Joint Senken and Sylvera investigation finds 45% of 4.84 million reported credits untraceable from public sources and 57% of assessed projects below Sylvera's quality threshold

BERLIN and LONDON, May 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A joint report by carbon credit provider Senken and carbon data platform Sylvera reveals significant transparency and quality gaps in carbon credit reporting by Germany's largest public companies. "Buying Blind?" is the first independent analysis of DAX40 FY2025 carbon credit disclosures under CSRD (ESRS E1-7). It covers 39 DAX40 companies that published FY2025 reports by 1 April 2026, 21 of which are active buyers reporting a combined 4.84 million tCO2e. Full report at senken.io/buying-blind.

Key findings:

• Zero project-level disclosure: No DAX40 company disclosed project identifiers needed for independent verification.
• 2.17 million credits untraceable: 45% of reported credits could not be linked to any identifiable project across seven major public registries.
• 57% below credibility threshold: Of 90 rated projects, more than half scored below BBB under Sylvera's framework.
• 6 of 21 buyers disclosed details: four voluntarily, two under California law.

"Europe's largest companies reported 4.84 million carbon credits under CSRD, but none disclosed the project identifiers needed to verify them," said Adrian Wons, CEO and Founder of Senken. "We traced 55% to specific projects through public registries and corporate filings. The remaining 45% could not be linked to any project, and of those we could identify, 57% fell below Sylvera's threshold for credible climate impact."

"Certification and credibility are not the same thing," said Allister Furey, CEO and Co-Founder of Sylvera. "What CSRD doesn't capture is whether credits actually deliver real impact. As carbon markets mature, the ability to verify quality at the project level becomes essential."

A single amendment to ESRS E1-7 requiring project-level disclosure would make European carbon credit purchases independently verifiable, with no additional data burden on companies.

About Senken

Senken is a carbon credit procurement partner providing companies with high-integrity credits and the proof to defend them to auditors, boards, and the press. Senken vets every credit against 600+ data points, rejects 95% of market projects, and delivers audit-ready documentation

About Sylvera

Sylvera is a carbon data platform. Its ratings (AAA to D) are used by investors, corporates, and governments to assess credit quality across additionality, permanence, and co-benefits.

Media Contact: Katya Pranitskaya, katya@senken.io 

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