Consultation: Major Revision to Sustainable Grasslands Methodology

Verra has published corrections and clarifications to two agriculture methodologies and one tool in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program: VM0032 Methodology for the Adoption of Sustainable Grasslands through Adjustment of Fire and Grazing, v1.0; VM0042 Improved Agricultural Land Management, v2.1; and VT0014 Estimating Organic Carbon Stocks Using Digital Soil Mapping, v1.0.

Projects using these methodologies and the tool facilitate the scaling up of soil carbon sequestration activities, an important nature-based solution to climate mitigation.

The corrections and clarifications include updates that enable the use of VT0014 with the active versions of VM0032 and VM0042, as well as guidance on the calculation of the mean change in soil organic carbon stocks.

Below, please find a summary of the corrections and clarifications for each document:

• Corrections to VM0032 Methodology for the Adoption of Sustainable Grasslands through Adjustment of Fire and Grazing, v1.0 (PDF)
  • Issued: October 16, 2025
  • Correction to allow the use of remote sensing to estimate and monitor soil organic carbon (SOC) stock changes only in the measured approach, through digital soil mapping by applying VT0014
• Corrections and Clarifications to VM0042 Improved Agricultural Land Management, v2.1 (PDF)
  • Issued: October 10, 2025
  • Correction to allow the use of remote sensing to estimate and monitor SOC stock changes through digital soil mapping by applying VT0014
  • Clarification on the requirement to use the templates available on the methodology website to prepare project documentation
• Corrections to VT0014 Estimating Organic Carbon Using Digital Soil Mapping, v1.0 (PDF)
  • Issued: October 16, 2025
  • Corrections to equations and parameters to estimate the mean change in SOC stock
  • Correction to unit variance of the estimate of the mean change in SOC stock between times t and t + Δt (equation 5)
  • Correction to units for the ratio of molecular weight of carbon dioxide to carbon (equation 7)

A digital form to request Core Carbon Principles (CCP) labels is now available on the Verra Project Hub (external). The CCP Label Request Form facilitates requests from project proponents who wish to apply Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) CCP labels to the Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) that their projects generate.

Verra will automatically apply CCP labels to eligible VCUs where projects use an ICVCM-approved methodology and sufficient information is available to confirm eligibility at the time of issuance.

Please note that the form only allows requests to be made by projects using CCP-approved methodologies and frameworks, which are currently as follows:

• ACM0001: Flaring or use of landfill gas, v15.0–19.0 (external)
• AM0023: Leak detection and repair in gas production, processing, transmission, storage and distribution systems and in refinery facilities, v4.0.0 (external)
• AMS-III.G.: Landfill methane recovery, v9.0–v10.0 (external)
• VM0044 Biochar Utilization in Soil and Non-Soil Applications, v1.2
• VM0045 Improved Forest Management Using Dynamic Matched Baselines from National Forest Inventories, v1.2
• VM0047 Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation, v1.0–v1.1
• VM0048 Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, v1.0
• VM0050 Energy Efficiency and Fuel-Switch Measures in Cookstoves, v1.0
• Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ Framework, v4.1

A guidance document outlining Verra’s process for CCP labeling, ICVCM CCP Label Guidance (PDF), provides further details and instructions for requesting labels.

Verra recently released a guidance document for Wetland Restoration and Conservation (WRC) projects using the AFOLU Non-Permanence Risk Assessment Calculator, v4.2 to assess the non-permanence risks due to sea-level rise within their project area.

Version 1.0 of Guidance on Sea-Level Rise Risk Assessment Using the Non-Permanence Risk Assessment Calculator, v4.2 (PDF) provides step-by-step instructions for the sea-level rise risk assessment using the Non-Permanence Risk Assessment Calculator in the Verra Project Hub. It should only be applied to projects that are partially or entirely in the intertidal zone at the time of assessment.

While project proponents and validation/verification bodies (VVBs) are not required to use this guidance, it supports their ability to assess local project conditions and highlights specific evidence that may be used to support the assessment. This information is a critical component of the risk assessment.

The guidance document was developed by Silvestrum Climate Associates (external).

Verra has launched digital versions of multiple deeds of representation for use in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program, as well as a digital version of the VCS Requantification Notification Form, v1.0. These are now available on the Verra Project Hub as part of Verra’s ongoing digitalization initiative, which is a multiyear effort to enhance transparency and efficiency, streamline processes, and scale up Verra’s impact.

Verra encourages the use of digital versions of documents where possible. Digital submissions facilitate transparency and enable an efficient review process.

A deed of representation is a legal document signed by a stakeholder in the VCS Program, such as a project proponent or a validation/verification body (VVB), to make certain warranties in respect to the project and the greenhouse gas emission reductions and carbon dioxide removals that a project generates. Users may now complete these deeds of representation and request signatures digitally through the Verra Project Hub.

Please see below for a full list of newly digitalized project representations.

Submitting the VCS Requantification Notification Form, v1.0 is the first step required in the VCS Methodology Change and Requantification Procedure, v4.0 (PDF). The procedure enables projects to update the methodology or methodology version they are using for past verification periods and requantify the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and carbon dioxide removals (reductions and removals) from past verification periods in accordance with that updated methodology. Project proponents must submit this form upon the start of activities with their contracted VVB.

When a requantification notification form is submitted, a notification goes out to all account holders who hold active Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) from the verification periods for which the project intends to requantify reductions and removals. The Verra Project Hub also hosts a public list of all projects that have submitted a requantification notification, including information on which monitoring and verification periods the requantification covers. This provides increased transparency for VCU holders.

For any issues accessing the digital representations or requantification notification form, please contact hubsupport@verra.org.

For guidance on using the digital representations or requantification notification form, please consult the respective user guide. (The user guides are also available in the Verra Project Hub).

Verra expects to release digital versions of additional program documents throughout the year, including a digital Exemption Request Form, which is coming soon.