Is book and claim the same as carbon offsetting?

No. A unit comes from a low-emission transport service inside the freight sector, while the GLEC Framework excludes carbon offsetting and emissions trading from logistics emission figures altogether.

Can book and claim count towards scope 3?

The Smart Freight Centre says the lower emission profile can be included in a buyer's scope 3 accounting. ISO 14083 and the GHG Protocol take no stance on contractual emissions beyond electricity, so a report should state the method it used.

How is double counting prevented?

Through a registry that tracks each unit from the service to the buyer, so each saving is claimed once, and through giving non-participants the fossil reference case. The EU's SAF rules name double claiming as a risk to minimise.

Term

Book and claim

Book and claim is a chain-of-custody model that separates the environmental benefit of a low-emission transport service from the physical freight, so a shipper can pay for it and claim it in its scope 3 report even if its goods moved conventionally. The benefit travels through a registry as units, tracked so each saving is claimed only once.

Also called book & claim, book and claim unit, BCU, book and claim scheme, decoupled emission claimsUpdated 13 October 2026

How it works

A carrier runs a low-emission transport service — an electric truck, a renewable-fuel lane, SAF — and its emissions are measured against a fossil baseline.
The environmental benefit is decoupled from the goods and transferred through a dedicated registry as units — Book & Claim Units, in the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials' scheme.
A shipper buys units, contributing to the cost premium, and includes the lower emission profile in its scope 3 accounting.
Freight that physically rode the service, owned by companies not taking part, is given the reference case — in road freight, most likely fossil diesel — so the saving isn't counted twice.

Worked example: one electric lane, two shippers

Lane: 100,000 t-km a year · reference, diesel artic at 0.07926 + 0.01823 = 0.09749 kg CO2e per t-km → 9.75 t · electric truck, illustrative: 2.5 t · units: 7.25 t · shipper B buys them and reports 7.25 t less · shipper A, whose goods rode the truck, reports 9.75 t

The diesel factor is the UK government's 2026 average articulated HGV, tank-to-wheel plus well-to-tank; the electric figure is illustrative. The split follows the Smart Freight Centre's description, where non-participants receive the reference case.

Who stands behind it

The World Economic Forum described the aim in 2023: purchasers of freight transport contribute to the cost premium and report the emission profile of a low-emission service, even if their freight was not physically carried on it. The Smart Freight Centre calls tracking essential to prevent erroneous double counting. The GLEC Framework notes that ISO 14083 and the GHG Protocol take no stance on contractual emissions beyond electricity, and it excludes carbon offsetting and emissions trading from logistics emission figures.

Where the EU stands

ReFuelEU Aviation asks the Commission to assess a system of tradable SAF supply and purchase certificates, with elements of a book and claim scheme, while minimising the risk of fraud, irregularities or double claiming. It is an assessment, not yet a rule.

The mistake people make

Claiming one saving twice. If shipper B reports the units, shipper A cannot also report its load at the electric truck's real emissions — under the scheme it takes the reference case. A unit also isn't an offset: it records a low-emission service inside the freight system, which is why GLEC keeps offsets out of the same figures.

FAQ

Book and claim: common questions

Is book and claim the same as carbon offsetting?: No. A unit comes from a low-emission transport service inside the freight sector, while the GLEC Framework excludes carbon offsetting and emissions trading from logistics emission figures altogether.
Can book and claim count towards scope 3?: The Smart Freight Centre says the lower emission profile can be included in a buyer's scope 3 accounting. ISO 14083 and the GHG Protocol take no stance on contractual emissions beyond electricity, so a report should state the method it used.
How is double counting prevented?: Through a registry that tracks each unit from the service to the buyer, so each saving is claimed once, and through giving non-participants the fossil reference case. The EU's SAF rules name double claiming as a risk to minimise.