Frequently Asked Questions

Hopefully you’ll get all the answers you require here. If not just get in touch.

Our Approach

Why offset using Sprout?

Sprout allows you to easily and effectively calculate your school’s CO2e emissions, making your offset more accurate. Moreover, Sprout is dedicated to providing you with the maximum level of transparancy. Every month we will send you a report indicating which projects your funds supported, and provide you with insights and updates from those projects.

Sprout’s carbon neutral certification also allows schools to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market.

What is carbon offsetting?

According to the Guardian: “Carbon offset schemes allow individuals and companies to invest in environmental projects around the world in order to balance out their own carbon footprint.”

What happens with my money?

76% of your monthly subscription goes directly into the not-for-profit Carbon Neutral School Foundation’s (CNSF) Carbon Fund. This fund supports only the most ethical and effective green initiatives. The rest of your subscription goes toward paying financial fees and covering operating costs.

How does the CNSF Carbon Fund choose what projects to support?

Sprout has partnered with the Carbon Neutral School Foundation (CNSF), a not-for-profit charitable organisation, to run the Carbon Fund. The CNSF chooses the projects supported by the fund based on a number of criteria including location, reputability, verifiability, as well as various evironmental and community impact measures. We make sure that we only support truely green, ethical projects and organisations.

How do I become a Sprout Partner?

It’s really simple! Go to our partner page, fill out the form, and we’ll get back to you ASAP.

Transparency

How do we know that our money is being well used?

Firstly, your monthly subscription supports the not-for-profit Carbon Neutral School Foundation’s (CNSF) Carbon Fund. This fund supports only the most ethical and effective green initiatives.

Secondly, we aim to be as transparent as possible when it comes to the uses of your funds. We aren’t shy about what we do, so every month we provide you with a detailed breakdown of how much of your money went to each of the projects we support.

Are you available to discuss your investments with us?

We want to be as transparent as possible, please contact us at:

Are your carbon fund investments verified or certified by anyone?

Yes! All of our carbon offsetting projects are certified by Gold Standard and the Carbon Neutral School Foundation. Our tree planting initiatives are also certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

We only support the best!

Payments & financial data

Do you hold our financial data?

We do not hold any of your financial data. We have deliberately chosen Paypal manages all payments and transactions to ensure your privacy and security.

Can we pay annually?

Yes, it is possible to make annual payments (in advance). Please contact us and we will make the necessary arrangements.

Please understand that we cannot provide refunds on payments.

How are our payments processed?

All payments on the Sprout website are processed through Paypal. This gives you the option to use any recognised credit/debit card or Paypal account to make transactions.

How do we cancel our subscription?

Please cancel through Paypal or contact us directly, we would be happy to guide you through the process.

Can we pay by bank transfer?

Unfortunately we do not accept bank transfers as payment. You can use any recognised credit/debit card or Paypal account to make payments.

Self certifcation

Are self certified organizations checked in any way?

A superficial check is completed to ensure that there are no obvious errors. Certification will be delivered after these checks are completed, this tends to take 2-3 business days. If there are any clear and obvious errors that need to be amended, we will contact the school directly.

How often do self verified organisations have to re-assess themselves?

Verification will occur annually or when there is a significant alteration in operations.

What is the accuracy of the self certification process?

Our self certification process is considered to be more than 85% accurate. Without a full, in depth audit of an organisation, it is impossible to make a completely accurate calculation.

What promotion materials can self certified schools access?

External verification

Why should we have our data externally verified?

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