Carbon Credit Solutions

About the Kyoto Network Standard (KNS):

The Kyoto Network Standard (KNS) is a rigorous framework designed for the validation and certification of voluntary carbon credit projects. It introduces a formulaic approach to impact validation, making it quantifiable and verifiable. KNS prioritizes the integration of circular economy principles into project development and execution as a means to ensure meaningful sustainability and genuine emissions reduction.

Key Reasons for Circular Economy Integration in Carbon Credit Projects:

Quantifiable Impact: KNS employs a precise methodology to measure and validate the quantifiable impact of circular economy practices in emissions reduction and sustainability.

Comprehensive Sustainability: KNS acknowledges that true sustainability encompasses not only emissions reduction but also responsible resource management, waste reduction, and broader societal and ecological benefits.
Resource Efficiency: Circular economy principles advocated by KNS encourage resource optimization, leading to reduced waste and environmental impact, while conserving vital resources.

Community and Ecosystem Benefits: Circular economy projects often yield positive effects for local communities and ecosystems, such as job creation, improved infrastructure, and biodiversity enhancement, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Adaptation to Market Changes: KNS ensures that projects adopting circular economy principles are well-positioned to thrive in a changing landscape, aligning with evolving global priorities.

Transparent Accountability: KNS provides a transparent framework for assessing a project’s circular economy contributions, allowing stakeholders to accurately evaluate environmental and societal impacts.

In summary, the Kyoto Network Standard (KNS) is a rigorous certification framework that places circular economy principles at its core. Its quantifiable approach ensures that carbon credit projects not only offset emissions but also embody genuine sustainability and impactful change.

The Process:

No Poverty: Promote income generation in marginalized communities.
Expanding into a Circular Economy: In a circular economy, this action can be extended to focus on creating income-generating opportunities that also involve the recycling and reuse of resources. For instance, supporting the development of community-based recycling programs can generate income through collecting and processing recyclable materials, simultaneously reducing waste and emissions.

Zero Hunger: Reduce food waste in the supply chain.
Expanding into a Circular Economy: In a circular economy, reducing food waste can be further integrated by setting up systems for collecting food waste and converting it into valuable resources like compost or bioenergy. This not only minimizes emissions from food decomposition in landfills but also creates new, sustainable inputs for agriculture.

Good Health and Well-being: Promote public transportation to reduce individual car emissions.
Expanding into a Circular Economy: In a circular economy, public transportation can be made more sustainable by using electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles and implementing recycling programs for vehicle components. Additionally, designing transit systems that encourage ridesharing and carpooling can maximize resource utilization.

Quality Education: Implement energy-efficient practices in schools.
Expanding into a Circular Economy: In a circular economy, schools can adopt sustainable building materials and designs that reduce energy consumption and waste generation. Furthermore, educational materials can be designed for reusability and digital access to minimize paper usage and waste.

Gender Equality: Promote women’s participation in the workforce.
Expanding into a Circular Economy: In a circular economy, promoting gender equality can include initiatives that empower women to participate in green industries like renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and waste management. These industries often align with circular principles by emphasizing resource efficiency and waste reduction.

Clean Water and Sanitation: Improve water treatment processes.
Expanding into a Circular Economy: In a circular economy, water treatment can be enhanced by incorporating technologies that recover and reuse resources from wastewater, such as nutrients and energy. This reduces the overall environmental impact of water treatment and contributes to resource circularity.

Affordable and Clean Energy: Install solar panels in households.
Expanding into a Circular Economy: In a circular economy, solar panel installations can include programs for recycling or repurposing solar panels at the end of their life cycle. Additionally, integrating energy storage solutions can optimize energy use and reduce reliance on fossil fuels during peak demand.

Decent Work and Economic Growth: Promote green job creation.
Expanding into a Circular Economy: Green job creation in a circular economy can prioritize roles related to resource recovery, recycling, and remanufacturing. Workers can be trained to extend the life of products and materials, ensuring that resources remain in circulation for as long as possible.

Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: Upgrade manufacturing processes to reduce emissions.
Expanding into a Circular Economy: In a circular economy, manufacturing upgrades can focus on designing products for durability, ease of repair, and recyclability. By extending the life of products and materials, the circular economy minimizes the need for constant production of new goods and reduces emissions.

