Frequently Asked Questions

All our partners have charitable status and their MOU with us dictates they must spend those funds on delivery of the described conservation action. Our annual impact reports for CBAC show exactly where the money has gone and the outcomes delivered.

90%, the rest goes to Carbonz for opperationalising the CBAC.

We only fund well-established projects where more than 50% of the funding already comes from another source with a high probability of continuity.

Yes every CBAC has GPS coordinates associated with it so you can see exactly where your biodiversity impact is and the area your funds are having an impact.

Each CBAC set of GPS coordinates that is owned, is linked to the outcome of the CBAC. I.E. We upload the same GPS coordinates to both types of CBAC (type A and type B) and you hold the beneficial ownership over the restoration action associated with that CBAC for each site. For example, if you buy a CBAC A, you are funding the establishment of a trap of a specific site and protection for one year, and if you buy CBAC B, you are funding the subsequent upkeep for that trap or another site associated with a type A CBAC.

The CBAC is a more pragmatic way to restore biodiversity with high efficacy. Rather than coming up with a metric to quantify biodiversity outcomes from a project and trading them, the CBAC funds the initial action. A considerable administration/ consulting cost can be used up in outcome verification that doesn’t contribute to additional biodiveristy. All our CBAC projects are of high quality so have high biodiversity outcomes which enables a greater portion of funding to go to the project. In addition, funding the action rather than the outcomes provides the finance up front for landowners to protect biodiversity and there is no need for bridge finance. Carbonz wants to make sure every dollar goes as far as possible towards real on the ground impact.

We are adding value around traceability, authentification, validation and development of CBAC projects we want to make sure funds are going as far as possible to impact. For this Carbonz takes a 10% of the transaction fee. This is the highest efficacy biodiversity credit we know of globally.

Our projects follow best practice Science and conservation practice as recommended by the Department of Conservation. For example for our Whio project there is one trap every 100m up a single side of the river, which is widely accepted best practice across the country. This is a best practice that has been informed by years of Whio protection projects. This formula has been used extensively throughout the country with the Tongariro River, Ruahine Whio Protectors, Sika Foundation and many department of conservation projects proving this method to be very effective in supporting Whio to breed. The volunteers who work on these projects have worked on and helped establish a vast array of projects around the country and have brought that collective knowledge to the projects we are supporting through the CBAC.

CarbonZ is New Zealand's first exchange for traceable native carbon credits, where you can buy and sell voluntary (CCUs) and regulatory (NZUs) carbon credits. ​ Businesses, investors, and individuals can purchase carbon credits from native New Zealand forest through the platform to not only offset a carbon footprint, but also as an investment. Each CarbonZ credit is equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2).

CarbonZ was created by Kiwis with the goal of supporting Kiwi businesses, individuals and investors in maximising the impact of their carbon offsets via supporting native forest and New Zealand Landowners. CarbonZ is owned by Carbon New Zealand Ltd. All credits in your account and money in your wallet is held by Carbon New Zealand Nominees Ltd on bare trust for you, the beneficial owner.

CarbonZ is pleased to partner with CarbonTrail who deliver low cost, accurate emissions calculations for your company. In just a few minutes, CarbonTrail calculates your entire carbon footprint, enabling organisations to reduce and offset their emissions. CarbonTrail uses robust data to automatically calculate your scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and can even link up data from your suppliers to further improve your value chain reporting. To get started, simply connect your accounting tool. Visit Carbontrail.co to calculate.

A carbon credit is a financial instrument that represents the equivalent of one tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon credits are issued to projects (e.g. forestry, renewable energy, technology) that store, avoid or reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere. Carbon credits can be purchased to offset carbon emissions or held as an investment to gain exposure to the ‘carbon price’.

The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) carbon credits called New Zealand Units (NZUs) are created by the New Zealand Government and are traded by organisations and individuals who are either participating in the scheme or buying credits as an investment. Voluntary carbon credits commonly referred to as voluntary carbon units (VCU) are created by developers of projects (e.g. native forestry). On CarbonZ the voluntary units traded are called native carbon crop units (CCU), because the project developer is CarbonCrop. Developers apply certain standards, to certify the project and prove the amount of emissions avoided or CO2 removed, these standards are described in a project methodology. As a result of certification, the developer or landowner is allocated the voluntary carbon credit.

Carbon credits can be awarded for projects that remove emissions from the atmosphere, like tree planting, or for emission avoidance, for example, the installation of a wind farm lowers emissions and could be awarded carbon credits. On CarbonZ both the NZU and CCU represent the removal of one tonne of CO2 from the atmosphere, CarbonZ does not sell carbon credits for avoided emissions.

