VCS Teams with CCB Standards to Support Development of High Social and Environmental Value Projects
I am delighted to inform you that, as of today, the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCB Standards) are operating under the management of the VCS.
The CCB Standards provide a tremendously valuable tool to help project developers demonstrate the additional, tangible benefits their activities provide for communities and ecosystems, and we are proud that the members of the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) (CARE, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy,Rainforest Alliance and the Wildlife Conservation Society) have entrusted the VCS to oversee the standards implementation and ongoing development. Bringing the CCB Standards onboard also enables the VCS to provide an independent non-carbon benefits platform to meet our stakeholders’ evolving needs.
As you well know, we have been working closely with the CCB Standards for years, and we now have the opportunity to apply our knowledge of managing a carbon certification framework to ensure the CCB Standards continue to assure positive community and broader environmental impacts. We are thrilled to work more closely with the members of the CCBA, who will continue to offer their guidance on how to best move the CCB Standards forward. This will happen largely through the establishment of the CCB Standards Steering Committee, initially composed of representatives of the CCBA member organizations and the VCS. The committee will be co-chaired by CCBA director Joanna Durbin and the VCS’s Toby Janson-Smith, who himself was instrumental in the original development of the CCB Standards.
We are also eager to work directly with project developers that are applying both VCS and CCB Standards to confirm both standards are meeting the needs of the market, while maintaining strong environmental and social integrity. In the near term, not much will change; we do not have any major revisions to either the CCB Standards or the VCS Standard planned. Over time, though, we will explore efficiencies that we hope will ultimately make it easier for project developers to use both standards, either on their own or with each other.
This is a very exciting opportunity for the CCBA members and the VCS, and we look forward to working with all of you to make sure that the integration of the CCB Standards into the management and operation of the VCS is both smooth and helps to maximize the potential of the CCB Standards to foster multiple-benefits across a range of project activities.
As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact secretariat@v-c-s.org
Regards,
David