Reduced Inequality: Implement progressive tax policies.
Expanding into a Circular Economy: Progressive tax policies in a circular economy can be linked to resource use. For instance, higher taxes can be applied to non-renewable or resource-intensive industries, incentivizing businesses to adopt sustainable and circular practices. These expanded explanations demonstrate how each action can be integrated into a circular economy, emphasizing resource efficiency, waste reduction, and sustainable practices to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while minimizing environmental impacts.

GHG Protocol tools enable companies and cities to develop comprehensive and reliable inventories of their GHG emissions, and help countries and cities track progress toward their climate goals. 

Calculating emissions is a multi-step process. An accurate and useful inventory can only be developed after careful attention to quality control issues and to the activity data required. Only then should emissions be estimated. Companies should consult for guidance on the entire inventory development process.

Below is a complete listing of all tools developed by GHG Protocol. Our tools enable companies to develop comprehensive and reliable inventories of their GHG emissions. Each tool reflects best-practice methods that have been extensively tested by industry experts. Many tools are accompanied by a PDF guidance document, which provides step-by-step guidance on the use of a tool and should be consulted first. Most companies will need to apply more than one tool to cover their emissions.

What is SBTi

The SBTi protocol refers to the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which is not precisely a protocol but a collaborative effort to encourage businesses to set science-based targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The initiative provides a framework and methodology for companies to set emission reduction targets aligned with the latest climate science to limit global warming.

Sector Guidance

Almost every company can set a science-based target using our cross-sector guidance. For companies in some heavy emitting industries, the SBTi develops sector-specific guidance, tailored to the unique nature of the industry to enable them to develop ambitious and achievable science-based targets.

Sector-Specific Projects

Select your sector to view specific requirements and/or guidance.

For companies in some sectors, the SBTi has developed specific methodologies, guidance, and to help you through the target-setting process.

if your sector is not listed or is not finalized, you should use our core methodologies and resources to set your targets. See our Getting Started Guide to learn which methodology your company should use, according to your sector and other criteria.

Guidance for the apparel and footwear sector

Why take action?

Fast fashion trends are driving unsustainable levels of consumption and emissions are set to increase. With the worldwide apparel and footwear market expected to grow around 5% a year through 2030, it is clear the fashion industry needs to transform rapidly.

How to set a target

Our guidance supports companies in the apparel and footwear value chain with case studies on best practice, as well as strategies to reduce emissions. The guidance is aimed at retailers, brands, finished goods manufacturers, mills and other companies primarily engaged in the production and sale of apparel and footwear production.

Join fashion leaders such as Burberry, Puma and Ralph Lauren by setting a science-based target.

Download Guidance

Commit and set a target

About the project

Led by World Resources Institute (WRI), the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) released guidance which applies to retailers, brands, finished goods manufacturers, mills, etc. that are primarily engaged in activities that contribute to the production and sale of apparel and footwear products.

Project participants

The guidance was informed by an Expert Advisory Group with representation from companies, consultants, NGOs, academic institutions and other individuals with sectoral and/or GHG accounting expertise. We also convened a broader group of stakeholders to provide input at key milestones.

Financial support

Financial support for the guidance was provided by Nike, Inc., Target Corporation, ClimateWorks Foundation, C&A Corporation, and Lenzing.

Development process

Highlights from the guidance development process:

• June 2017: Project commenced with a scoping phase. View slides from the launch webinar.
• May 2018: WRI held an open stakeholder feedback session at the Sustainable Apparel Coalition conference in Vancouver and commissioned a public, online survey on the first version of the guidance. View slides from the webinar and see a summary of public comments.
• September 2018: WRI shared the guidance with stakeholders including apparel and footwear suppliers, local brand representatives, and individuals from industry associations in Ho Chi Minh City.
• November 2018: After incorporating feedback from stakeholders, WRI released a second version of the guidance for public comment. WRI presented an overview of key insights and recommendations from the guidance at the American Apparel and Footwear Association Environmental Committee Fall 2018 Meeting in New York City.
• February 2019: WRI presented an update on the sector guidance at the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. A summary of key points of feedback was publicly shared.
• February–June 2019: WRI incorporated feedback from the External Stakeholder Group and broader stakeholder group, as well as feedback from WRI’s internal review process, into the current draft of the guidance. We also updated the guidance to be in conformance with the latest version of the SBTi criteria, released in April 2019.
• On June 25, WRI and the Apparel Impact Institute launched the final guidance at a workshop in Barcelona

What is GRI

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is not a protocol but an independent international organization that has developed a widely used sustainability reporting framework. GRI provides guidelines and standards for organizations to report their economic, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance.

