What Are VCU Labels?
A VCU label indicates that a unit meets the requirements of other (non-VCS) standards programs or is eligible/qualifies to be traded in specific markets. A VCU can be associated with multiple labels.
Certification labels relate to standards or programs developed by non-profit or governmental organizations
Upon submission of the required documentation to the Verra Registry, certification labels can be applied to VCUs if units comply with the requirements from the following approved standards.
Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards
Required Documentation
VCS+CCB project descriptions
Monitoring & implementation reports
Validation and Verification reports
Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta)
Required Documentation
SD VISta project descriptions
Monitoring reports
Validation and Verification reports
Crown Standard
Required documentation is a certificate issued by the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO) indicating a project’s conformance with the Crown Standard. View information about the required documentation.
SOCIALCARBON
Required Documentation
VCS + SOCIALCARBON reports
Validation and Verification reports
Notice: SOCIALCARBON labels will only be applied to VCUs with a monitoring period end prior to 1 January 2024, and only for projects using SOCIALCARBON Version 5 or previous.
W+ Standard
Projects proponents may apply both the VCS Program and W+ Program to their projects. Projects that follow the respective requirements of each program for registration, validation, and verification are eligible to receive W+ labeled Verified Carbon Units (VCUs).
Project proponents who wish to apply the W+ label to their VCUs must supply the following required documentation to the Verra Registry with their project requests:
The required documentation (see below) is available on the W+ Standard website.
W+ Project Idea Note (PIN)
W+ Project Design Document (PDD)
W+ Monitoring and Results Report
W+ Verification Report
Market labels identify credits eligible or preferred for use in certain domestic, sectoral, or
investor-specific markets. The Verified Carbon Standard has been accepted to supply
emission reduction and removal units in various markets for compliance and voluntary
purposes.
Upon submission of the required documentation to the Verra Registry by a project (or
program) proponent, VCU labels can be applied to units that comply with the eligibility
criteria for the following markets.
AVAILABLE MARKET LABELS
Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA)
Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA)
The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) has
set specific rules covering the eligibility of emission units, pertaining to, for example,
activity types, crediting period start, and vintage dates. For more details, see the VCU eligibility criteria for use in CORSIA transactions.
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement
VCUs may receive Article 6 Label(s) to indicate they have been authorized for specific uses by host countries (“Parties”) under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Specific
guidance for authorization of internationally transferrable mitigation outcomes under
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and for obtaining Article 6 Label(s) for VCUs on the
Verra Registry, is available in the new Article 6 Label Guidance, v1.0 (PDF).
An Article 6 Letter of Authorization Template, v1.0 (DOC) is also available. The template
is intended to assist project proponents in approaching a host Party to request Article 6
authorization. Using the template is optional and the host Party may provide a LOA in
any format of their choice, provided all required information is included.
Mitigation Outcome Type (GHG Emissions Reductions and Carbon Dioxide
Removals)
Labels may be applied to differentiate VCUs which are based on greenhouse gas
(GHG) emission reductions and/or carbon dioxide removals. The mitigation outcome
type labels are based on stakeholder feedback received in the July 2022 public
consultation.
For more information and guidance on these labels, see the Mitigation Outcome Labels Guidance, v1.2 (PDF).
LIST OF METHODOLOGIES BY MITIGATION OUTCOME TYPE
This list provides the mitigation outcome type and compatibility with the label for methodologies eligible for use within the VCS Program. The mitigation outcome type and compatibility with the label are included on the individual webpage of each methodology.
The list is limited to methodologies with at least one project on the Verra registry. Please contact methodologies@verra.org to request an assessment of any methodology that is not currently included on the list.
