Net zero in Catalunya. The easy way to take part.

If you live, work or run a business in Catalunya, you have probably been told that net zero is complicated. It is — at the registry and methodology level. At the buyer level, in 2026, it has become genuinely simple, provided you use a route that retires credits at the moment of action.

For a reader in Catalunya, the net zero route in 2026 mirrors the global structure — a UN-eligible registry issues credits, buyers retire them, the retirement record is permanent. Local regulatory frames (national ETS, CSRD transposition, disclosure rules) shape how the receipt is used downstream, but the underlying instrument is global.

The product surfaces below — hotels, marketplace, widget, B2B Corporate ESG, country / city representation, OSS affiliate, Goodness rewards — all route to the same registry-grade retirement record. The difference is the friction. A hotel booking takes 60 seconds. A widget install takes 5 minutes. A B2B integration takes a 15-minute call. Pick the rung that matches your situation in Catalunya and the rest is automatic.

How net zero actually works

Reaching net zero follows a structured sequence. First, measure: organisations conduct a greenhouse gas inventory following the GHG Protocol, quantifying Scope 1 (direct emissions from owned sources), Scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased energy), and Scope 3 (value-chain emissions—often 70–90 per cent of a company's total footprint). Tools range from spreadsheet calculators for small firms to enterprise platforms like Watershed, Persefoni, or Plan A for larger corporates. Second, set a science-aligned target. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) validates corporate commitments against 1.5°C pathways derived from IPCC scenarios. A typical SBTi net-zero target requires absolute Scope 1 and 2 reductions of at least 90 per cent by 2050, plus substantial Scope 3 cuts (often 90 per cent for most sectors, 97 per cent for fossil-fuel companies). Residual emissions—those that remain after all feasible abatement—may be neutralised through verified carbon removals, not merely reductions. SBTi explicitly disallows the use of offsets to meet near-term reduction targets, reserving them only for residual balancing at the net-zero date. Third, execute the transition. This means capital allocation: replacing gas boilers with heat pumps, procuring 100 per cent renewable electricity through power purchase agreements (PPAs), electrifying fleets, redesigning products for circularity, and engaging suppliers to cut Scope 3. Interim milestones—checked annually via updated inventories—keep progress transparent. Finally, address residuals with high-integrity removals. This involves purchasing credits from verified projects—reforestation certified by Plan Vivo or Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), soil-carbon programmes under the American Carbon Registry (ACR), biochar or direct air capture registered on Puro.earth or the CDR.fyi registry. Each credit represents one tonne of CO₂ equivalent permanently removed or sequestered. Buyers retire the credit—marking it as used—on a public registry to prevent double-counting. Leading companies publish annual removal portfolios, specifying project type, vintage (year of issuance), methodology, and permanence guarantees (forest projects typically 40–100 years; geological storage millennia). Verification underpins credibility. Independent third-party auditors—accredited by registries like Verra, Gold Standard, Climate Action Reserve (CAR), or Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART/TREES)—assess project baselines, additionality (would the project have happened anyway?), and monitoring plans. Credits are issued only after verified removals occur, not on projections.

Who participates

Four constituencies drive net-zero adoption in 2026. Individuals engage through consumer choices: switching to renewable-energy tariffs, purchasing electric vehicles, selecting airlines that offer sustainable aviation fuel uplift or transparent offsetting (EasyJet historically retired credits equivalent to all flights; some carriers now offer per-ticket removal add-ons). Household carbon footprints in high-income countries average 10–15 tonnes CO₂e per person per year; reducing by half through behaviour change is feasible, with remaining emissions addressed via verified removal purchases. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increasingly face net-zero expectations from corporate customers. Supply-chain pressure from buyers like Unilever, IKEA, or Walmart cascades down to tier-two and tier-three suppliers. SMEs often lack dedicated sustainability teams, so rely on accessible tools: simplified footprint calculators, sector-specific playbooks (e.g. UK's SME Climate Hub offers free target-setting), and aggregated purchasing of renewable energy or removal credits through platforms. Large corporates lead in ambition and disclosure. Microsoft committed to be carbon negative by 2030 and to remove all historical emissions by 2050, spending tens of millions annually on removal purchases. Stripe Climate allocates a fraction of revenue to frontier carbon-removal technologies, publicly sharing deal terms to build market transparency. Pharmaceutical giant GSK set a 2045 net-zero target validated by SBTi, covering Scope 3 emissions from inhaler propellants—a technically challenging area. Maersk, the shipping line, aims for net-zero operations by 2040, investing in green methanol vessels. These companies publish annual sustainability reports detailing emissions trajectories, abatement investments, and offset retirements, often assured by external auditors like PwC or Deloitte. Governments and multilateral institutions set frameworks and lead by example. The UK legislated a net-zero-by-2050 target in 2019; the EU enshrined climate neutrality by 2050 in the European Climate Law. The International Civil Aviation Organization's CORSIA scheme requires airlines to offset growth in emissions above 2019 levels. National compliance markets—EU ETS, UK ETS, California Cap-and-Trade—mandate emission reductions and allow limited offset use, driving billions in allowance trading.

How to take part via IMPT

IMPT offers practical routes for individuals, SMEs, and corporates to integrate verified carbon retirement into everyday decisions—one channel among many in a diversifying market. Through partnerships with over 25,000 brands, users shopping online or booking travel can retire independently verified carbon credits at the point of purchase. For example, booking a hotel stay through an IMPT-integrated platform retires one tonne of CO₂ on-chain per reservation, with the retirement recorded on a public blockchain ledger for transparency. Each tonne corresponds to a credit from a registry-listed project—afforestation, renewable energy, or methane capture—verified by Verra, Gold Standard, or equivalent. For businesses, IMPT provides both off-the-shelf and custom solutions. The marketplace allows procurement teams to browse and retire credits by project type, geography, and co-benefits (biodiversity, community employment), with pricing transparent and retirements instant. The open-source shopping widget lets community and loyalty-programme owners embed carbon retirement into their own platforms, rewarding members with Goodness points (non-tradable recognition units) rather than financial instruments. Corporate Scope 3 clients—retailers, travel platforms, logistics providers—integrate IMPT's API to automate retirement at scale, matching transaction volumes to verified removals without manual reconciliation. Country-specific partnerships tailor the offering: for instance, a Middle Eastern collaborator may curate mangrove-restoration credits from regional projects, whilst a European partner emphasises biochar or direct air capture aligned with CSRD disclosure expectations. IMPT does not claim to replace comprehensive decarbonisation—science-based reduction remains the priority. Instead, it simplifies credible neutralisation for residual emissions and interim gaps, using blockchain immutability to prevent double-counting and providing granular proof of retirement for auditors and stakeholders. The model is designed for accessibility: no minimum order, no lock-in, and transparent per-tonne costs visible before purchase.