The importance of these Standards

The revised Universal Standards represent the most significant update since GRI transitioned from providing guidance to setting standards in 2016.The Universal Standards strengthen the very foundations of all reporting through GRI, delivering the highest level of transparency for organizational impacts on the economy, environment, and people.The forward-looking approach that underpinned the revision of the Universal Standards means organizations will be best positioned to use their GRI reporting to respond to emerging regulatory disclosure needs, such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the IFRS plans for enterprise value standards.The user-friendly modular system enables all reporting organizations to apply the revised Universal Standards alongside the application of the adapted Topic Standards, and the new Sector Standards. For a detailed overview of how to navigate the new GRI Standards system, please read our short introduction to the GRI Standards.

Download Guidance

Reporting support and training

To help reporters better navigate the changes made to the Universal Standards a new course has been added to the GRI Academy: Transitioning to the GRI Standards 2021 Update course.More courses will be added soon. Please check the GRI Academy courses page for regular updates and make sure you are subscribed to receive our Standards-related news.

Basis for conclusions

A 90-day comment public period for the exposure draft of the Standard ran from 11 June to 20 September 2020. You can access 144 submissions from organizations and individuals here.Basis for conclusions for the Universal Standards update 2021′ provides a summary of the public comments received. It also provides a summary of how the GSSB responded to these comments in the finalization of the Standard.

About the project

Initiated by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) in 2019, the project aimed to review the GRI Universal Standards, which consist of GRI 101: Foundation 2016, GRI 102: General Disclosures 2016 and GRI 103: Management Approach 2016, to improve the quality and consistency of sustainability reporting as well as how organizations use the Standards to disclose their impact on economy, environment, and people. In particular, the project focused on the following:

• incorporation of human rights disclosures into the GRI Standards
• incorporation of due diligence concept into GRI 103: Management Approach 2016
• consideration of revisions to reporting principles and concepts in GRI 101: Foundation 2016
• consideration of revisions to the reporting model in GRI 101: Foundation 2016
• consideration of revisions to GRI 102: General Disclosures 2016

The review of the Universal Standards was informed by the recommendations of the GRI Technical Committee on Human Rights Disclosure, a stakeholder group on labor-related disclosures.The project followed the GSSB Due Process Protocol, the implementation of which is overseen by the Due Process Oversight Committee. The final approval was granted on 2 July 2021. The project proposal can be found here.

What is TCFD?

One of the essential functions of financial markets is to price risk to support informed, efficient capital-allocation decisions. To carry out this function, financial markets need accurate and timely disclosure from companies. Without the right information, investors and others may incorrectly price or value assets, leading to a misallocation of capital.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) created the TCFD to develop recommendations on the types of information that companies should disclose to support investors, lenders, and insurance underwriters in appropriately assessing and pricing a specific set of risks—risks related to climate change.

Implemention of TCFD recommendations

Implementing the Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate related Financial Disclosures.pdf

Guidance for All Sectors

In describing the board’s oversight of climate-related issues, organizations should consider including a discussion of the following:

• Processes and frequency by which the board and/or board committees (e.g., audit, risk, or other committees) are informed about climate-related issues,
• Whether the board and/or board committees consider climate-related issues when reviewing and guiding strategy, major plans of action, risk management policies, annual budgets, and business plans as well as setting the organization’s performance objectives, monitoring implementation and performance, and overseeing major capital expenditures, acquisitions, and divestitures,
• How the board monitors and oversees progress against goals and targets for addressing climate-related issues.

In describing management’s role related to the assessment and management of climate-related issues, organizations should consider including the following information:

• Whether the organization has assigned climate-related responsibilities to management-level positions or committees; and, if so, whether such management positions or committees report to the board or a committee of the board and whether those responsibilities include assessing and/or managing climate-related issues,
• A description of the associated organizational structure(s),
• Processes by which management is informed about climate-related issues, and
• How management (through specific positions and/or management committees) monitors climate-related issues.

