Climate Neutral

1. Contact ClimatePartner: Reach out via the ClimatePartner website to express interest and discuss your product portfolio. A ClimatePartner consultant will guide you through eligibility and scope.

1. Define product scope: Identify which products (ASINs) you want to certify. ClimatePartner will help you determine the appropriate lifecycle boundaries for the carbon footprint calculation.

1. Collect product data: Gather data across the product lifecycle — raw materials, manufacturing, packaging, transportation, use phase, and end-of-life. ClimatePartner provides templates and guidance to streamline data collection.

1. Carbon footprint calculation: ClimatePartner calculates the product's carbon footprint using your data and established methodologies. You will receive a detailed breakdown of emissions by lifecycle stage.

1. Identify reduction opportunities: Review the footprint results with ClimatePartner to identify where emissions can be reduced in your supply chain or operations.

1. Offset residual emissions: Select verified climate projects (e.g., renewable energy, forest conservation) through ClimatePartner's portfolio to offset the remaining emissions that cannot yet be reduced.

1. Certification and label issuance: Upon successful review and offsetting, ClimatePartner issues the certified label and submits your product(s) to Amazon for Climate Pledge Friendly (CPF) badge inclusion.

1. Annual renewal: Each year, update your carbon footprint data and continue offsetting to maintain certification and CPF badge eligibility.

The ClimatePartner Climate Neutral certification evaluates the full carbon footprint of a product across its lifecycle, following established greenhouse gas accounting methodologies. The assessment is product-specific and covers all relevant emission sources from cradle to grave.

Lifecycle stages assessed include: raw material extraction and processing, component manufacturing, product assembly, packaging production, inbound and outbound transportation and logistics, the use phase of the product (where applicable and material), and end-of-life disposal or recycling. The scope and boundaries are defined in alignment with recognized standards such as ISO 14067 (Carbon Footprint of Products) and the GHG Protocol Product Standard.

Offsetting verification: Residual emissions that cannot be reduced must be fully offset through verified climate projects. ClimatePartner maintains a portfolio of projects certified under standards such as Gold Standard, Verified Carbon Standard (VCS/Verra), and Plan Vivo. The certification confirms that the quantity of offsets purchased matches the calculated product footprint.

EU EmpCo readiness (from September 2026): ClimatePartner has announced that its label will meet the requirements of the EU Empowering Consumers Directive (EmpCo), which sets rules on environmental claims — meaning the methodology and substantiation will need to meet a higher bar of transparency and third-party verification to comply with EU law.

ClimatePartner is one of the most commercially prominent product carbon neutrality certification pathways in the e-commerce space, primarily due to its status as an official Amazon partner for the Climate Pledge Friendly (CPF) program. With over 200,000 ASINs certified and more than 2.2 million CPF-eligible products on Amazon globally, the program has achieved significant scale rapidly. Its market position is closely tied to Amazon's retail dominance — brands selling on Amazon have a strong commercial incentive to pursue this certification specifically because of the CPF badge and associated product discovery features.

Outside of Amazon, ClimatePartner also offers broader corporate and product carbon management services, making it a full-service sustainability partner rather than a pure certification body. This dual role (consultant + certifier) distinguishes it from more independent certification bodies and is a point of scrutiny for buyers seeking arm's-length third-party verification. Competitors such as the Carbon Trust, South Pole, and PAS 2060-aligned certifiers offer similar product carbon neutrality claims but without the direct Amazon CPF integration.

The broader market for product carbon neutrality claims is under increasing regulatory pressure, particularly in the EU, where the Empowering Consumers Directive (EmpCo) and Green Claims Directive are tightening rules on environmental marketing. ClimatePartner has proactively stated its label will be EmpCo-compliant by September 2026, which positions it ahead of many competitors on regulatory readiness. Demand for product-level carbon certifications is growing as consumers and retailers increasingly expect substantiated sustainability claims, though skepticism around carbon offsets as a neutrality mechanism remains a headwind across the industry.

ClimatePartner was founded in 2006 in Munich, Germany, initially as a provider of corporate carbon management and offsetting services for European businesses. Over the following decade, it expanded its services to include product-level carbon footprint calculations and labeling, helping brands communicate climate action to consumers through on-pack labels and digital identifiers (the "Climate ID" system, which allows consumers to verify a product's certified footprint online).

The Climate Neutral product certification gained significant commercial momentum when ClimatePartner became an official partner of Amazon's Climate Pledge Friendly (CPF) program — Amazon's sustainable shopping initiative launched in 2020. This partnership gave ClimatePartner a direct pathway to certify products for CPF badge eligibility, dramatically accelerating adoption. By the mid-2020s, ClimatePartner had certified over 200,000 ASINs across global brands, making it one of the largest product carbon certification programs by volume. The company has also responded to evolving EU regulatory requirements, committing to EmpCo compliance for its label by September 2026.