How does carbon feature in your strategy?
Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing our experience of adding carbon into your sustainability strategy. This will take the form of a blog series that will address different elements of the decision-making process
There is enough negative media attention, so whilst we will always be objective, we will focus on the reason FOR doing so. There is rightly a focus on real and meaningful decarbonisation but international best practice also suggests companies should additionally take immediate action through the use of carbon credits.
There is a suite of environmental certificates, of which carbon credits are one example. When used as part of a balanced approach they are such an important ingredient in the battle against climate change.
What do the COP outcomes mean for carbon credits?
As the dust settles on COP29, it’s clear the event has sparked a range of narratives across the sustainability landscape. While I didn’t attend in person, I’ve been closely following the updates from those who were there.
In this blog, I reflect on the key outcomes from COP29 and explore what they mean for companies looking to integrate carbon credits into their sustainability strategies.
#Blog 7 - 6 December 2024
The conclusion of this year’s COP was marked by tough negotiations and frustration over a significant funding gap between commitments from developed nations and the actual needs of developing countries. Current estimates suggest a sixfold difference: approximately $300 billion pledged versus $1.7 trillion required annually.
However, there was a notable breakthrough—a new target of $1.3 trillion in climate funding by 2035, incorporating both public and private sector contributions.
This is critical because it expands the scope for innovation and positions carbon credits as part of a broader climate finance solution. Despite frustrations with the pace of progress, COP did deliver some wins—especially for the carbon markets.
One of the most significant outcomes was the long-overdue clarification of Article 6, which establishes the framework for international emissions trading. Originally referenced in the Paris Agreement nearly a decade ago, the rules have now been finalised, making the carbon credit mechanism fully operational.
In simple terms, Article 6 allows Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) - essentially, carbon credits - to move between countries. This not only facilitates cross-border collaboration but also addresses a critical concern: the risk of double-counting emissions reductions, ie both a company and a host country cannot claim the same emission reduction units.
This clarity provides much-needed stability for carbon markets and reduces a key barrier for investors.
Not quite—but it’s a step in the right direction. The carbon markets remain young and complex, and investment decisions in this space can be challenging. However, the agreement includes a moratorium on further changes to the carbon credit mechanism until 2028.
For investors, this offers a window of stability—critical for achieving financial close on long-term projects, which often span 10–20 years.
While the market isn’t scaling at the pace required, it has stabilised, with 2024 potentially a record-breaking year in terms of traded and retired carbon credits.
The focus now is on engaging the "early majority" to drive demand.
COP Agreements: Progress amidst tension
Article 6: A long-awaited development for carbon markets
Does this resolve all uncertainty?
To achieve meaningful growth, the carbon credit market must address several key areas:
1. Strengthening demand-side practices
Organisations such as ICVCM and VCMi have made significant progress in providing best-practice guidance to minimise greenwashing and ensure transparency. However, for carbon credits to become a core part of corporate decision-making, they need to align with broader commercial strategies.
Key priorities include:
- Educating stakeholders on the interplay between decarbonisation and offsetting.
- Enhancing transparency through digital platforms and objective information.
- Striking a balance between sharing sustainability efforts and maintaining competitive advantage.
2. Improving market mechanisms
There’s a pressing need for more streamlined and reliable systems:
- Digital registries with consistent formats and core quality benchmarks.
- Transparent pricing data to build trust in the process.
- Improved monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) processes to ensureand demonstrate the integrity of projects.
Additionally, greater visibility into how funding flows through the supply chain could reduce inefficiencies and ensure more funds reach the actual projects. Think of it like evaluating charity organizations based on their allocation of funds to direct impact versus overhead costs.
3. Addressing real-world challenges
Large-scale, nature-based projects require reference sites and sophisticated tools to demonstrate their impact. For instance, the Jurisdictional REDD+ methodology is designed to help, improved satellite monitoring, enhanced statistical models, and consistent MRV frameworks are also essential. Existing projects are already providing valuable insights to refine future efforts and address earlier gaps in design.
What’s next for the carbon credit market?
While challenges remain, the carbon market is becoming increasingly attractive to investors. Market activity demonstrates that many companies are able to put a price on their emissions.
In the UK, legal requirements for corporate decarbonisation are on the horizon. Although deadlines are years away, robust planning is essential today. Carbon markets offer a way to accelerate innovation, drive change, and create accountability.
The carbon market is now investable
Final thoughts: act now!
