Frequently Asked Questions

CO₂e stands for carbon dioxide equivalent. It is a standard unit used to measure the climate impact of different greenhouse gases in a consistent way. While CO₂ refers only to carbon dioxide, CO₂e includes carbon dioxide as well as other greenhouse gases, allowing impact to be communicated clearly and comparably to customers.

The carbon footprint shown in the cart or at checkout is estimated based on your store's industry and the amount spent. During onboarding, you select a standardised industry classification, known as a Merchant Category Code (MCC). This code maps to reliable, sector-level emissions data, which we combine with the order value to calculate the CO₂e estimate shown to customers.

Unsure which MCC to choose? Have a look at What are MCCs and how do I choose one?

Every purchase has a carbon footprint. That's true whether it's a t-shirt or a takeaway coffee and it's a normal part of modern shopping.

ekko gives customers a way to act on that footprint. In the cart or at checkout, they can contribute to Gold Standard carbon credits, which fund verified projects that remove, reduce or prevent greenhouse gas emissions. It's transparent and opt-in, appearing alongside their order.

Comparisons like "as much as a tree can capture in a month" help customers understand their contribution in practical terms. The tree comparison is based on the European Environment Agency's mature-tree carbon capture estimate.

We use published sources like the EEA to keep these grounded. They aren't exact measurements, but clear reference points that make climate impact tangible.

ekko works with trusted organisations to make sure every contribution drives real, measurable impact. Our network spans global leaders and grassroots initiatives, covering climate action, nature conservation, biodiversity and pollution reduction.

The ekko Shopify app supports Gold Standard for carbon credits and RSPB, Tusk and Conservation Collective for contributions.

Contributions go to ekko's partner network: Gold Standard carbon credits for Climate action, and RSPB, Tusk and Conservation Collective for Round up. You can't currently pick individual projects per store - we vet and manage the portfolio so every contribution reaches verified projects.

An MCC (Merchant Category Code) is a classification used by the card payments industry to describe what a business sells. Every merchant that accepts cards has one, assigned by their payment processor.

How does ekko use it?

We use your MCC to estimate the carbon footprint of each customer order. Different industries have very different carbon footprints per unit of sales, so knowing your category lets us give customers a meaningful estimate. The MCC maps to sector-level emissions data, which we multiply by the order value to get the footprint you see at checkout.

The estimate is at the category level, so it captures the shape of your industry rather than the exact specifics of your products. It's a reliable working estimate, not a precise measurement.

How do I pick the right one?

Look for the option that best matches what you sell. The list is grouped by category (Apparel & fashion, Home & garden, Food & drink and so on) so you can jump to yours quickly.

If nothing fits exactly, pick the closest match. The estimate is category-level, so close is good enough. An activewear brand choosing "Sports Apparel Stores" instead of "Family Clothing Stores" will produce almost the same footprint.

If you sell across a few categories, pick the one that reflects most of your sales.

Can I change it later?

Yes, any time from your ekko dashboard. Changes take effect for new orders - past contributions stay as they were, since your customers already saw and agreed to the amount when they contributed.

ekko comes in two versions: a cart version that works on every Shopify plan and a checkout version for Shopify Plus stores.

• On Shopify Plus? You can use either or both. We recommend checkout since customers who skip the cart still see it there.
• On any other Shopify plan? Install the cart version.

Both versions give customers the same outcome: see the carbon footprint of their order and choose to contribute to climate and nature projects in one tap.

For every Shopify plan. Works on Online Store 2.0 themes.

• Install ekko from the Shopify App Store.

• Complete the onboarding in the ekko app. Onboarding sets up your business details, creates the ekko products in your catalogue and configures your markets so ekko can work. Without onboarding, ekko can't function.

• Tell us about your business. Confirm your business name and address, and pick your industry - search the list or browse by category. Use your own MCC if you know it; if not, the closest match is fine and you can change it any time.

• Create your products. ekko adds two products to your catalogue - Climate action and Round up. They carry no price of their own, need no shipping and stay out of your storefront listings. This step takes about a minute to complete.

• Set up markets and currencies. Your base currency is always on. Auto-sync (recommended) covers every currency you sell in and any market you add later; or switch currencies on one by one.

