Carbon credits
Validation, verification and issuance: who does what
The carbon credit process involves several independent parties. Understanding their roles helps set realistic expectations.
4 minute read
Different steps, different parties
Carbon credit projects pass through several steps, and each is handled by a different party. Confusing them leads to unrealistic expectations about timelines, costs and outcomes.
- Project owner: designs and operates the project, collects monitoring data and holds the evidence.
- Advisers such as SustainAI: support measurement, feasibility, readiness, monitoring design and documentation.
- Validation and verification body: an independent auditor accredited or approved under the relevant standard. It validates the project design and later verifies monitored results.
- Standard and registry: set the rules and, after successful verification, issue serialised credits in the registry.
- Buyers and intermediaries: purchase, transfer or retire issued credits on commercial terms.
Why independence matters
The value of a credit depends on confidence that the reduction or removal is real and measured correctly. That confidence comes from independent review. An adviser can help a project prepare, but it cannot stand in for that review, and it should not suggest that it can.
This article is general information and is not legal, financial or investment advice. Requirements and market practice change, so specific projects should be assessed on their own facts at the time.