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VCMI Claims Code of Practice Event

The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative is developing a Claims Code of Practice to guide credible, voluntary use of carbon credits and associated claims.

Watch the launch event, download the Code and find out more below.

Watch the Launch Event

Voluntary carbon markets are growing rapidly and have the potential to accelerate climate action. But businesses, investors, governments, and the public are clamoring for clarity.

  • How can businesses use carbon credits credibly and what can they confidently claim about their use as part of wider climate plans?
  • How can we trust that the use of carbon credits leads to truly additional climate action?
  • How can integrity in these markets be assured?

Launched on the 7th of June, at 9:30 AM Eastern VCMI’s Claims Code of Practice will be the go-to guide for organizations navigating this complex landscape and will set out the runway to regulation.

The event unpacks these difficult questions, explain the detail behind the guidance, and set the direction of travel for voluntary carbon markets.

 

Hosted by VCMI Co-Chairs Rachel Kyte and Tariye Gbadegesin, it features experts in the field, NGOs, and government representatives, as well as a panel discussion with leading businesses. The line-up includes:

  • Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
  • Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, COP26 President
  • Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Singapore
  • Kate Hampton, Chief Executive Officer of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation
  • Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Global Leader of Climate & Energy at the World Wildlife Fund
  • Nigel Topping, COP26 High Level Champion

 

The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative is developing a Claims Code of Practice to guide credible, voluntary use of carbon credits and associated claims. The Claims Code of Practice (CoP) will guide companies to make transparent and credible claims about their progress towards a longer-term Net-Zero commitment.

Development process

In 2021, VCMI launched a consultation with stakeholders from civil society, the private sector, Indigenous Peoples’ groups, governments, businesses, and others to gather views on how carbon credits can be voluntarily used and claimed by businesses as part of credible net-zero strategies.

The results, based on feedback from 52 organizations including 22 businesses and 19 NGOs, make clear that:

  • It will be critical to support businesses in their engagement with the marketplace and guide private sector investment to ensure it is equitable.
  • Capacity building is key to ensuring that a wide range of countries are able to benefit from voluntary carbon markets.
  • Claims Guidance should align with the need to limit future warming to 1.5C.
  • Accounting and reporting must be underpinned by agreed definitions and processes.
  • Aligning Claims Guidance with regulation and governance mechanisms will require a focus on Article 6.

The VCMI Claims Code of Practice is now being developed through a balanced, transparent, and inclusive stakeholder process. The VCMI is proactively engaging with interested organizations, providing a range of options to engage with the process, including:

  • Targeted input on initial thinking with >60 participants from a broad spectrum of business, country, NGO, Indigenous Peoples and Local communities stakeholders on early drafts of the CoP (March – April 2022)
  • A road-test with corporate participants (June – August 2022)
  • Deep dives with Non-State Actors (NSAs) (June – August 2022)
  • Public consultation (June – Aug 2022)

VCMI’s Provisional Code of Practice User Guide

VCMI’s Provisional Code of Practice User Guide

This User Guide summarizes VCMI’s Provisional Code of Practice, which was published for road testing and public consultation in June 2022.

The Code is designed to help companies ensure that their engagement with voluntary carbon markets makes a significant, measurable, and positive contribution to achieving the Paris Agreement goals while also promoting inclusive, sustainable development.

The User Guide provides a high-level but practical overview of the actions that companies and other Non-State actors can do to make this a reality, and how they can make credible claims about their voluntary use of carbon credits.

Click here to download the guide.

 

Road test

The aim of the road test is to ensure the Claims Code of Practice are robust, clear, and practical. It will also help identify gaps in the ecosystem and streamline the resource implications required to implement the Claims CoP.

Between June and Autumn 2022, a range of corporates will simulate implementation of the latest draft of the VCMI Claims Code of Practice providing feedback through a structured survey and an optional deep-dive interviews. Webinars on specific sections of the Code of Practice  provide an opportunity for participants to share issues as well as best practices. In addition, targeted interviews with NSAs from across the ecosystem will capture additional insights on specific topics e.g., structure of the claims, congruence with other frameworks and assurance. The road test is complementary to a broader public consultation that is running in parallel.

We are excited to have 11 organizations from sectors including aviation, energy, and technology signed up already. We welcome additional participation – interested organizations are invited to sign up at this link.

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