The world is racing toward net zero. Carbon credits have become a vital currency for climate action. But without transparency and trust, their true impact is hard to prove. Enter blockchain. A real game-changing technology that’s rewriting the rules of carbon credit tracking. In this blog, we will understand the A-Z of carbon credit tracking and how blockchain technology is revolutionising it.
What Is Carbon Credit Tracking?
The technical definition of carbon credit tracking is
“The process of monitoring the creation, sale, purchase, and retirement of carbon credits.”
For those new to this concept, carbon credits are tradable permits that represent the removal of one metric ton of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. To make it even simpler, a carbon credit is like a permission slip. It says that someone has reduced pollution by a certain amount.
As we speak, these credits are playing a massive role behind the scenes to counter the effects of climate change. Governments and private companies are strategically using it to offset their emissions.
Now, since carbon credits can be bought and sold across countries and industries, it poses a unique challenge. Maintaining the accuracy and transparency of these credits. This is important to maintain the legitimacy of emissions reductions and the trust in today’s carbon markets.
Current Challenges in Carbon Credit Markets
As we have highlighted earlier, carbon credits have massive potential to reverse climate change. But to fully reap the benefits, you need to first navigate some challenges rampant in the carbon credit markets. Here are the major ones:
- Lack of Standardisation: There are hundreds of verification bodies and registries across the world. And they follow inconsistent rules. This makes it extremely difficult to ensure the credibility of carbon credits in a uniform way.
- Greenwashing: You might be surprised to hear that there are many companies that knowingly use low-quality or unverifiable credits. They do this to falsely claim environmental responsibility. Ultimately, the action of such companies negates the very purpose of carbon offsetting.
- Manual Record-Keeping: Many carbon credit transactions still rely on basic Excel spreadsheets. This easily increases the risk of human error, especially the incidence of double-counting credits.
- Dependency on Third Parties: There is a heavy reliance on intermediaries for the verification and tracking of carbon credits. This often leads to higher costs and delays in the processing of carbon credits.
How Blockchain Solves These Problems?
To the uninitiated, blockchain is a decentralised digital ledger technology. It securely records transactions across a network of computers. Through this method, it makes the collected data tamper-proof and verifiable. In the context of carbon offsetting, blockchain brings the much-needed transparency to the market. It also solves all the previously discussed challenges in the following ways:
- Immutability of Records: Once data is recorded (say, the issuance of a carbon credit), blockchain ensures that it cannot be altered/deleted. This fully eliminates the risk of tampering.
- Better Traceability: You can assign a unique digital token to each credit. This enables you to trace different parameters of the credit, from origin to retirement status.
- Real-Time Auditability: Any participant can instantly verify carbon credit transactions through blockchain. This reduces the need for time-consuming manual audits. Even costly third-party verifications can be avoided.
- Elimination of Double-Counting: Let us reiterate, in blockchain, every credit is logged on a decentralised system. This virtually eliminates the risk of one credit being claimed by multiple entities.
- Reduced Dependency on Intermediaries: Automated verification processes through blockchain minimise the need for third-party involvement. This automatically lowers your costs and speeds up credit validation.
- Improved Market Integrity: By offering a secure and tamper-proof ecosystem for tracking credits, blockchain builds trust among businesses and the government. It has become one of the key reasons for strengthening the credibility of the carbon credit market.
Here is a comparison table covering the differences between traditional registries and blockchain for carbon credits tracking:
Blockchain for Carbon Credit Tracking: Why it Matters in 2025?
In the last few years, blockchain has been growing in importance for carbon credit tracking. This can be mainly attributed to the rising global pressure for transparency and accountability in measuring climate impact.
- For starters, the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) regulations have never been tighter. Businesses are now being asked to provide verifiable proof of their emissions reductions and sustainability claims.
- Secondly, the voluntary carbon market is expanding. This is attracting a wider range of participants who are demanding credible and traceable carbon offsets.
- Finally, investors and stakeholders are demanding that companies support their green pledges with transparent reporting.
All these mean only one thing. Traditional and opaque carbon credit tracking systems are no longer adequate in 2025. Thankfully, blockchain solves all the above needs in one go. It ensures that every carbon credit is legitimate and auditable in real time. In other words, it is slowly propelling the shift toward verifiable impact. This, in turn, is changing how climate commitments are monitored.
How does Blockchain Carbon Credits Tracking work?
