Carbon neutral vs net zero

A company, organisation or activity is considered carbon neutral when it balances the total amount of carbon it emits from its own operations by removing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere. This can be achieved by balancing total emissions with offsets, which means compensating for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by investing in projects such as reforestation or renewable energy through carbon credits. This approach is often criticised because: 

A) It relies on offsetting emissions rather than reducing them at the source, meaning that significant reductions may not occur at the operational level. 

B) It usually covers Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (energy-related) emissions, but may exclude Scope 3 (supply chain, product lifecycle) emissions, which often account for the largest proportion of a company’s total carbon footprint. 

In contrast, a company, organisation or activity reaches net zero when it directly reduces its emissions across all areas (Scope 1, 2 and 3) as much as possible and neutralises all remaining, unavoidable emissions using permanent carbon removal methods.