How to Purchase Mitigation Credits

Relax. We’ll Make This Easy.

We know the carbon mitigation credit purchasing process can be daunting, especially given the vast range of available products and contract structures.

But whether you’re a mitigation credit veteran or a first-time purchaser, we’re ready to help. Bluesource has been completing a wide variety of transactions since 2001, and we have the experience to assist you in designing exactly the right purchase agreement to meet your needs.

We have sold over 25 million tonnes in bilateral, over-the-counter (OTC) transactions, supplying credits to 15 Fortune 500 and Global 500 companies. Our overage transaction is over 250,000 tonnes, but quantities range from 150 tonnes to 9 million tonnes.]

Single Project or Diversification? The Choice is Yours.

Sometimes, a single project that meets specific criteria can meet your needs. This approach can streamline the project due diligence and can make it simpler to describe your carbon investment to others by pointing to a single project.

Others may choose an approach that’s similar to a financial strategy – by diversifying. Using a range of products can be a great way to reduce risk and gain experience with with multifaceted emission reduction projects. An added benefit is that our portfolio allows you to diversify without contracting with each project separately, as a single purchase contract with us can cover multiple projects and credit types.

Walking You Through the Process

We work closely with our clients to help guide you through the process simply. First, we’ll work closely with you to understand your unique needs and preferences.

Once a conceptual agreement is reached, we’ll draft a contract, called an ERPA (Emission Reduction Purchase Agreement), to capture the mitigation credit purchase. It’s also perfectly acceptable for you to provide the first draft if you prefer. At this point, the parties also typically enter into a Confidentiality Agreement (CA) / Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).

Once terms are agreed to and contracts are executed, purchase and delivery obligations begin to be fulfilled. We can facilitate delivery of credits in a variety of ways, depending your needs. Typically, credits can be transferred into the buyer’s registry account or retired on the buyer’s behalf, but other delivery methods (inter-registry transfers, retirements on behalf of other third parties, for example) are available as needed.

Variety of Available Contract Structures

We engage in and offer the following contract structures:

Spot Delivery Contracts: The buyer purchases credits that have already been certified or issued and are available for immediate delivery.
Forward Delivery, Firm Volume Contracts: The buyer commits to purchasing specified volume of credits to be generated in the future according to specific parameters (like a specific project or projects, a certain project type or standard). Bluesource in turn guarantees to deliver the agreed-upon quantity.
Forward Delivery, Unit-Contingent Contracts: The buyer commits to purchasing a volume of credits to be generated in the future, but the actual volume that will be delivered is a function of the actual mitigation credit generation by a project or projects. For example, a 100% unit-contingent sale from a specific project would mean that the buyer will purchase all credits generated by that particular project.
Conversion-Contingent Contracts, also known as Standard-Contingent Contracts: All or a portion of buyer’s obligation to purchase is dependent on our ability to successfully register credits in accordance with a specified standard.
Call Option Contracts: Consideration is given in exchange for the buyer having the right but not the obligation to purchase credits at a later date.
Put Option Contracts: Consideration is given to the buyer in exchange for us having the right but not the obligation to sell credits to the buyer at a later date.

Get Started Easily

As you prepare to begin, here are a few questions to consider. It’s not essential to know all the answers, but these can be a great starting point for conversations with us. We are happy to help you talk through these points as well.

Volume: Do you have an estimate of the number of credits you’d like to purchase? Rough estimates are fine.
Project Type: Are there specific project types that interest you?
Standard: Are there certification standards you’d prefer?
Vintage: What vintage year(s) will you consider for your purchase?
Any other criteria that are important to you (e.g. location, co-benefits, project start date)?