How to offset your Christmas
The average household adds roughly 0.6–1.5 tonnes of CO₂e over the festive season from food, travel, gifts and lights. Here’s how to offset it.
What drives the footprint
The festive season adds roughly 0.6–1.5 tonnes of CO₂e to the average household — from richer food and drink, travel to see family, gifts and lights. Food is usually the biggest single contributor, with travel the most variable.
Offsetting Christmas is an easy, meaningful gesture, and a retired-credit certificate makes a clutter-free gift. Forest-protection credits suit the nature-positive, seasonal theme.
Three steps, start to certificate.
One household, festive season: about 1 tCO₂e. Use our calculator for your exact number.
We recommend Forest protection at $20/tonne for this use case — Verra VCS.
We buy the credits at wholesale, retire them on the public registry on your behalf, and email you a verifiable certificate.
Cut what you can before you offset.
Offsetting is for the emissions you can’t yet eliminate. A few practical ways to lower this footprint at source:
- →Plan portions to cut food waste, and favour plant-forward dishes.
- →Choose experiences or low-waste gifts over high-carbon products.
- →Use LED lights on timers and travel efficiently.
Can I gift an offset?
Yes — a retired-credit certificate is a meaningful, clutter-free gift. Choose registry-named retirement to put their name on it.
When should I offset?
Any time — offsetting in December covers the season, and a subscription keeps you covered every year.
What’s the biggest part of a festive footprint?
Usually food and drink, followed by travel to see family. Both are easy to estimate with our calculator.