Partnering with Plan Vivo to combine Climate Commitments with Community Impact
Carbon Neutral
DateMay 2025
At Carbon Neutral, we recognise that carbon credits can, and should, do more than just transactional offsetting.
Since its inception, the carbon credit market has rightly come under scrutiny, with not only overstated greenhouse gas sequestration and avoidance claims but also, sadly, overpromised benefits to the very communities that should hold the keys to the projects. However, the path forward is about creating shared value through meaningful partnerships that deliver measured and lasting social and environmental outcomes. The Plan Vivo Foundation is a Scottish charity that supports communities at the forefront of the climate crisis.
Each Plan Vivo Certificate still represents a verified tonne of CO₂ avoided or removed from the atmosphere, but their true value lies in the broader co-benefits delivered to people and ecosystems, for example:
- Protection of native species and vital biodiversity
- Poverty alleviation through sustainable agriculture and livelihood programs
- Ecological restoration and improved land health
- Climate resilience through watershed protection, soil stabilisation, and micro-climate regulation
Carbon Neutral recently became a Plan Vivo Reseller. That’s why, when our long-standing partner Save the Children Global Ventures (SCGV) approached us for support in offsetting their travel emissions, which have been reduced, thanks to their proactive internal climate initiatives, we saw an opportunity to leverage Plan Vivo’s work to do more for communities.
Rather than seeing this as a simple offset transaction, we used the opportunity to support generational change, leveraging carbon finance to drive climate action, protect ecosystems, and empower local communities.
It was also the first time we were able to activate our new service as an official Plan Vivo reseller. Plan Vivo is widely recognised as one of the most community-oriented and ethically grounded carbon standards globally. Unlike many traditional carbon programs, Plan Vivo ensures that at least 60% of climate finance flows directly back to communities – the people who actually live the projects.
So, we connected SCGV with the choice to support a Plan Vivo-certified, Nakau-led project in the Solomon Islands, where local communities are working to protect tropical rainforest ecosystems that are both ecologically vital and culturally significant.
The Babatana Rainforest Conservation Project is led by tribes from the Babatana language group, including the Sirebe Tribe, who in 2019 became the first community in the Solomon Islands to register a legally protected area under the Solomon Islands Protected Areas Act.
Their story is powerful.
Since then, 806 hectares of rainforest have been protected, securing critical habitat for 21 frog species, numerous endemic birds, and the country’s highest concentration of native mammals. Crucially, the project provides 500 people of the Sirebe Tribe with income-generating alternatives to logging, demonstrating that conservation and economic development can go hand in hand.
This initiative contributes to not only climate mitigation but also to many other United Nations Sustainability Goals, such as biodiversity protection and reduced inequalities. The project supports women’s saving groups to ensure women have a say in how community income from credits is spent.
At Carbon Neutral, we believe that high-integrity carbon solutions must deliver benefits that extend far beyond emissions accounting.
Our work is not just about carbon. It’s about supporting thriving communities, protecting and enhancing global forests, and ensuring climate finance delivers lasting social and environmental outcomes.
Contact us Today
Are you looking to develop a carbon project or purchase Plan Vivo Certificates to support meaningful contributions to communities on the frontline of climate change?
Connect with Tali Rogers, our Project and Research Officer, International Partnerships, to explore how we can support your goals on an international scale.
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