Offsetting of the 2025 greenhouse gas emissions of the European Parliament

Tender by the European Parliament (EP-SG/2026/OP/0002) for the purchase and retirement of already-issued greenhouse gas offset credits to compensate its unavoidable 2025 emissions. Estimated contract ceiling is €900000, maximum duration 6 months, electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal with deadline 26 October 2026 16:00 Brussels time. Credits must be Gold Standard or Gold Standard CDM, issued after 1 January 2023, originate from specified eligible countries, and meet traceability and retirement proof requirements. Award is by best price-quality ratio with price weighted 40 percent and quality criteria covering Gold Standard SDG performance, CCQI score, geography and project type weighted 60 percent in total.

Opportunity type

Call for tenders (open procedure) EP-SG/2026/OP/0002

What it funds:Purchase and final retirement of greenhouse gas offset credits (Voluntary Carbon Market) to neutralise the European Parliament’s unavoidable 2025 GHG emissions. Credits must already be issued (vintage from 2023 onward) and comply with Gold Standard (Gold Standard or Gold Standard CDM). CRCF-certified carbon removal projects are eligible and scored preferentially. The contracting authority excludes credits from industrial gas destruction, coal power, nuclear and large hydropower (>20 MW).

Estimated value:€900,000 (maximum total contract value); single purchase operation; contract duration up to 6 months ¹

1. 1Who can apply: natural or legal persons and public entities established in EU Member States and in third countries with applicable procurement access (see tender documents).
2. 2How to apply: electronic submission only via the Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission (EU Login and PIC required).
3. 3What to submit: up to two project packages (each 2–4 distinct projects), price schedule, proof of certification (Gold Standard/ITL for CDM), project registry links and evidence that credits are issued.
4. 4Award: best price-quality ratio. Price weighting 40% (average price per credit). Quality criteria (60%) cover Gold Standard/SDG impact (15%), CCQI score (15%), geographic location (15%) and project type/removal quality (15%).

Submission language:any official EU language (documents and evidence in English recommended). Tenderers must meet selection requirements (minimum turnover and insurance) and complete exclusion/selection declarations. Tender documents, editable annexes and the draft contract are published on the Funding & Tenders Portal Funding and Tenders Portal.

Footnotes

1. 1Full procurement documents, submission link and eSubmission guidance are on the Funding & Tenders Portal Opportunity page.

Procurement overview

Key facts

Type:Tender (Call for tenders, open procedure). Lead contracting authority: European Parliament, SG - Office of the Secretary-General (EMAS and Sustainability Unit). TED reference: 181/2026 644755-2026. Main CPV: 90731210 - Purchase of CO2 emission credits. Nature of contract: services. Award method: best price-quality ratio. Maximum contract duration: 6 months. Estimated total value: €900 000 (ceiling for the single purchase under this contract).

Description:The European Parliament invites tenders to purchase GHG offset credits to offset its unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions for the year 2025. The contract foresees a single purchase operation (one purchase event) to acquire as many eligible carbon credits as possible within the ceiling of €900 000. Credits must meet strict quality, vintage and geographic eligibility requirements described in the tender specifications ¹.

Deadlines and procedural dates

Eligibility and participation

Participation is open on the same terms to natural or legal persons and public entities from EU Member States and to natural or legal persons and public entities of third countries which have procurement access agreements with the EU. Tenderers must indicate country of establishment and provide documentary evidence acceptable under national law. Joint bids (groups of economic operators) and subcontracting are permitted subject to the conditions in the tender documents. An EU Login account and registration in the Participant Register (PIC) are required to submit via eSubmission. Tender validity: 2 months.

Eligible applicant types

Acceptable applicant types (as described in the procurement documents and typical for this tender):

1. 1SMEs and large enterprises acting as carbon credit suppliers or traders
2. 2Specialist carbon market intermediaries and brokers
3. 3Project developers and registries authorised to sell issued credits
4. 4Nonprofits and certification bodies if they offer eligible credits or act as intermediaries
5. 5Consortia / groups of economic operators (joint tenders) — groups must accept joint & several liability

Funding and contract modality

Funding Type:procurement (direct service contract) for the purchase of voluntary carbon credits. Nature of support: monetary exchange of EUR up to the contract ceiling for the delivery and retirement of carbon credits. Beneficiaries will receive payment in return for delivered credits; the European Parliament will receive retired credits as verified proof of offsetting.

