through comprehensive forest conservation. In 2023, Guyana reported nearly 9.1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions reductions through its program.

Beyond offset purchases, Apple is reportedly developing a $1 billion fund to invest in nature-based solutions, signalling a deeper commitment to financing carbon reduction initiatives at scale.

As Apple gears up to release its annual sustainability report, this latest shift toward jurisdictional credits could set a precedent for corporate climate strategies, favouring large-scale conservation efforts over traditional project-based credits.