Book and Claim only works if buyers can trust what they're buying. So how does a company that's never touched an
Environmental Attribute Certificate (EAC) actually get started — and know it's getting a credible one?
In this episode of Smart Freight Conversations: The Catalyst Series, Andy Golding, Director of Strategic Services at Smart Freight Centre, spoke with
Maria Lacalle, Head of Customer Decarbonization at
Carboninsets, about what it takes to bring trust, structure, and liquidity to the EAC market.
What Is an EAC, and Why Does It Exist?
Every company moving freight has emissions tied to road, rail, air, and sea — but many can't directly access the emissions reductions their carriers are making. When a carrier decarbonizes but its direct customer isn't paying the green premium, the reduction happens without anyone able to claim it. An EAC closes that gap: it's a Scope 3 certificate representing a real emissions reduction, decoupled from the physical shipment, that any buyer in the market can purchase and claim against their own reporting.
Matchmaking, Not Trading
Carboninsets positions itself deliberately as a connector rather than a reseller. The company works with EAC owners — typically carriers or fuel suppliers — to understand buyer requirements around quality, pricing, and modality, then facilitates a direct, standardized transaction between the two. Maria describes it simply as the "Tinder of EACs." Buyers purchase straight from the source, keeping the chain of custody intact.
Why Standards Matter for a Voluntary Market
Because EAC trading is voluntary, credibility depends on shared rules. Most buyers Carboninsets works with align with Smart Freight Centre's Market-Based Measures (MBM) Framework, including its two-year vintage eligibility window, and expect additionality as standard given the indirect nature of the model. Just as the GLEC Framework brought order to what was once called the "Wild West" of emissions accounting, the MBM Framework is doing the same for EACs — giving buyers a guideline to follow even though participation is optional.
Where Demand Is Shifting
Air and marine decarbonization strategies are already well established for most shippers and freight forwarders. Road, by contrast, is the mode everyone is now trying to figure out — a shift Maria noted was a consistent theme in conversations throughout
Smart Freight Week 2026.
Advice for Getting Started
Maria's guidance for companies unsure where to begin: don't delay action on Scope 3, since it's typically the largest share of a company's footprint. Start by identifying where your emissions are concentrated, build a plan toward your net-zero target, combine operational reductions with instruments like EACs, and define a clear quality checklist before buying. As she put it: paso a paso — step by step.
Listen to the full episode of Smart Freight Conversations: The Catalyst Series to hear more from Maria on procurement, additionality, and scaling Book and Claim. Explore Book and Claim courses below to learn more.
