Governance & Integrity
Credible Carbon exists to bring small, poverty alleviating African projects into the carbon market without compromising on quality. This page brings together how we protect the integrity of every credit on our registry: independent auditing, a published standard, open methodologies, a public registry, and clear rules on independence and grievances.
We are a carbon standard and a registry. We set the rules that projects must meet, and we record the credits that result. We do not develop the projects we register and we do not own their credits. Projects come to us, are independently audited, and keep ownership of the credits they earn.
Every project is verified by an independent third party auditor before any credit is issued, and must satisfy our published standard and our reviewed methodologies. Nothing is issued on the strength of a business plan.
We keep transaction costs low and our fees transparent, so that as much value as possible reaches the communities delivering the emission reductions.
At least 60% of net carbon revenue returns to project beneficiaries
Between 2008 and 2023 we averaged 80%, after all audit, legal and registry fees.
How we protect integrity
Four things stand behind every Credible Carbon credit. Each is public, so anyone can check how a credit was assessed.
Every project is verified by accredited third party auditors before any credit is issued. We do not audit our own projects.
Meet our auditorsProjects must answer four questions on reality, poverty impact, verifiable quantification and working technology before they are registered.
Read the standardSavings are calculated against independently reviewed methodologies that are free to use and published as a public good.
View methodologiesEvery credit issued by Credible Carbon carries a unique serial number. Credits can be transferred and retired but cannot be re-issued or double-counted. The public dashboard shows issued, sold and available credits per project and vintage. Our registry rules govern how credits are recorded, transferred and retired.
View the public dashboard Registry rulesIndependence and conflicts of interest
Integrity depends on keeping commercial interests out of the decisions that matter. A few clear rules keep that line in place.
- We are the standard and the registry, not the project developer. We do not write project proposals, develop projects, or own the credits we register.
- Every credit is checked by an independent auditor, not by us, before it is issued.
- Our fees are published and deducted from sales, so projects pay nothing up front. The full cost to a project is set out on our project registration page.
Raising feedback or a grievance
Anyone can raise feedback or a grievance about a project or about Credible Carbon. Our Feedback and Grievance Procedure sets out the options, and our contact page explains how to reach us.