Carbon project standards

Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS)

The VCS is a global benchmark standard for project-based, voluntary, greenhouse gas emission reductions and removals. VCS was developed by The Climate Group, the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and a range of business, government and non-government organizations. The current version of the standard – VCS 2007 – was released in November 2007 after two years of drafting, public input, and revisions.
 
Projects qualify for VCS after being validated against the standard’s requirements by an accredited third-party. Climate Action Reserve offsets may also be converted to VCS offsets.  The validation rules under VCS are as robust as those of the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). TerraPass quantifies its VCS offsets using either CDM methodologies (such as the CDM Landfill Protocol and the CDM Renewable Energy Protocol) or the Climate Action Reserve protocols noted below.

When TerraPass uses VCS for registering offsets, you can see project listings and our submittals in the VCS registry, which will be posted on the web later this year.

Climate Action Reserve

The Climate Action Reserve is a program of the California Climate Action Registry, a private nonprofit organization committed to solving climate change through emissions reporting and reduction. The program’s protocols are created through a rigorous, transparent process which includes expert workgroups and public comment periods. The Climate Action Reserve also accredits and oversees independent verifiers and tracks the transactions of offset inventories, adding confidence and credibility for both buyers and sellers of offset credits.

TerraPass uses the CAR Landfill Protocol and the CAR Livestock Protocol, and may use other protocols in the future. 

When TerraPass uses the Climate Action Reserve for registering offsets,, you can view project listings and our submittals in the CAR registry.

Renewable Energy Offsets

Unlike TerraPass projects which reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the project location, renewable energy projects displace greenhouse gas emissions which would occur if the energy were generated from the typical mix of power sources in the project’s geographic region rather than non-polluting sources like wind.

Some of TerraPass’ Renewable Energy Projects will be verified under the Voluntary Carbon Standard, as noted above.  However, most US-based wind projects use Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) certified by the Center for Resource Solutions’ Green-e program to register their voluntary projects.  The ubiquitous Green-e Energy standard is not, however, a carbon offset standard. For example, it does not provide a method of converting megawatt hours into metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, so it is not appropriate for our use.

Fortunately, the Center for Resource Solutions has recently published a new renewable energy protocol. For some projects, TerraPass will use this protocol to define how we use RECs as carbon offsets. Specifically, we will buy RECs from facilities deemed eligible according to this protocol, and hire supplemental third-party verifiers to confirm that our purchases meet the protocol’s technical requirements. For example, the protocol requires that the RECs have been retired on a tracking system, that they are of the correct vintage, and that they are not being used to comply with any regulatory requirements or used in other voluntary purchase programs.  TerraPass will also document that we have correctly converted megawatt hours into carbon dioxide equivalent, and that we have full title to the RECs.

When TerraPass uses RECs from US-based wind projects according to this protocol, we will publish the verifier’s report on our web site and provide a link to the Renewable Energy Tracking System that houses the project’s listing. 

Previous Standards

From 2004 through 2007, TerraPass' primary offset standard and tracking mechanism was the Chicago Climate Exchange. The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) was launched in 2003 and was the first active, voluntary but legally binding greenhouse gas emission offset trading system. Members of the CCX sign binding commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and report their emissions annually to verify compliance. CCX members may also purchase offsets listed on the exchange to meet their compliance obligations. TerraPass purchased CCX offsets and retired them on behalf of our customers. We used bi-lateral trades directly with the offset sellers to ensure the quality of each offset we purchased.

During this time, TerraPass used CCX' Landfill Protocol, Agricultural Methane Protocol, and Renewable Energy Protocol. In 2008, we transitioned away from CCX as an offset standard, as standards with greater transparency (public protocol development and public, serialized registries) became available.

From 2004 through 2007, TerraPass' primary offset standard and tracking mechanism for renewable energy was the Center for Resource Solutions' Green-e Renewable Energy Credit program. This program enabled TerraPass to purchase RECs which were certified as voluntary, which were not double-counted or double-sold, and which were vintage-controlled. TerraPass supplemented the Green-e Certification with a translation from megawatt-hours to metric tons of CO2e based on EPA data; our calculations were audited at the end of the each year. CRS replaced this program with the Green-e Energy and Green-e Climate programs in 2008.