The CCB Standards were developed by the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA). Verra assumed management of the CCB Standards in November of 2014. Verra is committed to ensuring that the CCB Standards promote the generation of significant social and environmental benefits while adhering to good practices for the development and use of international social and environmental standards. Verra works to maximize the potential of the CCB Standards through collaboration with members of the CCBA and other stakeholders.
CCB Steering Committee
The CCB Steering Committee, which includes representatives of the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) member organizations Conservation International, the Rainforest Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, and Wildlife Conservation Society and the CCBA Secretariat, supports Verra in governance, strategic direction and ongoing development of the CCB Standards.
Meetings of the CCB Steering Committee
Dates of upcoming meetings and information (including agendas and minutes) on past meetings of the Committee will be made available as soon as possible. Information provided for each meeting includes the agenda, public decisions and meeting summaries.
- 15 December 2014 (Agenda, Minutes)
- 15 January 2015 (Agenda, Minutes)
- 9 November 2015 (Agenda, Minutes)
- 22 February 2016 (Agenda, Minutes)
- 22 March 2017 (Agenda)
A Brief History of the CCB Standards
The First Edition of the CCB Standards was released by the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) in May 2005 after a rigorous two-year development process undertaken based on input from community and environmental groups, companies, academics, project developers and others with expert knowledge or affected by the standards. Prior to their release, the CCB Standards were tested on projects in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas and peer reviewed by the world’s leading tropical forestry institutes: the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Indonesia, the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Costa Rica and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Kenya.
In order to respond to the evolving context for land-based carbon projects and feedback from a wide range of users, the CCB Standards were revised and a second edition was released in December 2008. The revision process included two public comment periods of 60-days and 30-days respectively and was overseen by a multi-stakeholder standards committee.
The Third Edition, released in December 2013, was the product of a revision process with two main objectives:
- to incorporate substantial feedback received from current users and others to ensure that the CCB Standards remain robust and practical, and also
- to facilitate the access of smallholder and community-led projects to carbon finance.
This version was informed by the CCBA’s CCB Standards for Smallholders Initiative. It included two 60-day comment periods and was overseen by a multi-stakeholder standards committee.
The version of the CCB Standards that may be used in project development and other requirements for the evaluation of projects against the CCB Standards is detailed in the Rules for the Use of the CCB Standards. The Rules were first issued in June 2010 and were updated in December 2013.
For more information on the history of the CCB Standards, including documentation of the standards development process, please see the CCBA’s website.