• Review your setup. Check the details - you can still adjust your industry here - then click Complete setup.

• Set your monthly cap. Shopify requires a spending cap for every app. Contributions come from your customers, so the cap is never a cost to you - we suggest setting it on the higher side so ekko keeps appearing. Approve the subscription when Shopify asks.

• Follow the setup step for your cart. ekko checks whether your theme uses a cart page or a cart drawer and shows you the matching step at the end of onboarding, with a direct link to the right place in your theme editor.

If your store uses a cart page - the link opens your theme editor on your Cart template:

• Click Add section and then select ekko under Apps.

• In the block's settings, choose whether ekko should match your theme's border radius - the Match your theme toggle.

• Save. On most themes ekko then places itself just above the checkout button automatically. Where your theme's cart summary isn't recognised, ekko stays where you added it - a spot near the checkout button is a good choice.
• Go to your store, add an item to the cart and check that everything looks and works as you expect.

If your store uses a cart drawer - the link opens App embeds in your theme editor:

• Toggle on ekko: climate action, and choose whether ekko should match your theme's border radius - the Match your theme toggle in the embed's settings.

• Save. ekko places itself inside your drawer automatically when a customer opens it, just above the checkout area - there's nothing to position.

• Go to your store, add an item to the cart and check that everything looks and works as you expect.

Cart page

Cart drawer

Coming back to ekko's placement? On themes where ekko recognises the cart summary it anchors itself above the checkout button, so there's usually nothing to reposition. If it isn't anchored on your theme, open Online Store → Themes → Edit theme, find your Cart page template and move the ekko section. Then save.

More on drawers? See Does the cart version work with cart drawers and slide carts? for how drawer placement works and what happens on themes where ekko can't place itself safely.

Yes. Turn on the ekko app embed (Online Store → Themes → Edit theme → Theme settings → App embeds → ekko: climate action) and ekko places itself inside your theme's slide-out cart drawer when a customer opens it, just above the checkout area. This works on most themes, including Dawn, Horizon and themes built on them.

ekko only places itself where it can do so safely, so on a theme where it can't recognise a safe spot it won't appear in the drawer at all. If that happens on your theme, email stores@ekko.earth and we'll see what we can do.

Working in the theme editor? The editor can't open a real cart drawer, so ekko doesn't show there. To see it on your store, add a product to your cart on the storefront. You can also run the drawer compatibility check on the ekko app's home page - it checks your published theme and tells you whether ekko can place itself in your drawer.

For Shopify Plus only.

• Install ekko from the Shopify App Store.

• Complete the onboarding in the ekko app. Onboarding sets up your business details, creates the ekko products in your catalogue and configures your markets so ekko can work. Without onboarding, ekko can't function.

• Tell us about your business. Confirm your business name and address, and pick your industry - search the list or browse by category. Use your own MCC if you know it; if not, the closest match is fine and you can change it any time.

• Create your products. ekko adds two products to your catalogue - Climate action and Round up. They carry no price of their own, need no shipping and stay out of your storefront listings. This step takes about a minute to complete.

• Set up markets and currencies. Your base currency is always on. Auto-sync (recommended) covers every currency you sell in and any market you add later; or switch currencies on one by one.

• Review your setup. Check the details - you can still adjust your industry here - then click Complete setup.

• Set your monthly cap. Shopify requires a spending cap for every app. Contributions come from your customers, so the cap is never a cost to you - we suggest setting it on the higher side so ekko keeps appearing. Approve the subscription when Shopify asks.

• Follow the checkout setup step. At the end of onboarding, the checkout step gives you a direct link to your checkout editor. (Finding it manually later: Settings → Checkout → Configurations → Edit.)

• Add the ekko block. Click the Apps icon in the far-left menu, find ekko and click the + to add it to your checkout.

• Include ekko in Shop Pay. In the side panel under Checkout behaviour, toggle on Include block in Shop Pay so ekko also shows when customers check out via Shop Pay.

• Position it. Use the controls to place ekko where you want it - we suggest high in the checkout, so customers see it before they pay, though where it sits is your decision.

• Save.

• Go to your store, add an item to the cart, go to checkout and check that everything looks and works as you expect.

Coming back to reposition ekko or change settings? Open Settings → Checkout → Configurations → Edit, click the Apps icon in the sidebar and find the ekko block.