The mitigation outcome type of all CDM methodologies are emission reductions, except the following that classify as removals and are compatible with the label:
- AR-ACM0003 Afforestation and reforestation of lands except wetlands¹
- AR-AMS0007 Afforestation and reforestation project activities implemented on lands other than wetlands¹
- AR-AM0014 Afforestation and reforestation of degraded mangrove habitats²
- AR-AMS0003 Afforestation and reforestation project activities implemented on wetlands²
| VCS Methodology Title | Mitigation Outcome Type | Methodology Versions Compatible with Label |
|---|---|---|
| VM0001 Infrared Automatic Refrigerant Leak Detection Efficiency Project Methodology | Reduction | All |
| VM0003 Methodology for Improved Forest Management through Extension of Rotation Age | Both | None |
| VM0004 Methodology for Conservation Projects that Avoid Planned Land-use Conversion in Peat Swamp Forests | Both | None |
| VM0005 Methodology for Conversion of Low-productive Forest to High-productive Forest | Both | None |
| VM0006 Methodology for Carbon Accounting for Mosaic and Landscape-scale REDD Projects | Both | None |
| VM0007 REDD+ Methodology Framework (REDD-MF) | Both | None |
| VM0008 Weatherization of Single-Family and Multi-Family Buildings | Reduction | All |
| VM0009 Methodology for Avoided Ecosystem Conversion | Reduction | All |
| VM0010 Methodology for Improved Forest Management: Conversion from Logged to Protected Forest | Both | None |
| VM0011 Methodology for Calculating GHG Benefits from Preventing Planned Degradation | Reduction | All |
| VM0012 Improved Forest Management in Temperate and Boreal Forests (LtPF) | Both | None |
| VM0014 Interception and Destruction of Fugitive Methane from Coal Bed Methane (CBM) Seeps | Reduction | All |
| VM0015 Methodology for Avoided Unplanned Deforestation | Both | None |
| VM0016 Recovery and Destruction of Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODS) from Products | Reduction | All |
| VM0018 Energy Efficiency and Solid Waste Diversion Activities within a Sustainable Community | Reduction | All |
| VM0019 Fuel Switch from Gasoline to Ethanol in Flex-Fuel Vehicle Fleets | Reduction | All |
| VM0022 Quantifying N2O Emissions Reductions in Agricultural Crops through Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate Reduction | Reduction | All |
| VM0025 Campus Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency | Reduction | All |
| VM0026 Methodology for Sustainable Grassland Management (SGM) | Both | None |
| VM0029 Methodology for Avoided Forest Degradation through Fire Management | Both | None |
| VM0030 Methodology for Pavement Application using Sulphur Substitute | Reduction | All |
| VM0031 Methodology for Precast Concrete Production using Sulphur Substitute | Reduction | All |
| VM0032 Methodology for the Adoption of Sustainable Grasslands through Adjustment of Fire and Grazing | Both | None |
| VM0033 Methodology for Tidal Wetland and Seagrass Restoration | Both | None |
| VM0034 Canadian Forest Carbon Offset Methodology | Both | None |
| VM0035 Methodology for Improved Forest Management through Reduced Impact Logging | Reduction | All |
| VM0036 Methodology for Rewetting Drained Temperate Peatlands | Both | None |
| VM0037 Methodology for Implementation of REDD+ Activities in Landscapes Affected by Mosaic Deforestation and Degradation | Both | None |
| VM0038 Methodology for Electric Vehicle Charging Systems | Reduction | All |
| VM0039 Methodology for Use of Foam Stabilized Base and Emulsion Asphalt Mixtures in Pavement Application | Reduction | All |
| VM0041 Methodology for the Reduction of Enteric Methane Emissions from Ruminants through the Use of 100% Natural Feed Supplement | Reduction | All |
| VM0042 Methodology for Improved Agricultural Land Management | Both | None |
| VM0043 Methodology for CO2 Utilization in Concrete Production | Both | None |
| VM0044 Methodology for Biochar Utilization in Soil and Non-Soil Applications | Removal | All |
| VM0045 Improved Forest Management Methodology Using Dynamic Matched Baselines from National Forest Inventories | Both | Version 1.1 |
| VMR0001 Revisions to ACM0008 to Include Pre-drainage of Methane from an Active Open Cast Mine as a Methane Emission Reduction Activity | Reduction | All |
| VMR0002 Revisions to ACM0008 to Include Methane Capture and Destruction from Abandoned Coal Mines | Reduction | All |
| VMR0003 Revisions to AMS-III.Y to Include Use of Organic Bedding Material | Reduction | All |
| VMR0004 Revisions to AMS-III.BC to Include Mobile Machinery | Reduction | All |
| VMR0005 Methodology for Installation of Low-Flow Water Devices | Reduction | All |
| VMR0006 Methodology for Installation of High Efficiency Firewood Cookstoves | Reduction | All |
| VMR0007 Revision to AMS-III.AJ: Recovery and recycling of materials from solid wastes — Version 9.0 | Reduction | All |
| VMR0008 AMS-III.BA: Recovery and recycling of materials from E-waste — Version 3.0 | Reduction | All |
LABELS UNDER DEVELOPMENT
ABACUS
Verra has opened a public consultation on the ABACUS label, a new market label that can be applied to Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) from projects validated and verified to Verra’s new afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) methodology if these units meet a set of key quality requirements.
For more information about the proposed updates, please review ABACUS Label Consultation Document (PDF).
The consultation period runs from November 15 through January 8, 2024.
Please submit your comments electronically via the consultation form (external) by January 8, 2024, 11:59 PM ET.
A pre-consultation on the ABACUS label (PDF) was held from 7 July through 7 August
2022. The ABACUS Working Group will use the feedback received to finalize the label
requirements. The full consultation on the ABACUS label is expected to be launched
later in 2023.