2024 could be a pivotal year for carbon markets, with the groundwork laid for greater demand and investment. However, urgency remains—climate events are escalating, and the message is clear: we must do more and act faster.
For companies, this means tackling decarbonisation head-on while leveraging the growing robustness of carbon markets to drive innovation and transformation.
Need help developing your carbon strategy?
We offer a free initial review and specialise in combining sustainability with commercial opportunity.
Get in touch to explore how we can support your journey.
Accelerating Decarbonisation with an Internal Carbon Price
Over the last few weeks, we have been exploring the role of environmental certificates in accelerating decarbonisation for businesses aiming to reach net zero.
Harnessing market mechanisms is essential for most businesses to transition effectively to a low-carbon economy. While decarbonisation takes time, and not all solutions are immediately available, leveraging economic tools like carbon pricing can help drive these solutions to commercial maturity.
Today, let’s dive into the concept of internal carbon pricing. By committing to purchasing carbon credits and setting an internal carbon price, businesses can address carbon costs head-on, reflecting both the true costs of operations and the potential benefits of emission-reducing activities.
#Blog 6 - 4 November 2024
At its core, there are two main reasons for implementing an internal carbon price:
- Reflecting the Full Cost of Business Activities: An internal carbon price enables companies to account for the environmental impact of their products and services, instead of ignoring a key externality for which they are responsible.
- Creating an Incentive to Reduce Emissions: An internal carbon price incentivises emissions reduction efforts across the organisation, offering a tangible returns on investment that cut emissions.
Why Set an Internal Carbon Price?
1. Paying the True Price for Your Operations
2. Driving Innovation and Efficiency with Carbon Pricing
Companies typically have well-defined processes for attributing costs to their products to ensure they are financially sustainable. However, if environmental costs aren’t included, then key decision-makers are left with only part of the financial picture.
As we move into an era of carbon awareness and net zero targets, it’s essential to incorporate these costs.
A carbon price can simplify this process by using CO2 equivalents (CO2e), creating a common metric that can be applied consistently across the organisation. Many tools exist to help companies calculate their carbon footprint, and these can be used to quantify emissions and set a corresponding price.
Business units can then factor carbon costs into their models, setting targets and reporting as any other operating cost. Clear focus encourages ownership and therefore management, and hopefully reduction over time!
Alternatively, an organisation might set an internal carbon price to catalyse innovation. Without allocating a cost to emissions, the business case for emission-reducing projects may lack the financial backing needed to succeed.
Most investment committees require set return thresholds and payback periods and where emission-reduction projects lack monetary benefits, these projects struggle to meet stringent criteria for approval.
Setting a carbon price changes this by creating a clear, financial value for emissions reduction. Projects that cut emissions have quantifiable benefits allowing them to compete fairly for funding and prioritisation. With carbon priced in monetary terms, managers across the organisation can treat emissions reduction as they do other cost-saving measures, integrating it into long term development plans.
Choosing the Right Carbon Price for Your Organisation
Once you’ve decided to implement a carbon price, the question becomes: what price should you choose? Should it be tied to carbon credit purchases, or should it be an independent figure informed by market data?
- Benchmarking to Market Prices: For a baseline, the UK’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) shows an average price of around £40 per tonne in 2024. However, voluntary carbon market prices can vary widely, with many Core Carbon Principles (CCP)-eligible credits available in the £5-£20 range per tonne.
- Aligning to Net Zero Goals: Many companies, such as Microsoft, set internal prices well above market rates (over $100 per tonne) to drive more ambitious decarbonisation efforts. A higher internal carbon price now can help fund innovative solutions and accelerate progress toward net zero targets.
Ultimately, setting an internal carbon price should align with your overall decarbonisation strategy. Linking it to quality carbon credits at market prices can create a solid foundation for future costs while setting a higher price can push greater internal innovation.
Using Carbon Price Proceeds to Fund Climate Action
An internal carbon price allocates a cost to emissions, but spending the funds doesn’t need to be immediate. That said, transparency around your carbon pricing approach and how you intend to use the funds is crucial for credibility with stakeholders.
Using the funds from your internal carbon price to purchase high-quality carbon credits can signal a strong commitment to climate action. Not only does this demonstrate that carbon management is important within your business, but it also sends a message to employees and managers that sustainability innovation will be supported and rewarded.
In Summary
Incorporating carbon pricing into your business strategy offers a structured way to take responsibility for emissions, encourages innovation, and sets the groundwork for achieving net zero. By making emissions reductions a financially visible priority, companies can mobilise resources, foster internal alignment, and position themselves as leaders in sustainability.
