Carbon Offset Standards

The VCS was founded by The Climate Group, the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

I am investigating the concept of "carbon offsets" in the US market place. When a customer purchases carbon offsets so that they can become "carbon neutral", what type of carbon offset are they really purchasing. We need to understand what standards are used when purchasing a carbon offset. The VCS Association is in charge of the VCS Program and they are responsible for monitoring Greenhouse Gas Emissions reduction projects, like carbon offsets.

There are different baselines when calculating carbon offsets. Listed below are some of the other methods that are currently approved under the Voluntary Carbon Offset Protocol.

1.) Clean Development Mechanism methodologies (used in the Kyoto Protocol) (http://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/index.html)

2.) California Climate Action Registry
(http://www.climateregistry.org/tools/protocols/project-protocols.html)

Other Standards include:
The Gold Standard and EPA Climate Leaders