Is Your Company Carbon Neutral? California Wants the Receipts

Companies claiming to be carbon neutral will need to back up their claims by publishing details of their environmental policies online under a new California law.

The measure (A.B. 1305) is the first of its kind in the US and could bring additional transparency to a carbon offset market critics say is awash in projects of questionable environmental value. The new law also requires companies to provide greater verification in selling voluntary carbon offsets to other businesses and organizations that are aiming to reduce emissions.

The law’s author, state Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D), said the measure is meant ...