WASHINGTON — Apr. 10, 2025 | Verra has announced the successful registration of the first project using a Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) methodology that was approved by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) as meeting the criteria of the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) Assessment Framework.

The Tond Tenga project, located in Burkina Faso in West Africa, is registered in the VCS Program and uses Verra’s innovative methodology for Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation (VM0047) to restore more than 12,000 hectares of degraded land through native tree planting and agroforestry practices. VM0047 was approved by the ICVCM in December 2024, and projects using the methodology will receive CCP labels for all carbon credits they generate.

While CCP labels have been applied to credits from other Verra-certified projects, this marks the first time a project has been registered using an ICVCM-approved methodology that was developed in the VCS Program, an important milestone that illustrates Verra’s contributions to developing and implementing high-integrity climate solutions.

“This project demonstrates what high-integrity carbon markets can deliver: measurable climate results, community resilience, and landscape restoration at scale. As the first project to register under a CCP-approved VCS methodology, the Tond Tenga project illustrates the high-quality climate action that ICVCM-approved methodologies can catalyze.”

Mandy Rambharos, chief executive officer, Verra

Over its 40-year crediting period, the Tond Tenga project is expected to remove more than 3.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent across four regions of Burkina Faso. In addition to its climate impact, the project brings significant benefits, including sustainable livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and gender-inclusive community empowerment.

Contact:

Media Inquiries: Erdem Koch | media@verra.org

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Verra is a global leader helping to tackle the world’s most intractable environmental and social challenges. As a mission-driven nonprofit organization, Verra is committed to helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve livelihoods, and protect natural resources by working with the private and public sectors. We support climate action and sustainable development with standards programs and tools that credibly, transparently, and robustly assess environmental and social impacts and enable funding for sustaining and scaling up projects that verifiably deliver these benefits.