Consortium / participation requirement

Consortium requirement:single tenderers are allowed; groups of economic operators (consortia) are permitted. If a group submits a joint tender it must provide the information in Annex V and guarantee joint and several liability; the contracting authority may require the selected group to form a specific legal form before signature.

Geographic beneficiary scope

Beneficiary geographic eligibility:applicants established in EU Member States and in third countries that have procurement access agreements with the EU. Projects (credits) accepted under offers must originate from a restricted list of countries: eligible project host countries include the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states, countries covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), Euro-Mediterranean Partnership / Union for the Mediterranean (EuroMed/UfM), candidate countries for EU accession, EU Member States, Central America, South America and Southeast Asia as explicitly listed in the technical specifications. Projects outside those lists are ineligible.

Target sector and project types

Target sector:environment / climate / carbon markets. Eligible project types (examples and constraints): renewable energy, energy efficiency, nature restoration and nature-based activities (e.g. peatland restoration, afforestation/reforestation, improved forest management), carbon engineering/removal (e.g. DACCS, BECCS), REDD+, fuel switching and non-CO2 gases are referenced but credits from industrial gas destruction, nuclear, coal-fired power or hydro >20 MW are explicitly excluded. The contracting authority expresses a preference and additional scoring for carbon removal and CRCF-certified removal categories (DACCS, BECCS and certain nature-based removals).

Project stage and timing

Project stage:credits must be already issued (i.e. the underlying emission reductions or removals must have already occurred). Required vintages: credits generated after 1 January 2023 (2023, 2024, 2025 and up to 31 August 2026 as specified).

Funding amount and purchase structure

Evaluation and award criteria — how tenders are assessed

Award approach:best price-quality ratio. Tenderers may submit up to two distinct 'project packages' (each package contains credits from minimum 2 and maximum 4 distinct projects). Each package is evaluated separately and the winning package across all submissions wins the contract. The evaluation links price (40% weighting) and multiple quality criteria (60% total weighting) as follows.

1. 1Price: average price per credit for the package (40 points maximum). The package with the lowest average price per credit that fits within the contract ceiling scores maximum points; other packages scored proportionally using formula (Pm / Po) * max points.
2. 2Quality criterion 1: Gold Standard and Sustainable Development Goals performance of each project (15 points maximum). Gold Standard (or Gold Standard CDM) required for projects in developing countries; projects covering more SDGs in the Gold Standard Passport score higher.
3. 3Quality criterion 2: CCQI score (Carbon Credit Quality Initiative) excluding host-country ambition (15 points maximum). Projects scored proportionally to the top CCQI score among proposals.
4. 4Quality criterion 3: Geographical location (15 points maximum). Highest points for ACP countries (15), ENP/EuroMed/candidates/EU Member States (10), other eligible regions (5). Package score weighted by the share of credits per project.
5. 5Quality criterion 4: Project type and removals (15 points maximum). Preference for removal projects; CRCF-certified DACCS/BECCS receive maximum points (15); CRCF-certified eligible nature-based removal activities receive 10 points; non-removal projects score lower or zero depending on type. Package quality score is the weighted sum of individual project quality scores by credit share.

Minimum technical and selection requirements

Minimum technical and administrative requirements (high level):

1. 1Each package must include credits from 2 to 4 different projects, with no single project supplying more than 60% of the credits in a package and no single project category exceeding 75% of package credits.
2. 2All projects must be Gold Standard or Gold Standard CDM projects. Tenderers must provide Gold Standard Registry project numbers and links and, for CDM Gold Standard, ITL/UNFCCC identification and links to registry pages showing issuance.
3. 3Credits must be already issued and transferable at time of offer; vintage must be after 1 January 2023 and up to the specified cut-off.
4. 4Proof of retirement (final cancellation) in the relevant registry must be provided by the successful tenderer on behalf of the European Parliament with clear documentation showing the number and serial IDs of cancelled units and naming the European Parliament as the beneficiary of the retirement.
5. 5Tenderers must provide a detailed project description, exact location, verification/validation documentation, evidence of issuance and registry links, and, if offered, CRCF certification documentation and category.
6. 6Tenderers must satisfy selection criteria on legal capacity, minimum turnover (€1,800,000 over last three years including at least €900,000 per year in the relevant area) and insurance, and demonstrate at least three years’ relevant experience in greenhouse gas offsetting services.

