Apple has purchased 100,000 carbon credits from Guyana’s national forest protection program to help offset its corporate and product emissions for 2024, as stated in its 2025 Environmental Progress Report.
These credits, each representing the reduction or removal of one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent, were categorized as “vintage 2019,” meaning they were issued for carbon reductions recorded that year. Apple announced that the credits were retired in 2024 and described them as part of a portfolio of “high-quality carbon credits” used to help neutralize its emissions.
Guyana’s credits are generated under the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) using the TREES standard, which certifies large-scale forest conservation efforts. The South American country has been issued 33.47 million credits for the five years from 2016 to 2020, covering millions of hectares of its forests, which cover about 85% of its land area.
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Apple pointed to the environmental value of Guyana’s jurisdictional REDD+ program, which protects part of the Amazon basin, calling it “a critical watershed and hotspot of biodiversity.” The credits join similar offsets in Apple’s portfolio from countries including China, Kenya, and Paraguay.
The move follows a landmark 2022 agreement between Guyana and U.S. oil company Hess Corporation, under which Hess committed to buying 37.5 million credits over 10 years for at least US$750 million.
Revenue from Guyana’s credit sales is partially earmarked for the country’s indigenous population. Under a national benefit-sharing arrangement, a portion of the proceeds goes directly to Amerindian communities, which are given autonomy to decide how the funds are used to support their development. Communities have mainly used the money to develop their eco-tourism and agricultural products.