If you need help implementing a carbon price within your organisation, get in touch and we can help build the case, and accelerate your journey to net zero. We can package our support to best meet your needs, whether short term project support or longer-term support and guidance.
Renewable Energy and the Journey to 24/7 Carbon-Free Electricity
Over the last few weeks, I have been sharing my thoughts on the use of environmental certificates to accelerate decarbonisation for businesses on their journey to net zero. This week, I will discuss the role of Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs), as I’ve been excited to see growing interest in real-time matching of these certificates to actual consumption. This is a clear example of the market maturing as participation and understanding grow, showing the importance of adopting market mechanisms transparently and working with all the tools at our disposal.
# Blog 5 - 17 October 2024
Back in 2015, the GHG Protocol update allowed us to launch the UK’s first independently certified renewable electricity tariffs whilst I was working at SmartestEnergy.
Working with the Carbon Trust, it became clear that businesses faced significant challenges in trusting renewable energy options. There was skepticism around the traceability of Guarantees of Origin (GoO) certificates. Consumers were often left wondering if their electricity suppliers were really delivering on their renewable promises. All they had to prove their commitment was a certificate number to show auditors.
This market innovation changed things by bringing all the necessary data into one place, allowing verified matching by a market expert. It made renewable energy purchases more reliable, building much-needed trust in the process and is pretty widespread now.
The Growth of Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs)
The Next Evolution: 24/7 Carbon-Free Electricity
Today, the market has evolved and EACs have gained prominence.
Each EAC represents 1MWh of energy from a renewable source being put into the grid. For a company to report zero-emission electricity, they need to acquire enough EACs to match their energy consumption.
In principle, by purchasing these certificates, companies are paying a premium to support renewable energy sources, which adds more renewable energy to the grid. As more companies opt for renewable energy, the demand increases, and so does the premium.
The system has worked, to some extent. There’s been steady growth in renewable-backed electricity, and more companies are reporting renewable energy consumption with the price of these certificates having risen considerably since those early days.
There are, however, still questions as to whether the system truly reflects the market value of renewable power allocated, particularly when other subsidies far outweigh the value of EACs.
We are now seeing the next exciting evolution in the renewable energy market: 24/7 carbon-free electricity.
This week, I attended a Climate Group webinar on the topic, and it’s clear that the future of renewable energy lies in matching energy consumption with carbon-free electricity (renewable or nuclear) on a much more granular level. Instead of relying on annual matching of EACs across a connected grid, the goal is to match on an hourly basis, ensuring carbon-free electricity is supplied to specific locations at the time of use.
A transition to 24/7 carbon-free electricity is a natural progression. It’s not about discrediting the use of EACs—these remain a credible way to reduce Scope 2 emissions. But as we move towards net-zero and work to keep global warming below 2°C, a more precise, time and location-based approach will be crucial. Hourly matching of specific renewable generation with consumption will help provide the necessary market signals to create a more efficient and smarter grid. It will help address the constant challenge of balancing supply with demand across the grid.
What will it take for businesses to make this shift to 24/7 carbon-free electricity?
- Understanding Energy Usage: Companies need to have a clear understanding of their electricity usage on an hourly basis. For most businesses, half-hour metered data is already the norm, so this part should be relatively straightforward.
- Tracking Energy Supply: Companies will also need detailed information about their energy supply. Do they have their own renewable generation? Have they signed a power purchase agreement (PPA)? How many EACs do they purchase, and what’s their grid mix? Traditionally, this kind of analysis was done annually, but will need to be broken down on an hourly basis.
- Tools and Technology: Moving to 24/7 carbon-free electricity will require new tools and technologies to manage the data and match energy consumption with renewable generation in real time. Initially, the cost of this transition will likely come from the management and administration of matching, rather than paying a premium for specific EACs. However, as more buyers look for scarce renewable energy during peak demand, market premiums will emerge. This, in turn, could help incentivise storage technologies and other innovations that contribute to a more balanced and efficient grid.
How to Transition to 24/7 Carbon-Free Electricity
A Smarter, More Efficient Energy Future
The renewable energy market is becoming increasingly complex, with more participants, more data points, and new technological capabilities. This complexity is driving smarter energy solutions that will help improve the efficiency of energy provision. It feels like a sector poised for exponential improvement, fueled by market mechanisms that encourage innovation.
In the context of my ongoing blog series on environmental certificates, committing to 100% renewable energy is already best practice. But for companies truly committed to their net-zero goals, planning a journey towards 24/7 carbon-free electricity seems the next credible step.
