Verra has published an updated label guidance document for proponents wishing to apply Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) Core Carbon Principles (CCP) labels to the Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) generated by their projects.

ICVCM Core Carbon Principles (CCP) Label Guidance, v1.1 (PDF) outlines the necessary requirements and procedures for this process. The updated guidance requires the use of a verification report checklist for validation/verification bodies (VVBs) to assess CCP label eligibility. Proponents must complete one of the following two verification report checklist templates and submit it to the VVB:

Note: Verra may make additional customized versions of the checklist template available in the future if other methodologies require projects using them to meet several additional criteria to be eligible for CCP labels.

Requesting CCP Labels

The VCU Labels webpage will include links to the templates and indicate for which methodologies a specific template is required (e.g., for projects using VM0050). The specific CCP eligibility criteria will also be listed on the respective methodology webpages.

Proponents may request CCP labels during a project’s verification approval request, or at any time thereafter. Projects that intend to request CCP labels must have the completed checklist included as an appendix to the project’s verification report.

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. In the following cases, projects need to follow the instructions presented in the ICVCM CCP Label Guidance to request CCP labels for the VCUs they have generated:

  • Where VCUs are generated by a project using an ICVCM-approved methodology, but sufficient information is not available to assess CCP eligibility
  • If the project has changed the methodology/methodology version it is using for past verification periods to an ICVCM-approved methodology/methodology version (see below for more details)

The updated version of the ICVCM CCP Label Guidance document is effective for verification approval requests received on or after July 15, 2025.

Digitalized CCP Label Request Form

Later this year, Verra anticipates publishing a digital form that proponents can use to request CCP labels. As part of Verra’s multiyear digitalization initiative, this release will help to further enhance and streamline parts of Verra’s project registration and verification processes.

ICVCM-Approved Methodologies and Requantification Procedure

The following methodologies that are active in Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program have been approved by the ICVCM as meeting the criteria of the Core Carbon Principes Assessment Framework:

Last year, Verra published the VCS Methodology Change and Requantification Procedure (PDF). This new procedure enables projects registered in the VCS Program to do the following:

  • Update the methodology or methodology version they are using for past verification periods
  • Requantify the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and carbon dioxide removals from past verification periods in accordance with that methodology
  • Reconcile the number of previously issued VCUs with the number of VCUs resulting from the updated quantification
  • Request CCP labels for the reconciled VCUs if the respective methodology/methodology version is approved by the ICVCM as meeting the CCPs.