Verra has launched the first public consultation on preliminary program documents for its incipient Scope 3 Standard (S3S) Program to gather feedback on the clarity, comprehensiveness, and feasibility of essential program rules, concepts, and associated guidance. The consultation runs from March 6 through April 21, 2025.

The S3S Program builds on Verra’s flagship Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program to deliver an innovative suite of harmonized requirements and guidance, filling a current critical market gap for a consistent approach to addressing Scope 3 emissions.

As a result, Verra’s new S3S Program is well-positioned to drive investment and scale up in-value-chain climate action.

The program will include the following elements:

  • Auditable and robust rules and requirements to enable assurance of credible Scope 3 intervention outcomes
  • Standardized, science-based, and peer-reviewed quantification methodologies that are publicly available
  • A Scope 3 Registry to aid transparency, drive co-investment, and bring integrity and clarity through unit issuance
  • Third-party verification of Scope 3 intervention data, methods, and outcomes
  • Certification of Scope 3 interventions and their greenhouse gas outcomes, built on Verra’s robust third-party auditing and verification systems

Through the consultation on version 0.1 of the program, Verra seeks feedback on the following draft documents:

Verra is also looking for input on key program concepts, including the following:

  • Assurance framework: conceptual proposal for the assurance of Scope 3 interventions and their climate impacts
  • Removals and non-permanence framework: conceptual proposal for the quantification and accounting of emission removals and the management of non-permanence risk
  • Streamlined approach for measured parameters: conceptual proposal for aligning timelines for direct measurements of carbon stock and company emissions reporting

About the Development of the S3S Program

The development of the S3S Program began in May 2022 with the launch of the Scope 3 Initiative, through which over 100 stakeholders explored how a Verra-led program could support increased climate action within corporate value chains. The Scope 3 Initiative found a significant demand for an S3S Program that enables companies to credibly account for and report Scope 3 interventions, emphasizing their impact.

The Scope 3 Standard Program Development Group formed in late 2023 to provide input and constructive feedback on key technical decisions and the proposed text for the program documents. It has also focused on establishing the program’s relevance to and utility for the needs of corporate inventory accounting.

Most recently, Verra began piloting the adaptation of VCS Program methodologies for use in the S3S Program in August 2024 and November 2024. The pilot projects are also testing preliminary S3S Program requirements, procedures and infrastructure. Findings from their work are being used to refine the S3S Program design.

Feedback

Please see the public consultation document (PDF) for the full background, details, all key documents, and a survey link. To provide feedback, please fill out and submit the survey by 11:59 pm Anywhere on Earth (UTC-12) on April 21, 2025.

For any questions as you engage in this consultation, please email scope3@verra.org.

Feedback from the public consultation will be considered alongside feedback from the S3S Program Development Group, S3S Program pilots, and other channels to help develop and refine the program documents. Verra’s Scope 3 Team will respond to all feedback received through the public consultation and publish its responses.

Next steps

Verra plans to review the first consultation responses in Q2 2025. The feedback will inform either a second public consultation or a round of external expert review prior to the launch of the program in 2026. Please note that timelines are subject to change.