Is an EBC certificate the same as a biochar carbon credit?

No. The European Biochar Certificate proves biochar quality: sustainable feedstock, emission limits and safe use by class. On its own it does not create a credit. Credits, called C-sinks, come from a carbon removal standard such as Global Biochar C-Sink or Global Artisan C-Sink, and are registered in the Global C-Sink Registry.

What EBC certifies

• EBC was developed by the Ithaka Institute, started in 2012 and is now run by Carbon Standards. It checks that feedstock is sustainably sourced, emission limits are met and storage is sound.
• Biochar is certified by use class: Feed, AgroOrganic, Agro, Urban, ConsumerMaterial and BasicMaterial.
• Each production batch lasts up to 365 days. An accredited sampler takes a representative sample for an endorsed lab, and the site is inspected every year.

Where the credit comes from

Credits come from carbon removal standards. Under Global Biochar C-Sink, every C-sink is tracked from production to the point where the biochar goes into soil or construction products. Producers and processors count and offset their own emissions, and only then are C-sinks issued in the Global C-Sink Registry.

The EBC site describes the same two steps: it certifies the C-sink potential at the factory gate, then a tracking system follows the biochar to its final sink, where the potential becomes tradable C-sink certificates.

Side by side

• What it answers: EBC says the biochar is safe and sustainably made. A C-sink says how much carbon it stores, net of the emissions it took.
• Who reads it: EBC is for the person buying the biochar. A C-sink is for the company making a removal claim.
• What it is: EBC covers a production batch. A C-sink is a unit in the Global C-Sink Registry that endorsed traders transfer and retire.

The quality route outside Europe

For producers outside Europe, Carbon Standards offers the World Biochar Certificate (WBC). It keeps EBC's science-based quality rules but drops the criteria that come from European law, and has three classes: Premium, Agro and Material. Farmer kilns in low- and middle-income countries have their own removal standard, Global Artisan C-Sink.

Who audits

CERES-CERT AG is the third-party auditing body for Carbon Standards' standards. It certifies biochar producers under EBC and WBC and validates and verifies C-sink projects.

What Senseible does here

Senseible keeps the batch records both checks read: kiln sensor temperature logs, chain of custody, geotagged photos and lab results, in one verifier evidence pack. The auditor checks them, and the Global C-Sink Registry issues the C-sinks.

• Carbon removal projects
• What buyers check in a removal
• Global Artisan C-Sink for small kilns
• Biochar credits in India
• CO2 removed per tonne of biochar

Sources: Carbon Standards, European Biochar Certificate (EBC): scope, batches, inspection, CERES-CERT, Carbon Standards, World Biochar Certificate (WBC), Carbon Standards, Global Biochar C-Sink Standard (tracking and issuance in the Global C-Sink Registry), European Biochar Certificate, Summary of the EBC certification (batches, classes), European Biochar Certificate, C-sink introduction (factory-gate potential and tracking to the final sink)

Last reviewed 2026-11-02.