As concerns about climate change grow, the concept of 'carbon neutrality' has captured the corporate imagination, being embraced by organisations as diverse as airlines, ice-cream makers and reinsurance giants. But this apparently simple concept – that a company, or one of its products or services, can have no net impact on climate – is surrounded by controversy, and a wide range of assumptions and actions often lie behind the claims that have been made.

The ambition to have zero net impact on climate is a powerful one, and a goal of neutrality has the potential to drive ongoing change within an organisation – while also promoting shared responsibility with suppliers and customers for emissions beyond the organisation's immediate control.

Unfortunately, many of the companies that have made claims of neutrality have not embraced this challenge. We’ve therefore developed a set of recommendations for companies that are considering making a claim – and which stakeholders can use to evaluate any claim. 

We’ve not resolved all the issues surrounding the concept – companies will still have to make judgement calls as to whether an aspiration to neutrality makes sense for them – but we hope that this report will lead to greater consensus about what should lie behind any claim of neutrality.