VCMI Timeline Overview

During the inception phase, which ran from March to July 2021, VCMI focuses on defining the scope of its work and conducting research, stakeholder mapping, and interviews to identify key questions and develop initial proposals for core requirements to promote and help ensure high-integrity VCMs. Through over fifty interviews with close to 200 stakeholders, VCMI receives valuable insights from key constituencies involved in VCMs from around the world.

Eighty-five participants from thirty-two forest countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean share perspectives on emerging issues relating to high integrity in VCMs in forest countries through participation in two regional dialogues hosted by the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP’s) Climate and Forest Team, a strategic partner of VCMI.

Hosted by Financial Times environment correspondent Pilita Clark, the event includes the launch of the VCMI Consultation Report, with details on how to engage in the global consultation process through to COP26 in November, and a range of expert perspectives across government, business, and civil society. Distinguished participants include COP 26 President-Designate Alok Sharma and US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.

VCMI is honored to have the participation of government leaders from Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Germany, Ghana, Jalisco (a state of México), Kenya, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Yucatán (another state of México), alongside civil society, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and business leaders.

The VCMI SteerCo is the initiative’s ultimate decision-making body. Rachel Kyte and Tariye Gbadegesin are announced to serve as its co-chairs.

The CCG comprises governments from the Global South and Global North and provides input to the VCMI process and products. It engages in government-to-government exchange on VCMs and develops country-level VCM Access Strategies.

The EAG comprises over thirty international VCMs experts. It advises on the development of claims guidance and provides technical advice on other related matters to the Steering Committee (SteerCo).

VCMI receives fifty-two responses to the Consultation Report from a wide range of stakeholders across a diversity of sectors and regions. These are synthesized in Feedback on the VCMI Consultation Report: Views on Vision, Principles, Claims Guidance, and VCMI’s Role.

At COP26, VCMI works to ensure that integrity and equity are at the forefront of the voluntary carbon market debate. Widespread support from countries, companies, NGOs, and other initiatives operating in related fields gives further momentum to VCMI’s work going forward.

The Provisional Code is unveiled at a launch event co-hosted by the VCMI and UK Government. It provides companies with a globally standardised benchmark for the voluntary use of carbon credits, and a way to recognise businesses genuinely going the extra mile.

The Provisional Code aims to provide consumers and wider stakeholders with the information needed to scrutinise carbon credit claims across sectors and hold businesses accountable, helping build trust in the market and ensuring claims are underpinned by real action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

VCMI Co-Chairs Rachel Kyte and Tariye Gbadegesin join other climate leaders on several globally significant panels and roundtables. These included Goals House’s deep dive on corporate net-zero, a UK Pavilion discussion on how Africa’s capital markets can close the finance gap, and a panel organised by Strive on communicating carbon offsetting with integrity.

VCMI engages with discussions on key Article 6 issues. Ensuring the use of carbon credits enhances climate mitigation rather than substituting for internal decarbonisation is one of VCMI’s key principles and the Claims Code of Practice will maintain this approach.

The partnership aims to deepen engagement and feedback from companies in the VCMI process. It will support companies to follow VCMI’s Claims Code, helping to ensure carbon market investments strengthen – rather than undermine – global action towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The partnership will also help to overcome technical barriers, for example by convening partners to establish methodologies and metrics for assessing whether companies are on track to their meet their targets. Jointly, these efforts will align corporate climate action with We Mean Business Coalition’s 4 A’s of Climate Leadership framework: ambition, action, advocacy, and accountability.

Produced in partnership with Climate Focus and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the VCM Access Strategy Toolkit is designed to help policymakers establish the policies and processes needed to underpin their country’s participation in high-integrity VCMs.

The Toolkit was developed in response to the identified needs of policymakers to understand key considerations for VCM engagement. It addresses overarching topics that require political engagement and progresses to more technical issues.

Companies must take responsibility for how carbon credits factor into net zero transitions, so their use accelerates – and does not delay or displace – decarbonisation. The Claims Code guides them on how to do that.

We were delighted to attend the inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS), held in Nairobi and hosted by the Kenyan government.

The Summit aimed to serve as a platform to inform, frame, and influence commitments, pledges, and outcomes, ultimately leading to the development of the Nairobi Declaration which was released on Thursday 7th September.

VCMI at New York Climate Week

VCMI’s activity during New York Climate Week focused on furthering the cause for high-integrity carbon markets. This included a joint roundtable with the COP28 Presidency and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero (GFANZ) along with businesses, financial institutions, and standard setters that sought to build up high-integrity demand in VCMs.

Following the roundtable, VCMI, GFANZ, and the COP28 presidency issued a call for companies to act now to ensure that COP28 is a COP of Action on VCMs which reaffirms their role in the climate fight and confirms high integrity in corporate buyers.

On November 28,  VCMI released additional guidance to its Claims Code of Practice, enabling companies to make claims about their use of high-quality carbon credits.

This guidance includes a Monitoring, Reporting and Assurance (MRA) Framework, a brand and associated mark for making ‘Carbon Integrity’ Claims, and a beta version of an additional claim.

A Carbon Integrity Claim means that a company is going above and beyond science-aligned emissions cuts by using high-quality carbon credits.

The Early Adopters Program will run between October and December 2023 and forms part of VCMI’s ongoing consultation with the market. 

Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Better Drinks, Natura, and Sendle are among the first members of the EAP. VCMI is working closely with this group of corporate climate leaders to give hands-on support to understand the Claims Code requirements, facilitate peer-to-peer exchange and knowledge sharing, and provide tools and materials to aid communications about climate action claims. The program will also offer the opportunity for first-hand application of additional guidance.

The VCMI team was pleased to attend COP28 in Dubai.

The global climate conference saw resounding support for high-integrity voluntary carbon markets, despite a lack of agreement on Article 6 negotiations.

Carbon markets have an important role to play in cutting emissions and supporting the transition from fossil fuels; at COP28, we saw growing government endorsement for high-integrity VCMs, as well as many leading companies confidently engaging with the market. Working alongside fellow standard setters, VCMI delivered an end-to-end integrity framework to enable companies to scale up climate action.

Global management consultancy, Bain & Company, becomes the first organization to make a Carbon Integrity Platinum Claim. The Platinum Claim is the highest Carbon Integrity Claim, requiring the purchase and retirement of high-quality carbon credits in an amount equal to or greater than 100% of a company’s remaining emissions.  

By achieving a Carbon Integrity Platinum Claim, Bain & Company demonstrates significant internal decarbonization, as well as a high level of investment in high-integrity carbon credits that deliver finance into projects proven to reduce global emissions, and benefit both people and the planet. 

Natura Cosmetics, a global leader in sustainable and ethical beauty, becomes the first company based in Latin America to achieve a Carbon Integrity Platinum Claim. This demonstrates that Carbon Integrity Claims are within reach for companies across emerging economies and from diverse sectors. It also builds momentum globally in strengthening integrity, transparency, and accountability across voluntary carbon markets. 

Inviting feedback on an updated version of the Scope 3 Claim, the process will help build on and strengthen existing requirements and guardrails to finalize the claim and ensure that it maintains high standards of integrity, while also being practical to potential corporate adopters. 

Specific topics addressed include the core methodology for the claim, guardrails to ensure use of the claim drives further mitigation and prevents greenwashing, and approaches in addressing the gap in scope 3 emissions.