Application and submission process

Application type:open call via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Submission method: electronic via eSubmission (EU Login required). Tenderers must register organisations in the Participant Register and reuse existing PICs. Tenderers may withdraw or replace tenders before the deadline; only the latest tender per tenderer counts. All required attachments must be uploaded in eSubmission. Maximum file size and technical requirements are listed in the eSubmission System Requirements.

Templates and forms referenced:The procurement documents include the Invitation letter, Tender specifications (with Annexes I.A to I.B, II to VIII), editable annexes including the Price schedule (Annex I.B), Declaration on honour (Annex III), Financial Identification Form (Annex IV), Consortium information sheet (Annex V), Subcontractor declaration (Annex VI), Financial data sheet (Annex VII) and restrictive measures declaration (Annex VIII). Tenderers must complete and submit these templates exactly as provided. See the Tender Specifications for the required structure of the technical and financial offers and for the full list of annex templates ¹.

Application stages and evaluation process

Number of application stages:One formal electronic submission stage followed by administrative checks, evaluation of eligibility and selection criteria, technical and quality scoring and price scoring, clarification requests (if necessary), and award decision. In practice: 1 (single-stage submission) plus internal evaluation steps (administrative/selection/award).

Co-funding and financial guarantees

Co-funding requirement:none. This is a procurement: the contracting authority will pay for the credits. Financial guarantees: not applicable. Insurance and minimum turnover are required as selection criteria (professional indemnity insurance and minimum turnover levels).

Success rates

Success rates:not published. This is a competitive procurement with evaluation based on the best price-quality ratio; success depends on meeting all eligibility and selection criteria and on offering the most competitive package under the award formula. Tenderers should assume single-winner selection based on scoring and compliance.

Support, Q&A and document access

All procurement documents, editable annexes and the draft contract are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, with subscription-based notifications for updates. Questions shall be submitted via the Portal Questions & Answers section before the indicated deadline. The contracting authority is not bound to answer questions received after the stated Q&A cut-off. No public Q&A were published at the time of extraction.

Administrative and legal safeguards

The procurement is governed by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 (Financial Regulation). Exclusion and selection rules follow Articles 138 to 143 of the Financial Regulation; declarations and documentary evidence may be requested and failure to produce evidence within deadlines can lead to rejection. The award is subject to verification and audits; the European Parliament reserves rights to cancel the procedure or require changes prior to contract signature. Dispute review: Court of Justice of the European Union and other review bodies listed in the notice.

Submission checklist (high-level)

1. 1Completed and signed Tender submission using eSubmission (EU Login and PIC required).
2. 2Annex I.B (Price schedule) fully completed for package(s) offered (each package ≤ €900 000 ceiling).
3. 3Technical offer with detailed project descriptions, registry links, issuance evidence, Gold Standard proof, CCQI evidence and CRCF documentation where applicable.
4. 4Annex III Declaration on honour (exclusion and selection), Annex VII financial data sheet and evidence of turnover and insurance.
5. 5Annex IV Financial Identification Form and required bank ID documents.
6. 6Annex V (if joint tender), Annex VI (if subcontracting), and Annex VIII (restrictive measures declaration).
7. 7Any additional requested supporting documents and the draft contract acceptance where required.

Mentioned countries

Explicit country lists / regions referenced in the tender:African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP countries); European Neighbourhood Policy countries (ENP); Euro-Mediterranean / Union for the Mediterranean countries (EuroMed / UfM); candidate countries for EU accession (e.g. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine); EU Member States (all); Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama); South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela); Southeast Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam). Projects located outside these enumerated eligible regions are ineligible.