Also using the cart version? If you run both, ekko passes state between the cart and checkout so customers are never prompted twice.

Yes, on any Online Store 2.0 theme, including Dawn and most modern themes in the Shopify Theme Store. The cart version installs as an app section on your cart page or drawer in the theme editor. Vintage themes aren't currently supported by ekko - if you're on one, email stores@ekko.earth and we'll see what we can do.

The checkout version uses Shopify's Checkout Extensibility framework and runs natively on Plus, so theme version is not relevant.

Yes. ekko reads the cart contents, so anything customers add through quick add, quick view or product page buttons is included in the carbon footprint shown.

You can install ekko yourself. On Online Store 2.0 themes you add the cart version in your theme editor and the checkout version is added through Shopify's checkout customiser. If you run into any issues, email stores@ekko.earth.

Cart version. Open your theme editor and remove the ekko section from your cart page or toggle off the ekko app embed if you use a cart drawer. Save. Then uninstall the app in your Shopify admin (Settings → Apps and sales channels → ekko → Uninstall) and remove the ekko products from your product catalogue.

Checkout version. Open Shopify's checkout customiser, remove the ekko block from your checkout. Then uninstall the app (Settings → Apps and sales channels → ekko → Uninstall) and remove the ekko products from your product catalogue.

Either action removes ekko from the customer experience immediately.

Contributions your customers have already made are registered with Shopify billing as they happen, so anything collected before you uninstall is included in your final bill and passed on to the projects.

Install ekko on each store separately. Onboarding, settings and billing are all per store, so each has its own setup, monthly cap and bill.

The cart version sits in your cart, either the cart page or the cart drawer depending on your theme. The checkout version sits inside one-page checkout on Plus. Merchants control placement using Shopify's native controls: the theme editor for the cart version and the checkout customiser for the checkout version.

ekko is responsive and follows your theme's mobile layout. The cart version sizes to match the cart drawer or page and the checkout version uses Shopify's native checkout components so it inherits Shopify's mobile design.

Customers can contribute in two ways and each appears as its own line item in the order.

Climate action is a contribution based on the carbon footprint of the order. It funds Gold Standard carbon credits, which support verified projects that remove, reduce or prevent greenhouse gas emissions.

Round up rounds up the order total, with the difference contributed to ekko's nature partners: RSPB, Tusk and Conservation Collective.

Customers can choose one, both or neither.

The ekko contribution appears as a line item in the customer's order confirmation email and Shopify receipt. It's labelled as Climate action, Round up or both, depending on what they chose, with the exact amount they contributed.

If they've opted in for a tax receipt (US only), we send that separately by email.

No. There's no ekko account, no login and no signup for customers. Everything happens inside their normal Shopify checkout.

US customers who want a tax receipt for their contribution can enter their email address in the ekko app to receive one. We use the email to send the receipt and don't store it after that.

We can support any currency.

Discounts never reduce the contribution itself. When a customer applies a discount code at checkout, ekko recalculates the carbon footprint for the new order total, removes the old contribution and asks whether they'd like to add the updated one back. Whatever they confirm is what they pay.

ekko shows in whatever language your customer is viewing your store in, as long as you've published it in Shopify and ekko supports it  - otherwise in English. You don't set this in ekko; it follows your store automatically.

ekko can currently show in English, Portuguese, German, French, Arabic, Italian, Spanish, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, Turkish and Greek.


For anything else, email stores@ekko.earth.

Contributions aren't donations in the tax sense: Climate action funds the purchase of carbon credits and Round up supports ekko's nature partners, with ekko handling the payments to partners. Whether anything is deductible depends on where your customer lives and their tax situation, so we don't give tax advice - if customers ask, point them to their tax adviser. US customers can request a receipt for their contribution by entering their email in the ekko widget, issued in accordance with In accordance with California charitable fundraising law.

You control which currencies ekko appears in, and can change it any time in the ekko app. Your base currency is always on; customers shopping in a currency you haven't enabled won't see ekko.

Two ways to manage this:

• Auto-sync (recommended). When you add a new market in Shopify, ekko appears for customers in that currency. Nothing else to do.
• Manual. You switch ekko on per currency. New markets in Shopify won't show ekko until you enable them.