By taking these steps, businesses will not only reduce their carbon footprint but also contribute to the broader goal of creating a more sustainable, reliable, and efficient energy future.
If you're ready to explore how 24/7 carbon-free electricity could fit into your company's sustainability strategy, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Let's build a renewable future together.
#Blog 4 - 10 October 2024
What is the right budget and price point for carbon credits?
In last week’s post, I touched on the complexities of buying carbon credits. While the feedback was positive, I realised that I hadn’t fully addressed the internal challenge many carbon credit buyers face: determining the right budget. What is the correct amount to spend on carbon credits? And how do you target the right price?
It’s an equation with three variables, and each plays a critical role in shaping your strategy. Transparency and authenticity are essential ingredients, but how do you prioritise in practice?
What is the key driver?
When developing a carbon credit strategy, there are three main approaches companies can take:
- Budget-Driven
Has your finance department allocated a fixed budget, a percentage of profits, or an operational allowance for carbon credits?
- Volume-Driven
Have you committed to the total volume of carbon emissions (e.g., Scope 1 and 2 or even the more challenging Scope 3 emissions) or just a subset of that? Each credit represents a tonne of CO2 you emit so how sure are you of your measurement?
- Cost-Driven
Or have you got a target price in mind? Maybe from benchmarking the cost of carbon? Do you have specific project details in mind? More complex emerging technologies are inherently more expensive than established and the premium on the measured tonne of CO2 increases.
No one method is inherently right or wrong. The reality is that you'll need to work within your corporate parameters and experiment with these variables to find the best balance, especially at the start of your carbon credit journey. Strategy, often, will lead, but the numbers must follow.
The evolution of carbon credit strategies
Quality matters when buying carbon credits
A procurement question: should you negotiate?
In the early days of climate-neutral claims, the approach was relatively simple: companies would balance their emissions by purchasing an equal number of carbon credits.
Volume was determined and confirmed at the end of the reporting period, with sustainability teams adjusting the budget or the project mix to meet a pre-agreed target price range.
However, this system was easy to game. Some companies would buy the cheapest credits to claim neutrality or mix a small percentage of high-PR credits into a mostly low-cost portfolio.
It led to criticisms of "greenwashing" and a shift toward more thoughtful approaches to pricing and transparency.
One of the best ways to ensure that your carbon credits are meaningful is to use Core Carbon Principles (CCP)-eligible credits.
These projects undergo additional review, ensuring they deliver the desired impact. While CCP credits tend to be at the higher end of the cost spectrum per credit class, they provide the quality assurance stakeholders look for.
We are starting to see more price visibility, and platforms like Abatable really help. And it is pretty clear that even within project types, prices vary greatly. And like any other commodities, they follow rules of supply and demand, so prices fluctuate based on market sentiment, demand for certain types of credits, and availability.
An interesting dialogue arises in this space is how traditional corporate procurement rules apply. While saving money is usually a success metric in procurement, it may not be the right lens for carbon credits.
When negotiating a lower price, ask yourself: who’s paying that price? Is it the project on the ground or the intermediary? Does the price support sustainable project development, or is it undermining future growth?
Conversely, overpaying can also be problematic if it lines the pockets of profiteers instead of benefiting on-the-ground efforts.
The ideal approach should strike a balance but that requires price visibility.
A long term strategy
Your carbon credit strategy should have a long-term perspective. It’s not just about offsetting your current emissions, but also about internal carbon pricing. A well-executed carbon credit strategy can serve as a proxy for your company’s internal carbon price, helping to justify decarbonisation investments and serve as a key component of your broader net-zero goals.
As your company progresses along the net-zero pathway, the cost to decarbonise harder-to-abate activities will rise. Similarly, the value of supporting more impactful carbon projects will grow, making your carbon credits an important tool in your sustainability toolkit.
At the end of the day, the key to a successful carbon credit strategy is transparency.
Be upfront about the challenges and the rationale behind your decisions. Your stakeholders will appreciate the openness, and you’ll build trust by being honest about where you are in your journey.
If you're still unsure where to start or how to move forward, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Carbon credit strategies may seem complex, but with the right guidance, you can find a path that aligns with your company’s goals and values.
Action is better than inaction.
Choosing the right carbon credits:
AGuide for Businesses
Earlier in this series we explored the role of carbon credits and why businesses are increasingly incorporating them into their sustainability strategies. But once you’ve made the decision to buy carbon credits, the next challenge is figuring out which ones to choose and how to navigate the procurement process.
