Governance
The Plastic Waste Reduction Program is managed by Verra with the support of the Plastic Program Advisory Group (PPAG). The PPAG is a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral group that helps ensure that the Plastic Program can best meet the needs of the plastic credit market and is well-positioned to enable the delivery of credible plastic waste reduction.
Verra is committed to following ISEAL’s Codes of Good Practice in the ongoing development of the Plastic Program.
Development
The Plastic Program was developed over two years starting in January 2019 with the support of the Plastic Standard Development Committee (PSDC), a multi-stakeholder body (learn more in the Plastic Waste Reduction Standard Terms of Reference).
The PSDC provided key input on strategic issues during the development process. Two public consultations were conducted to obtain vital input on the Plastic Program’s rules and requirements.
The Plastic Standard Assessment Working Group supported the development of assessment (including accreditation) requirements for the Plastic Program. Verra also consulted a group of technical advisors consisting of experts on assessment, project financing and implementation of plastic waste collection and recycling projects on an ad hoc basis for input during the standard development process.
The Plastic Program Advisory Group, formed in July 2021, is a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral group that helps ensure that the Plastic Waste Reduction Program (Plastic Program) can best meet the needs of the plastic credit market and is well-positioned to enable the delivery of credible plastic waste reduction. View the Terms of Reference for this working group.
The Plastic Standard was piloted by twenty-four pilot projects. These pilot projects were instrumental in identifying and resolving challenges faced by waste collection and recycling activities in applying the Standard.
The 3R Initiative Steering Committee provided input on circular economy commitments, environmental and social responsibility goals and extended producer responsibility schemes, among other issues, to benefit the development of the Plastic Standard. The 3R (Reduce, Recover, Recycle) Initiative is a collaboration led by Verra and BVRio, together with steering committee members Conservation International, Danone, Lloyd’s Register, McKinsey.org, Natural Capital Partners, Nestlé, South Pole, SYSTEMIQ, Tetra Pak, and Veolia. Each member of the 3R Initiative Steering Committee committed to using and/or supporting projects that use the Plastic Standard.
3R Initiative Members
Visit the Plastic Program Previous Versions page to view the archived previous versions of the Plastic Program documents.
Previous Updates
2024 |
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| Q4 | December 4, 2024:Verra has released a Clarifications to Verra Program Rules and Requirements document that applies to procedural documents of all its programs, with the aim of streamlining the project review process. The updates clarify that Verra reviews project documents prior to validation/verification body review only in cases where it is deemed necessary or because a project is high-risk, in line with Verra’s recently announced risk-based approach to project reviews. November 27, 2024: Verra has released a new Exemption Request Procedure, v1.0 (PDF) and an Exemption Request Form, v1.0 (DOC), which are available on the Plastic Program Rules and Requirements webpage. The new procedure relates to project proponents and validation/verification bodies that wish to request an exemption and applies to all Verra programs. A digital version of the Exemption Request Form, v1.0 is being developed and will be available soon on the Verra Project Hub. October 16, 2024: Verra released a new fee schedule, Verra Program Fee Schedule, v1.0 (PDF), which includes changes to the existing Plastic Program fees and the introduction of new fees. See the announcement and information about effective dates here. The new fee schedule document is available on the Plastic Program Rules and Requirements. |
| Q3 | Corrections and Clarifications Correction and clarification to the Plastic Program Definitions, v1.0: – Correction 1: Removed definition for “region” – Clarification 1: Revised definitions related to recycling processes See the corrections and clarifications to the Plastic Program Definitions, published 12 August 2024 (PDF) View the program notice, Corrections and Clarifications to Plastic Program Documents. |
| Q1 | Corrections and Clarifications Corrections to the Plastic Program Guide, v1.0 regarding project denial requests, VVB sanctions and related procedures and requirements, and project validation deadline. Clarifications to new listing requests start date. See the corrections and clarifications to the Plastic Program Rules and Requirements, published 16 February 2024 (PDF) Updates The Plastic Program Fee Schedule, v1.3 (PDF), was released on 16 February 2024. For information about effective dates, view the program notice, Verra Publishes SD VISta, CCBS, and Plastic Programs Corrections and Clarifications. |
2023 |
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| Q1 | Updates The Plastic Program Fee Schedule, v1.2 (PDF), was released on 30 March 2023. For information on effective dates, view the announcement, Updated Verra Program Fee Schedules. |