What is Validation & Verification?

Independent validation of projects and verification of emission reductions are key to VCS quality assurance.

Third-party verification is the core of quality assurance, and under the VCS Program, all projects must be validated and all emission reductions must be verified by approved validation/verification bodies.

VVBs, as they are called under VCS, must be approved to validate and/or verify to VCS criteria and they must sign an agreement with the VCS Association. More than two dozen professional VVBs are currently approved under VCS. Most are approved for multiple VCS sectoral scopes, and some have expertise in particular areas like Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land-Use. See the full list of approved VVBs.

Entities in good standing under VCS-approved GHG programs - the UN Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and California's Climate Action Reserve - are approved to work under the VCS Program. VVBs accredited under ISO 14065 for scope VCS by the American International Standards Organization (ANSI) are also approved to validate and/or verify to VCS criteria.

To learn more about VVBs, visit our Find a VVB page.