ICVCM CCP-label tracker

December 10, 2024 - Commentary

As of January 2025, Calyx Global has updated its GHG Rating scale to AAA-D. This article may reference the old rating scale. Read more here.

The Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) were developed by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) to set a minimum benchmark for carbon credit quality. These principles were designed to help market participants identify carbon credits that meet certain criteria to promote environmental impact and alignment with climate goals.

In early 2024, the ICVCM began assessing various “categories” of carbon credits for CCP labeling. A category is a project type combined with a carbon methodology. The ICVCM decides whether each category is eligible to receive the CCP label.

Calyx Global provides independent, project-level assessments of greenhouse gas (GHG) integrity risk in carbon projects. Our approach is aligned with the core carbon principles. Below is a distribution of GHG ratings for projects that are CCP label eligible alongside those that will not receive the CCP label. Importantly, this chart only represents projects Calyx Global has assessed and may be missing projects that have yet to be rated or issue credits.
678502a908a47_Calyx Global GHG rating distribution of CCP Label elligible carbon credits 2.png

** “CCP label” represents projects Calyx Global has rated that are in an approved category (i.e., project type + methodology). “No CCP label” includes categories that have been rejected by the ICVCM Board and/or where a carbon crediting program has itself excluded a category from consideration (e.g., VCS has excluded old REDD methodologies and a cookstove methodology).

To learn how CCP labeling works, see our explainer here. Otherwise, we built this tracker to give market participants up-to-date access to ICVCM CCP label decisions alongside our expert analysis.