Further Information

TCFD Governance Workshop

Remuneration and organizational ownership

What is CDP

The CDP (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project) is not a protocol but an international non-profit organization that runs a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states, and regions to manage their environmental impacts. The CDP provides a platform for organizations to disclose and manage their environmental data, with a particular focus on climate-related information.

Guidance for companies

Companies can disclose in response to a request from an investor, a customer, or both. This page covers the basics of the information request and shows some of the guidance that is available. CDP’s full suite of guidance materials and recorded webinars can be accessed from the guidance tool. View instructions on how to use CDP’s disclosure platform, including the guidance tool.
Investors and customers can request information from companies through CDP’s climate change, forests, and water security questionnaires. Take a look at the latest questionnaires to see what questions you will be asked to respond to

What is ISO 14064

ISO 14064 is a series of standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that provide guidance on greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and reporting. The standard is designed to help organizations measure, quantify, report, and verify their GHG emissions and removals accurately and transparently. It consists of three parts

Guidance for Companies

ISO 14064 offers companies clear guidance for quantifying, reporting, and managing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By following ISO 14064 standards, companies can systematically assess their carbon footprint, develop targeted emission reduction strategies, and enhance transparency in reporting to stakeholders. Compliance with ISO 14064 helps companies mitigate environmental risks, foster stakeholder trust, and drive continual improvement in GHG management practices. Overall, ISO 14064 empowers companies to contribute to global sustainability goals and demonstrate environmental responsibility.

Introduction

This paper provides an overview of ISO 14064, an international standard that addresses the quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and the verification of this information. It will provide an overview of the structure of the standard and present key aspects of its design and application. ISO 14064 is a technical specification and is climate policy neutral. ISO 14064 exists as a guide for the private and public sector in developing GHG inventories for their organization as well as foundation for policy makers and program developers for initiatives to address the global environmental challenge of climate change.

BackgroundISO 14064 is a standard developed under processes of the International Standards Organization. A non-governmental organization located in Geneva, Switzerland, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) coordinates efforts by groups of technical experts representing individual national standard institutes to develop consensus-based voluntary technical standards on variety of issues. ISO has issued over 16,000 standards including the well known ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standard series on quality and environmental management, respectively. The objective of ISO standards is to facilitate international cooperation, especially business and trade, by facilitating communication on technical issues between industry, government, consumers, and other stakeholders and allowing consistency of products and services within and across national boundaries.

The development of ISO 14064, an addition to the ISO 14000 environmental management standard series, began in 2002. Recognizing quickly emerging interest in addressing the environmental issue posed by climate change combined with the lack of international standards for businesses to take action, a work group was formed to attempt to define how to quantify and report GHG emissions from an organization, as well as how GHG reports could be verified. A key objective of the process was to create a technically rigorous but policy neutral product that would be applicable regardless a country’s current climate change policy, especially its participation in the United Nation’s Kyoto Protocol. Through a process that included continuous interaction and cooperation of national technical advisory committees consisting of 175 experts representing 45 countries and a series of international in-person negotiating meetings, a standard on these issues was developed and issued by ISO for international use in March 2006. In August 2006, ISO 14064 was also approved by the American National Standards Institute as an American National Standard.

Resources

Specification with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals

What is CDSB?

CDSB is an international consortium of business and environmental NGOs. We are committed to advancing and aligning the global mainstream corporate reporting model to equate natural capital with financial capital.We do this by offering companies a framework for reporting environmental information with the same rigour as financial information. In turn this helps them to provide investors with decision-useful environmental information via the mainstream corporate report, enhancing the efficient allocation of capital. Regulators also benefit from compliance-ready materials.Recognising that information about natural capital and financial capital is equally essential for an understanding of corporate performance, our work builds the trust and transparency needed to foster resilient capital markets. Collectively, we aim to contribute to more sustainable economic, social and environmental systems.

Framework for reporting environmental and social information

The CDSB Framework sets out an approach for reporting environmental and social information in mainstream reports, such as annual reports, 10-K filing, or integrated report.