This week, we’ll delve into the complexities of selecting carbon credits and how you can simplify the process while still making impactful choices.
The complexity of buying carbon credits
The rise of carbon portals
One of the clients I have been working with is looking at how to simplify the process of buying carbon credits and it got me thinking, deciding to buy them is just the beginning. It is actually pretty complex when you get down to it.
So, what are the key factors you need to consider?
There are a growing number of carbon portals that make it easier to access the market. These platforms aggregate prices and options in one place, allowing buyers to quickly review and select projects. They’ve been instrumental in improving price transparency, and buyers can often compare prices for the same project across multiple platforms.
However, even with these portals, many of the key questions I’ve outlined above remain unanswered. You still need to make critical decisions about which projects to support. Simply having options doesn’t solve the underlying complexity of the purchase process.
Navigating price variability
The challenge to justify
One of the most challenging aspects is the lack of a clear market price index. Prices for carbon credits can range from less than £5/tonne to well over £100/tonne, making it difficult to manage your carbon budget effectively.
How do you approach this when your business has set a carbon budget? With such price variability, it can be tough to spend your budget wisely, ensuring you’re maximising both financial and environmental returns.
For many buyers, this whole task can be really daunting and then justifying these decisions can be difficult.
I've spoken with ESG Managers who feel they must conduct due diligence on every project—an exhausting and resource-intensive process.
Surely, there’s a better way.
Blog #3 - 1 October 2024
- Avoidance vs. Removals: Should you focus on projects that prevent emissions or those that actively remove carbon from the atmosphere?
- Nature-Based vs. Technological Solutions: Do you want to support natural solutions like reforestation, or should you look at high-tech approaches like carbon capture and storage?
- Co-Benefits vs. SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals): Does the project deliver additional environmental or social benefits alongside carbon reduction?
- Methodologies and Standards: Which standards body or methodology should you trust?
- Project-Specific or Portfolio Approach: Do you want to invest in specific projects, or spread your investment across a portfolio for more balance?
- Recent Issuance or Established Credits: Are you looking for newer credits or more established ones that might offer a longer track record?
- Local vs. Global: Should you prioritize local projects or those in developing nations that might have a higher impact on global emissions
- Timing of Purchase: How do you handle the fluctuating supply and demand that can affect prices?
Making credits accessible to all
Ultimately, market instruments should help grow participation in carbon credit markets by reducing barriers for buyers. Not everyone can be a carbon expert, and even experts may struggle to apply their knowledge to business strategy and commercial opportunities.
That’s where a simplified, expert-led approach could make all the difference.
If you’re interested in improving your carbon credit purchase experience or need help defining your carbon strategy, feel free to get in touch. We offer a free initial consultation to assess your current processes and provide insights on how you can combine commercial expertise with sustainability know-how to future-proof your business.
Next week, we'll look at some of the options people are using to future-proof their purchase strategy.
Why Integrate Carbon Credits into Your Sustainability Strategy?
In last week's article, we explored how two notable changes in the voluntary carbon credit markets are making it easier for businesses to confidently incorporate them into their sustainability strategies. Now, let’s dive into why doing so is a smart move.
In the past, many businesses aimed to become “carbon neutral” by purchasing carbon credits to offset their emissions. A clear message: "We acknowledge our emissions and are balancing them with carbon credits." This approach was straightforward, but it wasn’t perfect and allowed some companies to avoid meaningful decarbonisation and, in some cases, led to greenwashing.
And so, we are asked, "Why buy carbon credits?"
1. Clear indicator of intent
While it’s relatively easy to share a plan for long-term decarbonisation, pairing that plan with the immediate purchase of carbon credits shows a commitment to action today. By acknowledging your current emissions, you send a strong message to stakeholders: “We’re not just planning for the future; we’re investing in climate action right now.” This proactive approach demonstrates seriousness in tackling the climate crisis.
2. Decarbonisation takes time
Transforming established business processes to reduce emissions is challenging and time-consuming. Machinery, supply chains, and other operational aspects don’t change overnight — especially when large capital investments are involved. Carbon credits provide an interim solution, allowing businesses to take responsibility for their emissions while managing the slow, careful transition to net zero.
3. Attract and retain talent
In today’s competitive job market, employees — particularly younger generations — want to work for companies that take climate action seriously. A strong sustainability strategy, including carbon credits, not only enhances your business’s future readiness but also positions you as an employer of choice. It demonstrates your commitment to being a responsible business, making your company more appealing to top talent.
