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Carbon offsetting, contribution, insetting: under ESRS E1, every external climate investment is now subject to formal audit. Most sustainability teams discover the gap between what they declared and what they can actually prove during the audit, not before.
We mapped what auditors systematically look for, in the order they ask, and the documentation traps that turn a routine review into a greenwashing flag. 11 pages, built from real CSRD audit observations.
Until 2024, climate investments lived in voluntary reports. Nobody verified the claims.
Since ESRS came into force, an external auditor examines the evidence. Carbon credits must be reported separately under ESRS E1-7, with no netting against gross emissions. The CRCF regulation (in force 2026) introduces strict criteria on additionality and reversal risk. The Green Claims Directive restricts public claims like "carbon neutral" or "net zero".
Three regulations. One audit. A new profession sitting between you and your sustainability report: the auditor.
A growing list of companies acted in good faith and could not document what they had said publicly:
Built from real audit observations, the guide is a working document, not a thought piece. It is structured around the 5 questions auditors systematically ask about external climate actions, in the exact order they come up. For each question, you get:
Soil Capital runs Europe largest insetting programme: 1,800 farmers, 500,000 hectares, 16 million euros paid to farmers for measured carbon outcomes. Our MRV is TÜV verified and ISO 14064-2 certified. We have sat next to sustainability teams during dozens of CSRD audits. This guide is the playbook we wish every team had two weeks before their first review.
Carbon offsetting, contribution, insetting: under ESRS E1, every external climate investment is now subject to formal audit. Most sustainability teams discover the gap between what they declared and what they can actually prove during the audit, not before.
We mapped what auditors systematically look for, in the order they ask, and the documentation traps that turn a routine review into a greenwashing flag. 11 pages, built from real CSRD audit observations.
Until 2024, climate investments lived in voluntary reports. Nobody verified the claims.
Since ESRS came into force, an external auditor examines the evidence. Carbon credits must be reported separately under ESRS E1-7, with no netting against gross emissions. The CRCF regulation (in force 2026) introduces strict criteria on additionality and reversal risk. The Green Claims Directive restricts public claims like "carbon neutral" or "net zero".
Three regulations. One audit. A new profession sitting between you and your sustainability report: the auditor.
A growing list of companies acted in good faith and could not document what they had said publicly:
Built from real audit observations, the guide is a working document, not a thought piece. It is structured around the 5 questions auditors systematically ask about external climate actions, in the exact order they come up. For each question, you get:
Soil Capital runs Europe largest insetting programme: 1,800 farmers, 500,000 hectares, 16 million euros paid to farmers for measured carbon outcomes. Our MRV is TÜV verified and ISO 14064-2 certified. We have sat next to sustainability teams during dozens of CSRD audits. This guide is the playbook we wish every team had two weeks before their first review.