Carbon credits are issued on the basis of carbon sequestration of a specific area of property during the relevant sequestration period. ​ If an adverse event has taken place which has resulted in a loss of carbon sequestration in the property attached to credits (e.g. due to forest fire, storm damage or insect activity) this may result in the credits being cancelled. ​ The credit issuer maintains a buffer pool to provide some protection for this risk, in some circumstances there may be insufficient credits in the buffer pool to replace all of the affected credits, in which case the buyer will be unable to rely upon or trade such credits until replacement credits are earned as the forest recovers. ​ Refer to the methodology of each carbon credit for further details. ​

No; both the native NZU and CCU methodology has been designed to avoid double counting with New Zealand's national contribution and obligations under the Paris Agreement.

It is easy to sign up. You will only need to provide an email address and create a password. ​ To begin buying and selling credits, we will need to verify your identity and address. Generally, this is a simple online process which can be done with a valid passport or NZ driver's license. The following types of entities can sign up: ​ Individuals: You have to be 18 years old or above to create a CarbonZ account. Before you buy or sell credits we will need to verify you online with a valid passport or NZ driver's license. ​ Trust/Companies/Partnerships: Trust/Companies/Partnerships are required to provide a few extra details in order to sign up. In the sign-up process, you will be prompted to select which type of entity you belong to. The CarbonZ team will be in touch promptly, detailing the extra information we require to create the account. The information can all be submitted electronically.

Your money held in CarbonZ is maintained in your wallet. ​ We’ll credit the money you receive for a completed order to sell credits to your wallet shortly after the trade has been completed. ​ If you want to withdraw money out of your wallet, log into your account and follow the withdrawal instructions to request a payment to your designated bank account. The payment of money to your designated account may take up to 5 days. ​ We intend to update the wallet function shortly so that all buy and sell trades will settle to your CarbonZ wallet. To buy a credit you will need to top up and have funds in your wallet.

Yes, you are the beneficial owner of all carbon credits on the platform. For safety, legal and administration processes all credits are held in the name of Carbon New Zealand Nominee Limited on bare trust for your beneficial ownership. ​ Carbon New Zealand Nominee is a non-trading company that exists to hold your money and credits secure and separate from our own. ​ We intend to update the payment function shortly so that buying credits will be paid from your wallet, you’ll need to have at least the amount of money to buy the credit in your Wallet before making the trade.

Buying Credits - You can buy credits from the list of sell orders available within the ‘Trade’ section of the app. You pay for the credits at the time of the trade by using your credit or debit card. The process is similar to buying an item on an online auction site. ​ Selling Credits - You can place an order to sell credits by entering the price you’re willing to receive per credit and the number of credits. You’ll need to have at least that number of relevant credits in your account to place the order. Your sell order will be executed when a buyer selects to buy your credits from the list of orders. The proceeds from a sold credit will be displayed in your wallet.

Sign Up - Free. Signing up to the exchange is free. All costs associated with signing up to the exchange are paid for by CarbonZ. ​ Transaction Fee - We charge a transaction fee of 2.95% when you buy credits. This fee covers all card processing and additional costs of trading. ​ Landowners of Voluntary Carbon Credits - CarbonZ will deduct 10% of the Voluntary Carbon Credits at the point they are uploaded to the exchange. There are no other fees to sell units on the platform such as monthly subscriptions, withdrawal fees or any hidden extras. ​ Selling Voluntary Carbon Credits - Free. We do not charge a fee to sell credits on the exchange after the initial transfer or buying of credits. ​ Selling ETS carbon credits (NZUs) - A fee may be charged by agreement between CarbonZ and the beneficial owner of NZUs transferring credits onto the CarbonZ exchange. ​ Transfer Fee of NZUs - A $150 fee is charged to transfer credits from Carbon New Zealand Nominee Ltd to another account on the New Zealand Emissions Trading Register. ​ Our mission is to create a marketplace for Tradeable, Traceable, Native carbon credits, to promote the restoration of New Zealand's native forests and biodiversity. Our revenues go directly into supporting this mission by creating a liquid and enduring exchange.

The price of carbon credits is determined by the market. When Voluntary carbon credits are uploaded to the exchange they will be allocated to your CarbonZ account. You can place an order to sell credits by entering the price you’re willing to receive per credit and the number of credits. Your sell order will be executed when a buyer selects to buy your credits from the list of orders. The proceeds from a sold credit will be displayed in your wallet.