4. Foster internal innovation
Implementing a carbon credit strategy can inspire internal innovation by establishing a clear price on emissions. This gives teams a measurable financial objective to reduce their carbon impact. By pricing emissions, you create opportunities for process improvements and product innovations that lower carbon emissions to demonstrate cost reductions as well. It shifts the narrative from “doing good” to driving tangible financial benefits through sustainable practices.
Organisations must comply with the UK’s 2050 net zero target, but, in addition, a carbon strategy can be a key tool in future-proofing your business. Adopting a carbon credits strategy helps establish an internal carbon price, benchmarked to the market.
This sends a clear signal from leadership that climate is critical to business success. And as the saying goes: “What gets measured, gets managed.”
By putting a price on emissions, you integrate environmental responsibility into your core business operations — ensuring that sustainability becomes part of your financial management and core KPIs.
The Power of a Carbon Price
What's next?
A key question to consider is: What carbon price should your business set?
How do you choose the right carbon credits for your business, and are they all created equal? We will explore these questions in next week’s article.
We offer a free initial consultation to assess your current processes. A chance to see how combining commercial experience with sustainability know-how can future-proof your business.
Reasons for buying carbon credits
Blog #2 - 24 September 2024
However, there has been some public discourse in the media and the sustainability community as to whether these standards are rigorous enough.
What is a carbon credit?
There will always be a balance to make between investing in real decarbonisation and addressing your emissions now with carbon credits.
The challenge for a lot of businesses is that it is really difficult to decarbonise completely and this process takes a long time with the impact not necessarily occurring for a number of years, meaning more emissions going unabated whilst you are trying to do the right thing.
This Code of Practice specifically addresses how a company can make public claims about their actions, to address concerns over the term “climate neutral”. They have created it as a means to encourage “businesses to show ambition, make a claim, and accelerate global net zero.”
To date, one of the key drivers for buying carbon credits has been to demonstrate action to stakeholders, and to use as a differentiation for customers. In light of public criticism, this code certainly provides helpful clarification. There are still additional considerations required depending on your national regulation but as we try to build momentum for the low-carbon transition, the claims that drive engagement have a strong role to play.
Put simply, a carbon credit is a contractual instrument that represents 1 tonne of CO2e.
It has been generated through a project designed to either a) avoid emissions from entering the atmosphere or b) remove emissions already in the atmosphere.
For a credit to be issued the project must follow standards, will be measured, must report and be verified and be visible on the appropriate open registry.
In reality, the majority of credits also have co-benefits, which are in addition to the value of the CO2e sequestration. These are derived from the type of project undertaken and depict the additional value created for the local environment of the project, whether that be community, biodiversity, employment or health and wellbeing benefits. These co-benefits often drive the cost of the specific projects.
Building a high integrity marketplace for carbon.
In response to these market headwinds, there have been two significant developments during 2024.
Set up in 2021, the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), an independent non-profit global governance body, has released a set of Core Carbon Principles (CCP).
These carbon principles set a benchmark to ensure integrity, ie real impact, in the voluntary carbon market. In practice, this means they have reviewed the carbon methodologies (standards) and provide a short list of those that are aligned with these principles.
At the current time these are;
This global best practice should reassure buyers to recommit to the market.
The second significant development to take place is from another global non-profit organisation, the Voluntary Carbon Market initiative (VCMi) which has released a claims code of practice.
Do carbon credits represent real climate action?
Each carbon project will follow the requirements of one of the carbon standards.
These global standards are typically operated by not-for-profit organisations who specialise in different carbon methodologies.
The project stakeholders will need to follow this guidance to set up their project.
Once the project is up and running, and fundamental to the set-up, the project will work with a verified third party who will measure, report and validate (MRV) the project during its life.
These independent actors set the conditions for carbon credits and provide due diligence to allow the voluntary carbon market to operate, ie for businesses to contractually buy and sell carbon credits in the knowledge that the standards have been followed.
Blog #1 - 17 September 2024
Why buy carbon credits?
What is a carbon credit?
So, what to do?
Inaction is the result of uncertainty in the market. Action takes time, effort and cost. And if the results of that action can be negative, then it is easy to see why some organisations question the value of carbon.
However, carbon markets are economically efficient and designed to deliver environmental impact on the ground at the point of need.
A commitment to buying carbon credits also puts a clear price on your emission outputs.
More of that next week when I articulate the primary reasons why you would want to add carbon to your sustainability strategy.
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