Languages. ekko shows in the language a customer is viewing your store in, where you've published it in Shopify and ekko supports it - otherwise English. Nothing to set here.

Yes, by currency. You control which currencies ekko appears in from the ekko app: your base currency is always on, and customers shopping in a currency you haven't enabled won't see ekko - in the cart or at checkout. Because the control works per currency, markets that share one are enabled together - switching off EUR hides ekko for Spain and France alike. If you need finer control than that, email stores@ekko.earth and we'll see what we can do.

Yes. The ekko app is compatible with most other Shopify apps, including other checkout and cart apps. If you install multiple apps that add content to the same place in your cart or checkout, you can reorder or position them in Shopify's theme editor or checkout customiser.

ekko doesn't use Shopify's Cart Transform functionality, so it won't conflict with apps that do (like some subscription apps).

Both the cart and the checkout versions work alongside subscription products, whichever subscription platform you use. When a customer sets up a subscription, they see the ekko prompt in the cart or at checkout just like on a regular order and can choose to contribute.

Renewal orders happen automatically and don't go through cart or checkout, so ekko doesn't prompt on those. The customer's initial contribution applies to the first order only. Contributions are collected by the merchant as part of the order and ekko bills you monthly based on the contributions collected.

Yes, on Shopify Plus you can run both. Any contribution your customer selects in the cart carries through to checkout, so they're never asked twice.

The UI is slightly different in each surface, but the outcome is the same. Whatever your customer picks, it applies to their order.

Customers who go through your cart see the ekko prompt. Any contribution they add stays with the order all the way through checkout, whichever payment method they use.

Some customers skip the cart entirely. Express buy buttons on product pages (Buy with Shop Pay, Apple Pay or Google Pay) and the Shop app take them straight to checkout, so they don't see the cart prompt.

On Shopify Plus with the checkout version, ekko can also appear in the Shop Pay flow. When you add ekko to your checkout, toggle on Include block in Shop Pay in the side panel under Checkout behaviour. Apple Pay, Google Pay and the Shop app don't support the same block, so customers using those express flows still bypass ekko.

Not currently. ekko appears in your online store's cart and checkout; it doesn't show on Shopify POS, so in-person sales aren't prompted. If that would matter for your store, email stores@ekko.earth.

Yes. The cart version is built on Shopify's native theme app extensions - an app section on your cart page and an app embed for the cart drawer - and renders inside your existing cart. By default it uses ekko's own look; turn on Match your theme and it follows your theme's border radius. The checkout version is built on Shopify's Checkout Extensibility framework and runs natively in Plus checkout. Both follow Shopify's performance, security and UX standards.

Neither version relies on script tags or legacy checkout code, so Shopify's removal of Additional Scripts and Thank You/ Order Status page scripts doesn't affect ekko. If you're replacing a script-based contribution or sustainability widget ahead of that deadline, ekko already runs on the new architecture.

No.

The checkout version runs on Shopify's Checkout Extensibility framework, so it inherits Shopify's checkout performance requirements. It has no impact on checkout speed or conversion.

The cart version fetches the carbon footprint from ekko in real time whenever your customer opens or updates their cart, so the number is always accurate for the current basket. The fetch runs in parallel with the rest of the page, so it never slows down your cart, product images, checkout buttons or anything else. We monitor against Shopify's app performance scores.

No. ekko is embedded within your existing cart and checkout flows and doesn't introduce any additional steps or pages.

Yes. Remove the ekko section from your cart page in the theme editor, toggle off the ekko app embed under Theme settings → App embeds if you use a cart drawer or remove the block in the checkout customiser (checkout version). ekko will no longer appear in your customer experience.

No. ekko doesn't alter Shopify's payment flow. Payments are processed as normal through Shopify checkout, with an optional contribution added to the order. All payment methods supported by Shopify continue to work as expected.

ekko is free to install. There's no monthly fee and no per-unit cost.

Contributions are funded by your customers: when a customer chooses to contribute, the amount is added to their order and you collect it as part of the payment. ekko then bills you monthly for the contributions you've collected, so the app never costs your store money. ekko's service fee is included in the contribution amount.

