WASHINGTON – Mar. 25, 2025 | Verra today announced suspension measures against the four validation/verification bodies (VVBs) involved in reviewing the 37 rice cultivation projects in China that the standards setter rejected late last year.

The four VVBs involved in auditing the rice projects—China Classification Society Certification Company (CCSC), China Quality Certification Center (CQC), CTI Certification CO., LTD., and TÜV Nord Cert GmbH—are suspended from conducting audits of:

  • Projects that use an Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) methodology in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program;
  • Projects that are registered, or seeking to register, under the AFOLU or the Oceans and Marine Resources scope in the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta) Program; and
  • Projects that are registered, or seeking to register, in the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCBS) Program.

TÜV Nord Cert GmbH’s suspension measures only apply to projects in China, whereas all other VVBs’ suspension measures apply to project audits globally.

"This decision was not made lightly, but Verra’s commitment to integrity means upholding the highest standards of quality and trust, and maintaining market confidence must come first. While we recognize the impact of this suspension on affected projects, ensuring rigorous and credible validations and verifications is critical.”

Justin Wheler, Chief Program Management Officer, Verra

Verra rejected the 37 rice cultivation projects after serious issues had been identified, and the VVBs involved were subsequently issued nonconformance reports. They were then required to report to Verra on the root causes of these issues and propose actions to prevent their recurrence. However, Verra found these reports to be inadequate and has now issued suspension measures.

Implications for the Suspended VVBs

The VVB suspensions can be lifted if: the VVB successfully addresses the issues outlined in the nonconformance reports and meets Verra’s reinstatement and program approval requirements.

Until then, Verra will accept no new project registrations or issuance requests that include audits done by the VVBs affected by the suspensions listed above.

All existing registration and issuance requests that include audits within the scope of the suspensions will also be denied.

For projects that have already undergone an audit by one of the suspended VVBs, project proponents have been notified that they must find a new VVB. In this case, Verra will not charge a new review fee and will grant deadline extensions to allow time for this process.

The Verra website has been updated to reflect these VVB suspensions, and Verra will update the status of any impacted projects in the registry in due course.

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.