About This Article
Welcome to our monthly update on the voluntary carbon market. This month, we delve into the world of carbon credit retirements, highlighting significant activities and noteworthy trends we've observed in Oct 2025.
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Retirement Records For This Month
Let’s dive into records for this month!
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Please note that:
The dataset only includes records from the following voluntary carbon credit registries, which are publicly available on their website: American Carbon Registry (ACR), ART TREES (ART), Climate Action Reserve (CAR), Gold Standard (GLD), and Verra (VCS).
We have only included records where the retirement quantity is equal to or greater than 1,000 tonnes of CO2e.
The company assigned to each retirement record was determined based on the information present in each individual note.
Sector information is categorized in reference to the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) to align each entry with the most likely respective industry.
Key Takeaways
October 2025 was a blockbuster month for voluntary carbon credit retirements, with the energy, utilities, and professional services sectors driving unprecedented volumes. Global corporations executed massive offsets to meet fiscal year climate targets, compensate for client emissions, and deliver carbon-neutral products, underscoring the growing integration of carbon markets into large-scale business strategy.
Here are some of the most significant activities:
Energy Giants Lead with Massive Retirements:
Shell: The energy supermajor made one of the largest moves of the year, retiring over 1,038,000 tonnes of CO2e. These credits, retired for "Shell," were sourced from a diverse global portfolio of forestry, GHG management, and energy efficiency projects in the DR Congo, Paraguay, the U.S., Turkey, Uganda, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Plenitude and Eni Group: The Italian utility giant retired a colossal 1,148,000+ tonnes of CO2e across its various entities, including Eni Plenitude and Eni Gas and Power France. The retirements were made to compensate for the natural gas consumption of their retail customers in Q4 2024, utilizing forestry, GHG management, and renewable energy projects in Malaysia, Cameroon, and Brazil.
PetroChina International Company Limited: Continuing its consistent activity, PetroChina retired over 412,000 tonnes of CO2e. These actions were to "Offset emissions related to the GIIGNL Framework Aligned GHG Offset LNG," primarily using forestry credits from The Mai Ndombe REDD+ Project in the DR Congo and the Katingan Peatland Restoration and Conservation Project in Indonesia.
Major Retirements from Global Professional Services and Industry Leaders:
EY Global Services Limited: The multinational professional services network retired an enormous 871,701 tonnes of CO2e. This significant volume was retired "on behalf of EY Global Services Limited to compensate for FY25 emissions," sourcing credits from GHG management, forestry, and blue carbon projects in Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Brazil, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the United States.
Lufthansa Group: The German airline group demonstrated a strong commitment to offsetting its climate impact by retiring over 404,000 tonnes of CO2e. The credits were retired for "Lufthansa Group Tonnen 23" and "Lufthansa Group Tonnen 24," utilizing energy efficiency projects in Madagascar, Uganda, Burundi, and Cambodia.
Bayer AG: The life sciences company executed a single, massive retirement of 290,000 tonnes of CO2e from a forestry project in Uruguay as part of its "Additional Climate Contribution 2025."
Consistent Climate Action Across Sectors:
Lenovo: The global technology leader continued its client-focused offsetting program, retiring over 218,000 tonnes of CO2e. These credits, primarily from the Phlogiston Phase I project in the U.S. (CAR1480), were retired "On behalf of Lenovo Clients" for September 2025.
The University of Melbourne: The Australian university made a substantial environmental statement by retiring 109,737 tonnes of CO2e from two landfill gas projects in China to offset its 2025 emissions.
GASAG AG: The German utility continued to retire credits for its green gas offerings, retiring over 120,000 tonnes of CO2e from a variety of renewable energy projects in India, Turkey, and Indonesia.
Summary charts on amounts retired sorted by sector, country, and company are below:
Amount retired in Oct. 2025 by sector and country
Amount retired in Oct. 2025 by company
If you are a subscriber, you can find a complete list of retirement records with the project information for this month, as well as a chart of the top companies that retired the most credits, in the Google Spreadsheet at the bottom of this article.
Downloading and copy-pasting are disabled even for subscribers. If you want to download the file, please contact us ([email protected]):
The dataset includes:
General company information
Company Name (who most likely retired the credit based on the retirement note)
Country of the company
URL
Sector (GICS Code base)
Industry Group (GICS Code base)
Company Description
Retirement record
Project ID
Quantity
Retirement Account (CAR, ACR, ART) / Retirement Beneficiary (VCS, GLD)
Retirement Note
Retirement Reason
Transaction Date
Transaction Type
Vintage
Project information about the retired credit
Project Category
Project Country
Project's First Issuance
Project's First Retirement
Total Amount Issued
Project Name
Project URL
Project Proponent
Project protocol
Total Amount Retired
Status
Below is a link to the dataset for subscribers and top companies that retired credits.
Stay Informed
The world of carbon credits is constantly evolving, so we'll continue to provide regular updates, insights and analysis as it happens.
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Email: [email protected]
Disclaimer
The information provided in this carbon credit retirement database is intended for informational purposes only. While we strive to ensure the accuracy of the data, we cannot guarantee its completeness or correctness. The data is compiled from publicly available sources and may be subject to errors, omissions, or updates not yet reflected in our records.
No Warranty: The information provided is "as is" without any warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.
Reliance: Any reliance you place on the information provided is strictly at your own risk. We recommend that you verify the data from other reliable sources before making any decisions based on the content of this database.
Independent Judgment: Users should exercise their own independent judgment when interpreting and using the information in this database. We are not responsible for any actions, consequences, or losses that may result from your use of this data.
Interpretation of Data: The analysis presented in the newsletter is based on our independent assessment of available information, and may not align with the viewpoints of other parties.
Registry Scope: Note that the dataset is limited to the following voluntary carbon credit registries: American Carbon Registry (ACR), ART TREES (ART), Climate Action Reserve (CAR), Gold Standard (GLD), and Verra (VCS). Retirements from other registries are not included in this analysis.
Data Aggregation: The aggregation of data, including identification of retiring companies and classification of sector information, is based on our interpretation of available notes and alignment with GICS codes. These interpretations are based on our own discretion and may be subject to varying perspectives.
Limitation of Liability: In no event will we, our employees, or partners be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to, loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from your use or inability to use the data, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Changes: The database and newsletter may be subject to updates, modifications, or removal at any time without prior notice. We will do our best to ensure accurate representation of current retirement data, but assume no obligation to update data after each publication.
By accessing or using the provided database and information, you agree to the terms of this disclaimer.