The ICVCM CCP label tracker

Category-level assessments*

Project category	Methodologies Programs	Status	Notes and links to Calyx Global analysis
Afforestation, Reforestation and Revegetation	VM0047 Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation – v1.0	Approved	N/A
Landfill Gas	ACM0001 – Flaring or use of landfill gas AMS-III.G. – Landfill methane recovery ACR Landfill Gas Destruction and Beneficial Use Projects CAR U.S. Landfill Protocol v6	Approved	Calyx Global analysis 1 Calyx Global analysis 2
Ozone Depleting Substances	ACR – Destruction of ODS from International Sources – v1.0 CAR – Article 5 Ozone Depleting Substances Project Protocol v1-2 CAR – U.S. Ozone Depleting Substances Project Protocol v1-2.	Approved	Calyx Global analysis Note: ACR’s U.S. ODS methodologies still under review
LDAR	AM0023 - Leak detection and repair in gas production, processing, transmission, storage and distribution systems and in refinery facilities - v4.0.0	Approved	N/A
REDD (Project)	VM0048 Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation	Approved	Calyx Global analysis
REDD+ (Jurisdictional)	REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard V2.0 - TREES Crediting Level ART-TREES V2.0 - (non-HFLD, removals) VCS Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ (JNR)	Approved	Note: ART-TREES HFLD and Removals is still under consideration
SF6 Avoidance	AM0065 – Replacement of SF6 with alternate cover gas in the magnesium industry	Rejected	Note: There are very few SF6 projects
Grid-Connected Renewable Energy	ACM0002 – Grid-connected electricity generation from renewable sources – Version 21.0 ACM0006 – Electricity and heat generation from biomass – Versions 1.0 - 16.0 ACM0018 – Electricity generation from biomass in power-only plants – Versions 1.0 - 6.0 AM0036 – Use of biomass in heat generation equipment – Versions 1.0 - 7.0 AM0072 – Fossil Fuel Displacement by Geothermal Resources for Space Heating – Versions 1.0 - 3.0 AMS-I.D. – Grid connected renewable electricity generation – Versions 1.0 - 18.0	Rejected	Calyx Global analysis
Renewable Energy (Offgrid)	Gold Standard - AMS-I.A. - v1-19 VCS - AMS-I.A. - v1-19	Rejected	N/A
Mini-Grids	Gold Standard - AMS-I.L. v1 - 4 AMS-I.L. – Electrification of rural communities using renewable energy – Versions 1.0 - 4.0	Rejected	N/A
Efficient Cookstoves	GS methodology for metered and measured energy cooking devices GS The Gold Standard Simplified Methodology For Clean And Efficient Cookstoves AMS-II.G. – Energy efficiency measures in thermal applications of non-renewable biomass VCS Methodology for Improved Thermal Energy Generation Units (will replace VMR0006) GS TPDDTEC – reduced emissions from cooking and heating – technologies and practices to displace decentralized thermal energy consumption VCS Methodology for Improved Thermal Energy Generation Units (will replace VMR0006) VMR0006 Energy Efficiency and Fuel Switch Measures in Thermal Applications [v 1.2 only]	On deck	Awaiting decision
REDD+ (Jurisdictional)	REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard V2.0 - HFLD Crediting Approach REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard V2.0 - Removals Crediting Approach	Scheduled for consideration	Awaiting announcement
REDD (Project)	ACR Active Conservation and Sustainable Management on U.S. Forestlands v1.0	Scheduled for consideration	Awaiting announcement
Afforestation, Reforestation and Revegetation	ACR Afforestation and Reforestation of Degraded Lands – v1.2 Gold Standard Afforestation/Reforestation (A/R) GHG Emissions Reduction & Sequestration Methodology AR-ACM0003 - Afforestation and reforestation of lands except wetlands	Scheduled for consideration	Awaiting announcement
Improved Forest Management	CAR U.S. Forest Protocol VM0012 Improved Forest Management in Temperate and Boreal Forests (LtPF) ACR Improved Forest Management (IFM) on Non-Federal U.S. Forestlands CAR Mexico Forest Protocol VM0035 Methodology for Improved Forest Management through Reduced Impact Logging VM0045 Improved Forest Management Methodology Using Dynamic Matched Baselines from National Forest Inventories	Scheduled for consideration	Awaiting announcement
Sustainable Agriculture	GS Soil Organic Carbon Framework Methodology CAR U.S. Soil Enrichment Protocol v1.1	Scheduled for consideration	Awaiting announcement
Grid-Connected Renewable Energy	AMS-I.C. – Thermal energy production with or without electricity – Version 22.0 AM0123 – Renewable energy generation for captive use – Version 1.0	Scheduled for consideration	Awaiting announcement
Biodigesters (household)	AMS-I.I. – Biogas/biomass thermal applications for households/small users GS methodology for animal manure management and biogas use for thermal energy generation AMS-I.E. – Switch from non-renewable biomass for thermal applications by the user	Scheduled for consideration	Awaiting announcement
Industrial Biodigesters	AMS-III.D. – Methane recovery in animal manure management systems ACM0010 – GHG emission reductions from manure management systems CAR U.S. Livestock Protocol CAR Dominican Republic Livestock	Scheduled for consideration	Awaiting announcement
HFC-23 Part 1	ACR Certified Reclaimed HFC Refrigerants, Propellants, and Fire Suppressants v 2.0 AM0001 – Decomposition of fluoroform (HFC-23) waste streams [V 6.0.0 only]	Scheduled for consideration	Awaiting announcement
New Natural Gas Power	AM0107 – New natural gas based cogeneration plant ACM0025 – Construction of a new natural gas power plant	Scheduled for consideration	Awaiting announcement
Waste Heat Recovery	ACM0012 – Waste energy recovery AMS-III.Q. – Waste energy recovery AM0066 – GHG emission reductions through waste heat utilization for pre-heating of raw materials in sponge iron manufacturing process	Scheduled for consideration	Awaiting announcement
Low-Carbon Transport/Electric Vehicles	VM0038 Methodology for Electric Vehicle Charging Systems AMS-III.BM – Lightweight two and three wheeled personal transportation GS two and three wheeled personal transportation	Scheduled for consideration	Awaiting announcement
Industrial Energy Efficiency (supply side)	AM0017 – Steam system efficiency improvements by replacing steam traps and returning condensate AM0018 – Baseline methodology for steam optimization systems AM0020 – Baseline methodology for water pumping efficiency improvements	Scheduled for consideration	Awaiting announcement
N2O Abatement in Nitric Acid Production - Part 1	AM0034 – Catalytic reduction of N2O inside the ammonia burner of nitric acid plants AM0028 – N2O destruction in the tail gas of Caprolactam production plants	Scheduled for consideration	Awaiting announcement

*This list excludes project categories the ICVCM has yet to commence assessing or has not updated on its public website.

Program-level assessments

		Calyx Global screening
Carbon crediting program	ICVCM status	Pass/Fail	Level
ACR (American Carbon Registry)	Approved	Premium subscriber content
Architecture for REDD+ (ART)	Approved
Climate Action Reserve (CAR)	Approved
Gold Standard (GS)	Approved
Isometric	Approved
Verified Carbon Standard (VCS)	Approved
Cercarbano	Under review
ERS (Ecosystem Restoration Standard)	Under review
Global Carbon Council	Under review
Plano Vivo Foundation	Under review
Puro.earth	Under review
Riverse	Under review
Social Carbon	Under review
Wilder Carbon	Under review

Subscribers have access to Calyx Global’s independent program-level screenings providing additional due diligence beyond ICVCM approvals. Click here to access the subscriber portal or contact the team for a demo.

About the author

Calyx Global Research Team

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