The ABACUS label is intended to catalyze the growth of nature-based GHG removal
credits. The label would be applied to Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) from projects
validated and verified to the forthcoming afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) VCS methodology that meet a set of key requirements pertaining to the following
aspects:
- Additionality and Baseline: Projects must employ the ARR VCS methodology’s dynamic performance benchmark baseline that remotely tracks changes in carbon stocks in matched control plots over the course of the project’s lifetime. In addition, the ABACUS label also requires more traditional tests of additionality.
- Leakage: Projects must eliminate leakage by maintaining or enhancing agricultural
production within a defined accounting area in the surrounding landscape. - Measurement: Credits would be issued on an inventory of data from plots in which
carbon stock change or net fluxes are measured through time in situ. - Permanence: Projects must regularly monitor the entire extent of the project area for
loss events and compensate for losses upon detection; we will explore the potential for
compensating reversals in ABACUS projects first by canceling credits from other
ABACUS credits in the VCS AFOLU buffer pool.
The label was proposed by the ABACUS Working Group,* members of which are:
Bronson Griscom (Senior Director of Natural Climate Solutions, Conservation
International),
Barbara Haya (Director, Carbon Trading Project, University of California, Berkeley),
Kyle Hemes (Research Scientist, Amazon Sustainability Science & Innovation),
Ruben Lubowski (Associate VP Climate & Forests, Environmental Defense Fund),
Campbell Moore (Carbon Markets Lead, The Nature Conservancy),
Jamey Mulligan (Senior Scientist, Amazon Sustainability Science & Innovation),
Connor Nolan (Postdoctoral Scholar, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment),
Christie Pollet-Young (Managing Director, SCS Global Services),
Matthew Potts (Chief Science Officer, Carbon Direct; Professor, University of
California, Berkeley),
David Shoch (Director of Forestry, TerraCarbon), and
Carlos Silva (Forest Carbon Scientist, Pachama).
*Note: Participation in the working group does not reflect endorsement by members’
organizations.
New VCU Label Qualification Procedure
Eligibility Criteria
Verra may, at its discretion, approve the creation of new VCU labels when they meet the criteria set out below.
The eligibility criteria for new certification labels are as follows:
- The standard administrator is a non-profit organization, government, or other regulatory body.
- The standard administrator does not have any involvement in GHG project development 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 result of regulations that have been developed and implemented through a process of public stakeholder consultation.
- The standard is publicly available.
- The standard administrator maintains a public record of all projects that have been certified.
- The standard administrator issues a certification statement to the project that indicates compliance with the standard’s requirements, and the standard administrator uses consistent procedures for issuing certification statements and/or specifies such procedures for accredited entities to issue such statements. Where accredited entities may issue certification statements, the standard clearly specifies which accredited entities can issue such statements.
- The standard is complementary to the objectives and scope of the Verra program to which the label will be applied. For example, a label to be applied to a VCU may provide certification with respect to a project’s social and environmental co-benefits.
- The standard is applicable to project or program-level activities and to the emission reductions or removals or sustainable development benefits generated by such projects (e.g., it is not a certification that applies at the organizational level).
| # | Criterion | Demonstration |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | The qualities represented by this label need to stay with that unit through its retirement (i.e., cannot be unbundled and marketed/sold as a separate asset) | Explain how the environmental and/or social benefits associated with the proposed label cannot be double-claimed or counted by end users |
| 2. | The label has the potential for a significant scale of use | Provide a list of existing or planned methodologies that could generate units with the potential to meet the proposed label’s criteria Provide a list of existing or planned methodologies that could generate units with the potential to meet the proposed label’s criteria |
| 3. | The label is expected to garner strong, and ideally unlock significant new, demand | Provide a list of existing or potential project investors or unit buyers that are committed to supporting projects that use this label |
| 4. | The label is expected to increase a project’s climate and/or sustainable development impact | Based on expected supply and demand, estimate the proposed label’s impact over the first three years Quantify emission reductions and/or sustainable development benefits where possible |
| 5. | The label will not result in a significant risk of inappropriate devaluation of other projects’ units or compromise other projects’ impact | Describe the risk of other units, whether labeled or unlabeled, experiencing significant price deflation due to unfavorable comparison to units with this label, including related to potential claims associated with the proposed label |
| 6. | The label will not result in a significant risk of unhelpful label proliferation and/or market fragmentation | Describe what percentage of projects under the relevant scope(s) and/or methodology(ies) could achieve the use of this label in the next three years and within the next ten years |
| 7. | The label could be implemented with existing or proposed Verra program rules and requirements | Describe how the potential label could be fully, credibly, and effectively verified and reported according to Verra’s existing or proposed rules, requirements, and methodology elements, clearly identifying any additions or changes that may be required to operationalize the label |
The requirements for all Verra labels must be posted publicly and linked to from this page. VCS Program validation/verification bodies must be able to verify compliance with market label requirements in their assessment of a project’s VCS monitoring report.