The CDSB Framework for reporting environmental and social information is designed to help organisations prepare and present environmental and social information in mainstream reports for the benefit of investors. It allows investors to assess the relationship between specific environmental and social matters and the organisation’s strategy, performance and prospects.The first CDSB Framework, the Climate Change Reporting Framework, released in 2010, focused on the risks and opportunities that climate change presents to an organisation’s strategy, financial performance and condition.In 2015, following two public consultations, the CDSB Framework for reporting environmental and climate change information was released. The CDSB Framework was updated in April 2018 to align with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and other key mainstream reporting requirements, helping to streamline the reporting cycle for many organisations.In light of changing market and user demands, the scope of the CDSB Framework was expanded to include social as well environmental, including climate change, information. Following public consultation, the CDSB Framework for reporting environmental and social information was released in 2022.Through the provision of robust environmental and social information, CDSB hopes to encourage analysis and decision-making by investors that recognise the dependence and impacts of economic and financial stability on natural, human and social capital

The importance of these Standards

Agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing industries share common impacts associated with the production of food as well as non-food products and are fundamental to the world’s food systems and the making of a variety of materials – such as fibers and fuels. These sectors have been prioritized based on their widely documented impacts across economic, environmental, and social dimensions – including those on climate change and biodiversity, food security, farming and fishing practices, and community engagement.The Standard will increase the completeness and comparability of sustainability information for all organizations around the world involved in crop cultivation, animal production, aquaculture or fishing.GRI 13: Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fishing Sectors 2022 comes in effect for reporting from 1 January 2024, with early adoption encouraged. This Standard is used together with the GRI Universal Standards and the GRI Topic Standards.

The objectives of the CDSB Framework are to:

• Help companies translate their sustainability information into long-term value;
• Provide clear, concise and consistent information to investors, connecting the organisation’s sustainability performance to its overall strategy, performance and prospects;
• Enable and encourage informed investor-decision making on the allocation of financial capital; and
• Add value to an organisation’s existing mainstream report, while minimising the reporting burden and simplifying the reporting process.

The Framework also:

• Supports compliance with regulatory reporting requirements with current & emerging requirements for sustainability reporting, (e.g. the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive)
• Forms part of the evidence base as the ISSB develops its IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. The CDSB Framework and technical guidance on Climate, Water, Biodiversity and Social disclosures will remain useful for companies until such time as the ISSB issues its IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards on such topics;
• Aligns and complements the objectives of financial reporting by providing environmental and social information that is connected with financial information;
• Aligns with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures;
• Builds on the most widely used reporting approaches, such as CDP, GRI, SASB, IFRS;
• Encourages standardisation of environmental and social information reporting;
• Supports the rigour that is appropriate for information provided to investors; and
• Helps prepare assurable reports.

The development of the CDSB Framework has been overseen by the CDSB Technical Working Group, consisting of representatives from the largest accounting firms, reporting organisations, companies and academia.

Why we need a framework

Voluntary and mandatory reporting schemes on sustainability have multiplied, but there is no single standard about how companies should identify relevant information on natural, social and human capital and how users of such information can interpret it. As such, the information available is inconsistent and financial institutions are not taking account of environmental and social factors in their decision-making.”As investors we find it instrumental to be able to evaluate and compare companies on their sustainability performance. The lack of a standard that creates alignment in the reporting of environmental & natural capital information makes it hard to do so. We hope that others will get behind the CDSB Framework for reporting environmental information & natural capital so that it can evolve to become the standard the investor community needs.” – Marcos Mancini, Director of Sustainability, Banorte

Resources

CDSB Framework Application Guidance

Climate GuidanceWater GuidanceBiodiversity GuidanceSocial Guidance

Verra is the world’s leading carbon certification organisation, responsible for setting rigorous standards that ensure climate projects deliver real, measurable, and independently verified emissions reductions. Through its Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) — the most widely used carbon credit framework globally — Verra provides the methodologies, oversight, and registry systems needed to guarantee the integrity, transparency, and traceability of carbon credits.

Projects certified under Verra undergo detailed validation, regular third-party audits, and continuous monitoring to confirm that every credit represents one tonne of verified CO₂e removed or avoided. Verra also manages complementary standards covering social impact, sustainable development, and land use, making it a central pillar of global voluntary carbon markets.