Scope 3 Standard

Companies are facing increasing pressure to abate their Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, driven by investors and regulators, environmental and business risks, and voluntary target-setting initiatives such as the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Scope 3 emissions, also known as indirect or value chain emissions, often represent the majority of a company’s emissions and are therefore critical to reduce. These emissions arise from upstream and downstream activities in a company’s value chain (e.g., from the upstream production and transportation of materials used in its production processes or the downstream use of its goods or services).

While efforts to abate and regulate Scope 3 emissions are growing rapidly, stakeholders are seeking greater assurance, transparency, and standardization in the accounting and reporting of value chain projects, as well as the supporting infrastructure for tracking the corresponding units that represent the impact of these projects.

Verra’s Scope 3 Standard (S3S) Program addresses these challenges and gaps and provides the rigorous certification of projects that can help unlock immediate and large-scale investment in value chain climate action. 

The S3S Program is being rolled out in stages:

• Version 1 of the S3S Program includes an innovative suite of harmonized requirements and guidance for the accounting and reporting of projects that reduce value chain emissions. It enables projects to pipeline-list S3S projects on the Verra Registry, using one of two available methodologies (S3S-VM0042 Improved Agricultural Land Management and S3S-VM0043 CO₂ Utilization in Concrete Production).
• Future updates to version 1 will address the auditing component of the program with requirements and guidance for validation/verification bodies (VVBs) to conduct third-party validations and verifications. It will also enable project proponents to register their S3S projects and be issued S3Us into their registry accounts.
• Version 2 will enable a company to demonstrate that it has a verified value chain connection to a good or service affected by a S3S project. Once this connection has been established, a company can be issued reportable S3Us (based on a verified allocation method) for use in its Scope 3 emissions reporting.

Verra’s Scope 3 Standard (S3S) Program establishes the infrastructure for registering Scope 3 projects and certifying their climate impact by providing the following:

The Scope 3 Standard lays out the robust requirements and guidance for the implementation of value chain projects that reduce or remove GHG emissions.

S3S projects are subject to rigorous assurance of GHG emission reductions and carbon dioxide removals via an accessible and rigorous third-party auditing and certification system.

Standardized and sector-specific GHG quantification methodologies lay out consistent and transparent accounting and measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) procedures.

The Verra Registry facilitates the transparent issuance and tracking of S3Us to project proponents and reportable units to companies that demonstrate a value chain association to a good or service affected by a project.

Verra’s Scope 3 Standard Program enables companies to take impactful and credible value chain climate action. By offering a consistent approach to addressing value chain emissions, the program fills a critical market gap, helping companies scale up efforts to mitigate their carbon footprint.

Verra invites sponsors to support the operation and further development of this program.

If you are interested in being a trailblazer and supporting the S3S Program, email the S3S Program team.