Submission and Review Process
Label proposals must include the complete label requirements and demonstrate how the proposed label meets the corresponding certification or market criteria. Proposals should be submitted to info@verra.org.
Certification label proposals must include an example certification statement and the name(s) of the body/bodies that will be issuing certification statements, and guidance on how Verra should ascertain the authenticity of certification statements.
Market label proposals should use the Verra Market Label Proposal Form (DOC).
Certification label proposals should use the Verra Certification Label Proposal Form (DOC).
Verra will vet the label requirements to ensure that they meet the above certification or market label criteria.
Market label requirements that meet the above eligibility criteria will undergo at least one 30-day public consultation. Verra may issue a pre-consultation announcement for certain potential market labels to obtain early stakeholder feedback. Following public consultation, the label developer shall respond to comments received and revise the label proposal as necessary.
Verra will approve or reject the label.
If a proposed VCU label is accepted, Verra will announce the label and the timeframe for its implementation (based on the potential changes required to internal procedures, program rules and requirements, and updates to the Verra Registry). The requirements for the respective label will be added to this webpage.
Limitation of Verra Liability
This clause supplements and forms part of the Verra Programs. Without prejudice to the terms of the Verra Registry Terms of Use and the Verra Programs:
Neither Verra, the Verra Registry, nor any of their respective affiliates, directors, employees, agents, licensors, and/or contractors (together, the “Verra Parties“) shall be liable with respect to any claims whatsoever arising out of any certification labeling within the Verra Registry whether for direct economic or commercial losses, indirect, consequential, special, punitive, or exemplary damages or otherwise, including without limitation losses resulting from claims of any nature (including in respect of any erroneous additional certification labeling) brought against any Verra Party by registry account holders, project proponents, validation/verification bodies (“VVBs“), or any other third party. This paragraph shall apply regardless of any actual knowledge or foreseeability of such damages.
Labeling any instruments (including Verified Carbon Units (“VCUs“) with additional certifications within the Verra Registry is undertaken on a reasonable efforts basis. Save for the labels reflecting the information provided by the respective administrators of participating standards, or the respective VVBs to Verra in relation to the project activity, none of the Verra Parties warrant or represent that the labels applied are otherwise accurate.
The administrators of participating standards are responsible for overseeing certification against their standards and maintaining public records of certification statements issued.
Verra may suspend or terminate arrangements for labeling any instruments (including VCUs) 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 any instruments (including VCUs) with their certification at any time.
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. Market participants should not place any reliance on the certification labels.
No Verra Party shall be liable with respect to any claims whatsoever arising out of any market labeling within the Verra Registry whether for consequential, special, punitive, or exemplary damages or otherwise, including without limitation losses resulting from claims of any nature (including in respect of any erroneous additional market labeling) brought against any Verra Party by registry account holders, project proponents, VVBs, or any other third party. This paragraph shall apply regardless of any actual knowledge or foreseeability of such damages.
In relation to any liability arising from market labels of an instrument (the “Labeled Instrument“), Verra’s total liability to any and all persons relating in any way, whether directly or indirectly, whether caused by the negligence of Verra or otherwise, and regardless of whether any claim for damages is based on contract, tort, strict liability or otherwise, is limited to an aggregate amount equal to the fees paid by the Registry User requesting for the market labeling of that Labeled Instrument (being the proportion of fees attributed to that Labeled Instrument in the batch of affected instruments which the Labeled Instrument forms part of), at the point of issuance of the Labeled Instrument.
Labeling any instruments (including VCUs) within the Verra Registry is undertaken on a reasonable efforts basis. Save for the labels reflecting the information provided by the respective responsible persons referred to in the paragraph immediately below, the project proponents and/or the respective VVBs to Verra in relation to the project activity, none of the Verra Parties warrant nor represent that the labels are otherwise accurate.
Markets with specific rules or eligibility criteria for labels are responsible for setting out, maintaining, and enforcing any specific rules or requirements for the respective label. For example, in the case of CORSIA eligible standards, ICAO ensures compliance with the relevant requirements.
Subject to the abovementioned qualification on Verra’s warranty and representation, Verra also assesses whether any instruments (including VCUs) fulfill the requirements set out by the respective market to which they can be supplied. The Verra Registry is the primary repository for such instruments, regardless of the market in which they are used.