Plastic Credit Labels and Other Standards

Plastic Credits can be labeled with additional certifications if they meet the requirements of participating standards or programs. For example, a project that meets the requirements of a participating social and environmental standard may issue Plastic Credits that are “labeled” with that standard’s certification. Please contact a participating standard or program directly for details on their requirements.

To have Plastic Credits properly labeled with additional certifications, project proponents must submit all documents required by the participating standard before requesting Plastic Credit issuance. Note that the verification period covered by the certification must be greater than or equal to the Plastic Program verification period.

At this point, the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta) is the only participating standard. Templates are available for preparing SD VISta project descriptions, monitoring reports, validation reports and verification reports.

Standards, programs or other sets of requirements developed by non-profit or government organizations can be eligible to participate as labels for Plastic Credits. All such programs, standards and requirements are referred to as “standards” in this Plastic Program policy. Verra shall also include on its website the standards that are accepted as Plastic Credit labels.

A standard (or program or other set of requirements) can be eligible, at Verra’s discretion, to become a participating Plastic Credit label when the following conditions are met:

• The standard administrator is a non-profit organization, government or other regulatory body and does not have any involvement in the development of plastic waste collection and/or recycling projects that would represent a conflict of interest with respect to administering the standard.
• The standard has been developed through a process of public stakeholder consultation or is the implementation of regulations that themselves have been developed through a process of public stakeholder consultation.
• The standard is publicly available.
• The standard administrator maintains a public record of all projects to which certification statements have been issued.
• Compliance with the standard’s requirements is indicated via the issuance of a certification statement, and the standard administrator has procedures in place for issuing certification statements and/or specifies procedures for accredited entities to issue such statements. Where accredited entities may issue certification statements, the standard clearly specifies the respective accredited entities.
• The standard is complementary to the objectives and scope of the Plastic Program. For example, it may provide certification with respect to a project’s social and environmental co-benefits.
• The standard is applicable to plastic waste collection and/or recycling projects and the plastic waste collected and/or recycled by such projects (e.g., is not a certification that applies at the organizational level).

Standard administrators may apply to participate as a label for Plastic Credits as follows:

• The standard administrator shall submit an application to Verra including:
  • Evidence of fulfillment of the eligibility criteria set out above.
  • A specimen certification statement and the name(s) of the body/bodies that will be issuing certification statements, accompanied by guidance on how to ascertain the authenticity of certification statements.
  • Instruction on whether certification is granted at the project level (i.e., granted once and forever to a project) or at the Plastic Credit level (i.e., must be renewed on a periodic basis and hence only pertains to a given vintage of Plastic Credits).
• Verra shall review the application based upon the eligibility criteria set out above and shall inform the standard administrator of the outcome.
• Where the standard is accepted as a Plastic Credit label, Verra shall update the Verra Registry and corresponding internal procedures to allow Plastic Credits to be labeled with the additional certification. Verra shall also include this standard on its website as one that is accepted as a Plastic Credit label.

Once a standard has been accepted as a Plastic Credit label, project proponents may request that their Plastic Credits be labeled with a certification under that standard.

Verra may suspend or terminate arrangements for labeling Plastic Credits with the certification of a given standard at any time by providing notice to the standard administrator and citing the reason(s). Likewise, a standard administrator may instruct Verra to suspend or terminate labeling Plastic Credits with their certification at any time.

Standard administrators are responsible for overseeing certification against their standards and maintaining public records of certification statements issued.

Any documentation maintained within the Verra Registry with respect to such certification statements represents a secondary repository only, and the standard administrators remain the primary source of information and documentation with respect to certification against their standards.

Neither Verra and the Verra Registry, nor any of their respective affiliates, directors, employees, agents, licensors and/or contractors shall be liable with respect to any claims whatsoever arising out of erroneous additional certification labeling within the Verra Registry for indirect, consequential, special, punitive or exemplary damages, including without limitation claims for losses resulting for claims of whatsoever nature brought against Verra or the Verra Registry by registry account holders, project proponents, validation/verification bodies or any other third party. This paragraph shall apply regardless of any actual knowledge or foreseeability of such damages.