Carbon accounting at the landscape level

Introductory guidance for sustainability systems to design and implement credible GHG reporting systems | Gold Standard

Sustainability systems represent and support complex supply chains, with a wide variety of commodities, producers and geographies included. Emissions reporting is a complex and fast-moving space. Thus, these systems and their communities may face challenges keeping pace with developments and developing consistent and appropriate good practices that can benefit their communities and climate security.

This document series is a starting point for the ISEAL community and broader sustainability systems to engage and align with credible, science-based greenhouse gas emissions accounting and reporting for certified commodities.

Introductory guidance for sustainability systems to design and implement credible GHG reporting systems | Gold Standard694.12 KB

Full guidance for sustainability systems to design and implement credible GHG reporting systems | Gold Standard

This Guidance supports sustainability systems to design and implement good practice greenhouse gas emissions accounting, reporting and disclosure strategies for users of their schemes. This approach affords several opportunities for the ISEAL community.

The intended users of this Guidance are ISEAL member schemes that are involved in the certification of commodities. The guidance may also be of interest to their communities (certificate holders, applicants, assurance providers, oversight bodies, buyers, governments, civil society and the public).

Full guidance for sustainability systems to design and implement credible GHG reporting systems | Gold Standard1.19 MB

Opening guidance for certificate holders | Gold Standard

Opening guidance for certificate holders and applicants to accounting & reporting the emissions of certified commodities | Gold Standard

This document represents a short ‘start here’ level introduction to the ‘Accounting & Reporting the Emissions of Certified Commodities’ suite of guidance documents. This document is specifically aimed at Certificate Holders and potential applicants for certification (henceforth ‘CH/A’) with ISEAL member schemes or other sustainability systems that have or are commencing on a process to align their certification of commodities and chains of custody models with emissions reporting good practices. The CH/A community for each scheme will reflect the nature of the work entailed. It is also likely that the community includes everything from very large multi-national corporation producers to smallholder and developing country cooperatives. The benefits of participating in the member’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Systems will vary accordingly, but the broad aim for everyone is to participate in and realise the benefits of working towards mitigating the climate emergency.

Opening guidance for certificate holders and applicants to GHG emissions reporting for certified commodities | Gold Standard319.53 KB

Opening guidance for sustainability systems to GHG emissions reporting for certified commodities | Gold Standard

This document represents a short ‘start here’ level introduction to the ‘Accounting & Reporting the emissions of certified commodities’ suite of guidance documents. This document is specifically aimed at ISEAL member schemes or other sustainability systems who have commenced or are considering commencing on a process to align their certification of commodities and chains of custody models with emissions reporting good practices.

Opening guidance for sustainability systems to GHG emissions reporting for certified commodities | Gold Standard304.49 KB

Opening guidance for buyers of certified commodities to GHG emissions reporting | Gold Standard

This document represents a short ‘start here’ level introduction to the ‘Accounting & Reporting the Emissions of Certified Commodities’ suite of guidance documents. This document is specifically aimed at buyers of certified commodities as users, stakeholders, participants and license holders of ISEAL member schemes or other sustainability systems.

The buyer community for each scheme will reflect the nature of the work entailed. It is also likely that the community includes everything from very large multi-national corporations to small and medium enterprises. The benefits of the system may vary between different types of buyers, but there is likely to be something for everyone.

Opening guidance for buyers of certified commodities to GHG emissions reporting | Gold Standard330.33 KB

Opening guidance for oversight and assurance providers to GHG emissions reporting for certified commodities | Gold Standard

This document is specifically aimed at Oversight and Assurance Providers to ISEAL member schemes or other sustainability systems that have or are commencing on a process to align their certification of commodities and chains of custody models with emissions reporting good practices.

This document represents a short ‘start here’ level introduction to the ‘Accounting & Reporting the Emissions of Certified Commodities’ suite of guidance documents. There are four such introductory guides, for schemes (this document), certificate holders/applicants, assurance and oversight providers and buyers. It is recommended that each stakeholder group begins with their respective ‘start here’ document, followed by the general ‘Introductory Guidance’ document, which goes into more contextual detail and finally the ‘Guidance for Sustainability Systems to Design and Implement Credible Greenhouse Gas Reporting systems’

Opening guidance for oversight and assurance providers to GHG emissions reporting for certified commodities | Gold Standard353.03 KB

Summary report of project pilots conducted by VCI and SustainCERT | Gold Standard

In 2019, Gold Standard received a grant from the ISEAL Innovations Fund to develop guidance for accounting and reporting the emissions of certified commodities, in close collaboration with a group of ISEAL Community Members.

Under the umbrella of the Value Change Initiative, Gold Standard commissioned SustainCERT to conduct two pilots in 2022 to get a sense of to what extent the design elements and recommendations outlined in the guidance are currently covered in some sustainability systems. The organisations that participated in these pilots were Better Cotton and Forest Stewardship Council. This report shares an overview of the approach taken for these pilots and key findings that are relevant to other sustainability systems.

Summary report of project pilots conducted by VCI and SustainCERT | Gold Standard836.79 KB