How to structure your application (template outline and recommended content)

Tenderers must follow the tender specification and annex templates exactly. Recommended structure to match documents supplied:

1. 1Form A: Administrative documentation — Annex III (declaration on honour), company registration, evidence of legal capacity, PIC and EU Login evidence, proof of VAT or VAT-exemption details where relevant, Annex IV Financial Identification Form and attachments (bank statement RIB), Annex VII financial data and proof of turnover, insurance certificate, Annex VIII restrictive measures declaration.
2. 2Form B: Technical offer — Technical descriptions of proposed projects per package: project name, registry project ID and link (Gold Standard Registry and where applicable UNFCCC/ITL), precise location, project type, vintage(s) of credits, issuance statements, verification and validation reports, CCQI scoring evidence, Gold Standard Passport evidence of SDG contributions, CRCF certification documentation where applicable, number of credits per project, evidence of transferability.
3. 3Form C: Price offer — Annex I.B Price schedule for each package listing price per credit (EUR ex. VAT), number of offered credits per project, and total fixed price. Ensure average price per credit is clear (total price / total credits) for evaluation.
4. 4Form D: Consortium/subcontractor information — Annex V and Annex VI where applicable with joint and several liability statements and roles.
5. 5Form E: Any additional declarations or statements requested in the tender specifications (environmental policy, equal opportunities policy, EMAS certificate or equivalent).

Nature of required deliverables and post-award obligations

Deliverables after award include:certificate confirming offsetting carried out on behalf of the European Parliament stating the number of tonnes CO2e offset, amounts paid and project names/locations; definitive evidence of credit serial numbers and final retirement records in the registry showing the European Parliament as the retiree; project communications package (summary report, 5 to 10 high-resolution photographs and a short video 2–5 minutes) if requested for communication purposes; all materials become property of the European Parliament. The contractor must respond to acceptance queries and deliver final evidence within the contractually defined timelines and submit the invoice upon final acceptance.

Coherence with EU policy and standards

The procurement is aligned with EU financial rules (Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509) and the European Parliament’s EMAS-based environmental policy. The tender mandates high-integrity credits (Gold Standard, CCQI scoring, and CRCF certification where applicable) and restricts lower-integrity sources (industrial gas destruction, large hydro >20 MW, coal, nuclear). The contracting authority explicitly encourages purchases that provide sustainable development benefits and adherence to the Gold Standard SDG reporting and to CCQI integrity dimensions.

Where to apply and obtain documents:Procurement documents, editable annexes and the draft contract are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal at the tender details page. Electronic submission is via eSubmission (EU Login required). See the tender page for direct links and to subscribe for updates ¹.

Final summary — what this opportunity is about

This procurement is a targeted, single-operation purchase of verified voluntary carbon credits to offset the European Parliament’s unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions for 2025. It is an open tender managed by the European Parliament’s EMAS and Sustainability Unit with a budget ceiling of €900 000 and a contract duration up to six months. Bidders must offer high-integrity, already-issued Gold Standard (or Gold Standard CDM) credits from eligible host countries and provide full registry evidence and final retirement on behalf of the European Parliament. Evaluation is by best price-quality ratio with a significant emphasis on credit quality (Gold Standard SDG contribution, CCQI score, geographic development impact and project type, especially carbon removals and CRCF-certified removals). Applications are submitted electronically through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission system; supporting templates and instructions are published in the tender dossier. Successful suppliers will be required to demonstrate full traceability and to provide retirement proof and communication materials for the European Parliament’s use.

Footnotes

1. 1Primary procurement documents, specifications, editable annexes and the draft contract are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: ec.europa.eu

This is a procurement tender, not a grant. The European Parliament is seeking a supplier to provide greenhouse gas offset credits for its 2025 emissions, under an open procedure with an estimated contract value of €900000 and a maximum duration of 6 months.

The European Parliament has long used offsetting as a final measure after emissions prevention and reduction, and its environmental statement confirms that it offsets irreducible emissions under an EMAS based policy, historically using Gold Standard projects and projects in ACP countries where possible.[1]

What the contract is about

The contract concerns the purchase and retirement of greenhouse gas offset credits to compensate for the European Parliament's unavoidable 2025 emissions. The tenderer must propose carbon credits that are already issued and that will be fully retired on behalf of the European Parliament after award.

