Risks and things to think about

The Green Insurer is attempting to do something new, different and difficult. We really want to do good things for our environment, for us and for generations to come. There is lots of talk about Greenwashing which is where companies give false or misleading information about their environmental performance. We are deeply opposed to this practise. In order to be completely honest with our customers, regulator and the press, we want to highlight some risks which exist in our model, where the carbon offsets we are trying to make may not happen as we want.

Using our app

Although we do not make it compulsory for you to download or use our app, we are reliant on the data that comes from the app to measure your carbon emissions. Without this data we are not able to offset the Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) given off when you drive. All we ask is that you download the app and take your phone with you when you drive the car or cars you have insured with us.

Measuring your carbon emissions

Our app takes your mileage, the data we receive about your car from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA - the government department responsible for keeping cars and driver records) and overlays this with your driving style to calculate your emissions. The calculation we use is:

Miles driven x CO₂ emissions per mile (for your car) x driving score factor

We make every effort to estimate your emissions accurately, but there is always a chance that we under or over-estimate your emissions.

If you’d like to find out more about how we calculate your carbon emissions, please read our blog article.

Carbon offset projects

We do our very best to ensure that the carbon offset projects we use deliver what they promise. However, this is a hotly debated area, and we feel it only right to make you aware that whatever we do, there is always a risk that an offset project does not deliver for any number of reasons.

In April 2025 we partnered with Carbon Neutral Britain, having previously been partnered with Earthly since we launched in 2023.

Working with Carbon Neutral Britain, who select carbon offsetting projects based on their direct and indirect impact around the world, and in addition, ensure the projects are certified to the highest standards through the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), Gold Standard Voluntary Emission Reductions (VER) and Certified Emission Reductions (CER) programmes, they look to fund projects in the developing world that help provide education, employment, clean water, energy and a positive impact on the local wildlife and ecology.

Carbon Neutral Britain provide industry leading Independent Project Validation and Assurance for each project they support, this is achieved via three layers of assessment.

First, all projects utilised must be audited and approved via the United Nations CER, Verra, and Gold Standard Mechanisms. As the three largest, and most regulated carbon offsetting standards in the world - this ensures the measurements, and tonnes of CO₂e offset are accurate, and verified by these third parties (with public audits available for each project).
Second, Carbon Neutral Britain select projects based on the 'secondary' benefits, such as helping to provide education, employment, clean water, energy, or have a positive impact on the local wildlife and ecology (for nature-based projects). Carbon Neutral Britain ensure all projects align with UN Sustainable Development Goals - which are listed on the project packs provided once offsetting has been completed. With this information, businesses are able to promote the social, as well as environmental benefits of their Climate Action.
Third, all projects are Independently Validated, completing due diligence on the audits completed via the applicable corporate standard. Above and beyond the requirements of the United Nations CER, Verra, and Gold Standard Mechanisms, Independent Validation completes 6 additional steps:

1. Enhanced additionality audit of each project supported
2. Secondary audit based on UNFCCC criteria for project quality
3. Selective category restriction of projects (no REDD or REDD+)
4. Satellite, AI and remote sensing review of project outcomes (where applicable)
5. Durability and permanence project assessment
6. Continuous project monitoring and review over crediting period

There has been some criticism of Verra on the Guardian website which explains the challenges around accurately measuring the effect on climate change. As our projects are independently validated by Carbon Neutral Britain, we feel confident that these projects are effective in bringing value to the local communities and improving biodiversity as we strive to remove the carbon emissions we measure.