Adding a contribution to an order means a little extra card processing on your side. ekko leaves about 4p of every £1 climate action out of your monthly bill to cover it, so collecting contributions stays cost-neutral for your store.

The monthly spending cap sets the maximum ekko can bill you in a month.

83.3% of what your customer pays goes straight to the climate and nature projects they choose.

ekko adds a service fee on top of the amount your customer picks. The fee covers running the apps and moving every contribution to our partners, as well as the extra card processing on your side.

Shopify requires a monthly spending cap for each app. It sets the maximum that ekko can bill you in a month. There's one cap for ekko as a whole: if you run both the cart and checkout versions, contributions from both count towards the same cap.

ekko is never a cost to your store. Your customers cover ekko's fee when they contribute at checkout, so the cap only limits how much of what they've already contributed can be billed to you and passed on to climate and nature partners.

We recommend setting the cap high so ekko keeps appearing. If you reach it, ekko pauses until next month. Monthly billing reflects the contributions already collected.

If a customer chooses to contribute, the contribution appears transparently in the order as one or two additional line items. Depending on the customer's selection, this may include Climate action, a Round up or both. If no contribution is selected, no additional line items are added.

This is the same whether ekko was in the cart or the checkout.

Refunding an order in Shopify doesn't automatically refund the ekko contribution. Once the ekko items on an order are refunded - on their own or as part of a bigger refund - open the ekko app in your Shopify admin, click Reverse eligible orders and select the order.

The reversed amount comes back to you as a Shopify app credit, applied automatically against your next ekko bill.

Customers may be happy for their contribution to stand even if their order is refunded, so it's your call.

For any other refund case, contact stores@ekko.earth and we'll handle it.

ekko products in your catalogues are set up as tax exempt. The tax liability is on ekko.

The app is customer-funded by design: your customers choose to contribute. If you'd like your store to contribute as well - matching, per-order giving or something else - we can arrange that with you directly, outside the app. Email stores@ekko.earth.

When you install ekko, Shopify shows you everything the app can access. Here's what each item is for.

Customer data (email address, physical address). Your customer's location lets ekko calculate sales tax correctly on contributions. ekko only uses their email address when a US customer requests a tax receipt - we send the receipt and don't store the address after that.

Device and activity data (geolocation, IP address, browser and operating system). These fields come with Shopify's standard order-data permission. ekko reads orders to process contributions and uses location for tax. We may also use this data in aggregate to understand how ekko is used and to improve the product - we don't sell it and we don't use it for advertising.

Store owner details (name, email, phone number, address). This is about you, not your customers: it prefills your business details during onboarding and gives ekko a contact for billing and support.

Edit products. ekko creates and looks after its two products in your catalogue - Climate action and Round up. That's what the product, inventory and publishing access is for: setting their dynamic prices, marking them as not needing shipping and keeping them out of your storefront listings. ekko doesn't edit your own products.

View orders (last 60 days). ekko reads your orders to find the contributions your customers chose, bill you accurately each month and process reversals when you refund an order. The 60-day window is Shopify's standard limit for this permission.

Locales and Shopify Markets settings. These power your markets and currencies setup and let ekko show in the language your customer is viewing your store in.

Shopify confirms ekko meets its data handling and privacy requirements - you'll see that note on the install screen. For what ekko does and doesn't store, see [Link: Is the app GDPR compliant and does ekko store any personal or payment data?].

ekko is GDPR compliant. Payment details are never processed by ekko. Shopify handles all payments and ekko bills you monthly via Shopify. No payment credentials are stored.

To calculate sales tax accurately, ekko accesses limited location information for the merchant and the customer at the point of transaction.

In the US, customers can request a tax receipt for their contribution. If they do, they enter their email address in the ekko app. We use it to send the receipt and don't store it after that.

Your app home page shows the contributions billed against your monthly cap, and every contribution appears as a line item on its order in Shopify. ekko also sends you a monthly report of what your store has collected and passed on. A fuller impact view in the app is coming.

Questions in the meantime? Contact stores@ekko.earth for assistance.

Yes. Your welcome emails include material on how to talk about ekko accurately - environmental claims are regulated, so we give you wording that's safe to use. For anything beyond that, email stores@ekko.earth.

You can contact the ekko team at stores@ekko.earth for setup guidance, questions or support.