Procuring independently sourced, CCP-Approved carbon credits for ICVCM
Abatable helped ICVCM, the voluntary carbon market's foremost integrity body, compensate its operational greenhouse gas emissions through an entire carbon credit procurement process.
Overview
The Ingegrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market
Standards and governance
Independent, third-party 'blind' CCP-Approved credit procurement
Sourcing, evaluation, portfolio construction, purchase, and retirement
October 2021 to March 2025 operational footprint
Challenge
The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) is an independent, non-profit governance body for the voluntary carbon market. Its vision is for a mature, efficient market that mobilises finance at scale into impactful climate projects that reduce and remove emissions and support positive sustainable development outcomes.
ICVCM's 10 Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) establish the first independent global threshold for carbon credit integrity, drawing on the best available science and expertise. The CCPs introduce greater consistency and transparency to the voluntary carbon market, enabling it to scale and fulfil its potential as a powerful climate solution.
This case study illustrates a framework for how organisations can engage with carbon markets to use CCP-Approved carbon credits.
key results
Suppliers contacted to respond to the Abatable procurement tender
Offers received from 18 projects
CCP-Approved carbon credits successfully retired on behalf of ICVCM
Challenge
ICVCM, per its policies, compensates its greenhouse gas emissions through CCP-Approved carbon credit purchases.
It approached Abatable as a third party, in accordance with ICVCM policies, to independently procure a small portfolio of CCP-Approved credits to compensate for the ICVCM operational footprint for the period from October 2021 to March 2025.
The credits needed to meet several criteria: a CCP-Approved carbon credit portfolio, ready to transact; a portfolio selected by Abatable as an independent, third-party, conflict-of-interest-free sourcing partner that could ensure a fair and diversified selection process in which ICVCM was not involved; representation across multiple CCP-Eligible Programmes, geographies, suppliers, and CCP-Approved methodologies; and full traceability around project criteria, portfolio selection, and the selection process at each stage.
Solution
Abatable deployed its carbon procurement solutions and intelligence tools to support ICVCM on its first-ever 'blind' CCP-Approved carbon credit procurement.
The process followed three main steps: sourcing, evaluation, and portfolio construction; purchase; and retirement of CCP-Approved carbon credits on behalf of ICVCM.
Sourcing. Leveraging its proprietary database of over 13,000 carbon projects, 4,000 carbon project developers and suppliers, and its market intelligence tools, Abatable identified all the projects from which CCP-Approved carbon credits were available in the market, based on verified-as-available inventory. Those that had available spot inventory and could transact small volumes were shortlisted. Abatable contacted 41 suppliers, receiving 31 offers from 18 projects.
Portfolio construction. Abatable constructed a diversified portfolio of CCP-Approved carbon credits, achieving diversification across suppliers, geographies, and, to the extent possible, methodologies that had been CCP-Approved at the time of the transactions. The final portfolio proposal was presented to the ICVCM Executive Secretariat without details of the selected projects or related developers, to ensure full independence in project selection.
Transaction support. Abatable supported ICVCM with contracting, execution, and retirement of the CCP-Approved carbon credits.
The final portfolio comprises five projects from which CCP-Approved carbon credits were available for spot transactions, split across four CCP-Eligible Programme registries. It is mainly composed of landfill gas projects, with a minority covering halocarbons (ozone-depleting substances). This reflects the availability of CCP-Approved carbon credits in the market at the time of the transactions.
built on evidence
Our clients consistently achieve better pricing, better supply quality, and more confidence in every decision they make.
Cost savings from working with Abatable
Clients supported
Combined years of experience in environmental markets
Net promoter score from our partners
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