Blockchain digitises the entire lifecycle of carbon credit tracking. Here’s how this typically works:
- Carbon Credit Issuance On-Chain: Verified carbon credits from projects like reforestation are tokenised. They are then issued directly onto the blockchain. Each token represents one metric ton of CO₂ that is reduced or removed. It also includes metadata such as project details and a timestamp.
- Smart Contracts for Transactions: Smart contracts are self-executing programs on the blockchain. They automate and enforce the rules for buying and selling carbon credits. Generating smart contracts eliminates the need for intermediaries. It also ensures that credits are transferred or retired only under pre-defined conditions.
- Wallets for Buyers and Sellers: Participants (corporates, brokers, individuals) use digital wallets to store and manage carbon credits securely. These wallets allow peer-to-peer transactions while maintaining full traceability of ownership.
- Integration with Registries and MRV Systems: Blockchain platforms can integrate with existing carbon registries and Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems via APIs. This union ensures that on-chain data aligns with off-chain certification and regulatory requirements. Ultimately, the gap between traditional systems and modern digital infrastructure is bridged effectively.
Where Blockchain Delivers the Most Impact?
It’s quite simple – blockchain creates the biggest impact where transparency and trust are most needed. Here are three such areas:
Developing Economies:
Developing nations have one big problem – seamless access to climate finance or carbon markets. This is due to weak governance and corruption concerns. Blockchain changes the equation by offering a tamper-proof system that all stakeholders can trust. For instance, it enables smallholder farmers and community-led projects to receive funding directly through verified carbon credits.
Reforestation Projects:
One major challenge in nature-based projects like reforestation is providing proof. While it may be easy to prove that a tree was planted, it is not that easy to prove that it is growing and reducing carbon over time. Blockchain provides a durable digital trail of every step in this process, right from sapling to sequestered CO₂. It can achieve this by linking satellite imagery, drone data, and on-ground verification to immutable records.
Global Supply Chains:
Modern supply chains are not only carbon-intensive but notoriously opaque. Blockchain introduces a shared ledger where every emission or energy source can be logged transparently. This creates a chain of custody for carbon. It also prevents double-counting or fraudulent offset claims.
Benefits for Environmental Integrity and Compliance
Blockchain solidifies environmental integrity and compliance by bringing transparency and accountability into your sustainability initiatives. Here are the different ways in which it supports this:
Improved Audit Trails:
Blockchain creates immutable, time-stamped records of every transaction. This allows regulators and investors to trace the full history of a credit. Ultimately, it reduces the risk of double-counting and greenwashing.
Greater Accountability:
All participants, be it project developers, verifiers, or buyers, operate on a shared ledger. This eliminates data silos and ensures that every action is visible and verifiable. This ultimately increases trust across the system.
Real-Time Reporting:
Blockchain enables real-time updates on credit status and emissions data. This accelerates decision-making and ensures timely access to reports for stakeholders and regulators.
Automated Compliance:
Smart contracts can automate rule enforcement. For instance, releasing funds when verification thresholds are met. This reduces manual effort and ensures consistent adherence to environmental standards and policies.
How Blockchain and Salesforce Revolutionise Carbon Credit Tracking Together?
Salesforce Net Zero Cloud is an enterprise sustainability management platform. It helps organisations track and manage their carbon emissions effortlessly. It provides powerful tools to:
- Measure Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions
- Automate ESG reporting
- Visualise progress toward climate goals
All in one centralised dashboard.
When paired with blockchain technology, Net Zero Cloud becomes even more powerful. This integration ensures that all carbon credits reported in Net Zero Cloud are verifiable and tamper-proof. Together, they deliver a seamless, auditable, and reliable system for managing carbon credits and advancing net-zero strategies.
Next Steps: Implementing Net Zero Cloud + Blockchain Technology
By now, you would have realised that blockchain is the key to making sure every carbon credit reflects genuine environmental impact. When you integrate it with platforms like Salesforce Net Zero Cloud, the benefits multiply. Organisations become incredibly capable of managing their sustainability efforts.
But to fully leverage this potential, partnering with experts who understand both blockchain and Salesforce is essential. Brysa is the UK’s leading Salesforce consultant with deep expertise in the Green Engineering industry. We can help you implement end-to-end sustainability solutions, whether you’re just starting your net-zero journey or looking to optimise carbon credit management. Contact us now to know more.