The procurement aims to buy the maximum number of eligible credits possible within the budget ceiling, while giving preference to higher quality offset projects and stronger climate integrity.

Who can apply

Participation is open to natural persons, legal persons and public entities established in an EU Member State, and also to entities from third countries that have a specific public procurement agreement with the EU giving access to this contract. Consortium bids are allowed, and subcontracting is permitted.

• Tenderers must be enrolled in a relevant professional or trade register, unless they are an international organisation.
• Tenderers must show sufficient financial and economic capacity, including a minimum total turnover of €1800000 and an annual minimum turnover of €900000 in the area covered by the contract over the last three years.
• Tenderers must demonstrate at least three years of experience in services similar to greenhouse gas emission offsetting.
• Tenderers must not be subject to exclusion grounds, including bankruptcy, tax or social security breaches, serious professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, money laundering, terrorism related offences, trafficking in human beings, or resistance to audits or investigations.
• Tenderers, subcontractors, suppliers and relied on entities must not be subject to the restrictive measures listed in the procurement documents, including the Russia related prohibitions.

What the tender must include

Eligible project locations are restricted to ACP countries, ENP countries, EuroMed and Union for the Mediterranean countries, EU candidate countries, EU Member States, and also Central and South America and Southeast Asia as listed in the technical specifications. Projects outside those territories are ineligible and will cause the package to be rejected.

The contract prefers removal based offsets over avoidance or reduction credits. CRCF certified projects in DACCS and BECCS categories receive the strongest treatment, while CRCF eligible nature based removals such as carbon farming, peatland restoration, rewetting, afforestation, reforestation and improved forest management also receive favorable scoring.

Financial terms and contract conditions

Prices must be firm, all inclusive and expressed in euros excluding VAT and equivalent indirect taxes. The tendered amount must not exceed the €900000 ceiling. No financial guarantees are required, and the tender validity period is 2 months.

The successful contractor must provide deliverables within 30 working days after contract signature, including a certificate of offsetting, serial numbers and proof of retirement in the relevant register. On request, the contractor may also have to provide a project description, environmental benefits summary, photographs and a short video for communications purposes.

How the award will be made

Award is based on the best price-quality ratio. Price carries 40 points, while quality is split across four criteria with 15 points each: Gold Standard and Sustainable Development Goals, Carbon Credit Quality Initiative score, geographical location, and project type.

• Price criterion rewards the lowest average price per credit, with the tender package offering the most credits for the price receiving the highest score.
• Quality scoring rewards stronger SDG alignment and Gold Standard performance.
• Quality scoring also rewards stronger CCQI performance, with the host country ambition category excluded.
• Projects in ACP countries score highest on geography, while carbon removal projects score best on project type.
• The package with the highest combined score wins.

Submission and timing

1. 1Submission must be made electronically through the Funding and Tenders Portal.
2. 2An EU Login account is required for access and submission.
3. 3A Participant Identification Code is required for the tenderer and each consortium member.
4. 4Questions must be submitted early enough because the contracting authority is not bound to reply after 18 October 2026 23:59 Brussels time.
5. 5The public opening is scheduled for 27 October 2026 at 10:30 Brussels time.
6. 6Tenders may be withdrawn or replaced before the deadline, but only one tender per tenderer can be considered unless variants are explicitly allowed, which they are not.

The provided metadata contained an additional deadline of 1 January 2026, but the portal information and tender documents show the operative deadline as 26 October 2026 at 16:00 Brussels time. Applicants should rely on the portal deadline and the published tender documents.

Applicant assessment

This opportunity is most relevant for specialist carbon market intermediaries, project aggregators, registries linked suppliers, and organisations with a verified portfolio of high integrity voluntary carbon credits. The strongest bids are likely to combine low average unit price with a diversified portfolio of Gold Standard projects in eligible geographies and, where available, CRCF aligned removals.

Applicants should pay close attention to proof of project issuance, registry traceability, retirement mechanics, geographic eligibility, and the requirement to demonstrate financial capacity and comparable experience. Because the tender allows only one or two packages and places strict portfolio composition limits, bid design is as important as price.