Gold Standard, one of the leading standards and registries in the voluntary carbon market, has been working on an updated version of its climate framework, which has the ambitious goal of guiding organizations on how they can address climate change in a credible way.
As carbon markets find themselves at a critical point in their development, the need for dialogue and discussion is paramount, so the release will be followed by a webinar and Q&A session on July 25th, that will allow companies direct access to the authors of the framework.
One of those authors is Owen Hewlett, Chief Technical Officer at Gold Standard, who describes the thinking behind the original document and its new iteration by saying: “We care about how carbon credits are being used. That implies we need to know what good looks like from the company side, so that we know where our products fit.
In writing it, we found that the concept speaks to writing out, probably for the first time, a responsibility construct for companies. There are a lot of frameworks and initiatives that do different moving parts of that – SBTi, VCMI, ourselves and CDP. We put it all together in one place, so you can see all the key moving parts at once. And then we started to map what doesn’t exist, so that we can address it.
Now it has morphed from “how should our products be used” into “how should we think about what a good company is doing in the context of the climate crisis.””
Goals of the Gold Standard framework
The new version of the Organisational Climate Strategies and a supplementary document called Guidelines for Credible Claims are aimed at providing a holistic approach for companies and guiding both thinking and actions, but with a realization that each of them needs an iterative and critical approach due to their complexity.
One of the critical subjects the document addresses is Scope 3 emissions. In it companies will be able to find further guidance on how they should approach unabated emissions, as well as their Scope 3 emissions, in line with Gold Standard’s Beyond Value Chain Mitigation guidance.
When asked if there is a change in Gold Standard’s thinking in this area Mr Hewlett says: “The construct around Scope 3 hasn’t changed. The actual underlying rules of the game haven’t really changed yet. What we’re trying to get across is that the argument as to whether EACs (energy attribute certificates) and carbon credits should count towards Scope 3 targets is a red herring, that’s the wrong question to be asking. The right question is what actions and outcomes should count towards the Scope 3 targets? And then the secondary question is, are carbon credits good at delivering those?”
The goal of the July 25th webinar will be to “explain the responsibility construct that’s grown up in the last 10 years, and where it might be going next, coupled with a bit of inspiration, and definitely a chance for Q&A,” says Mr Hewlett.
You can find further details about the event and register here.
Read more: Gold Standard Releases Public Carbon Regulations Tracker
