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Environmental Markets
The combination of the strongest safeguards and highest sustainability impact from Gold Standard for the Global Goals certified by SustainCERT’s user-centric and technology-driven solutions increases the value that environmental commodities can secure in the market.
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Corporate value chain intervention verification
Value chain or Scope 3 emissions are often the largest source of corporate carbon footprints, yet to date they have been the lowest area of focus for most companies. Many have not yet taken direct action due a number of barriers, including:
- Uncertainty about who is responsible for these indirect emissions
- Limited access to supplier emissions data
- Lack of guidance on how to account for the reductions from investments in their supply chains
- Inadequate recognition toward performance targets, thereby reduced incentives to invest in meaningful change beyond direct operations
Gold Standard’s ValueChange Programme helps remove these barriers, allowing companies to report on emissions reductions in line with the GHG Protocol and recognised by Science Based Targets. Safeguards, local stakeholder consultations, and verified sustainable development benefits – hallmarks of Gold Standard certified projects – ensure best practices are followed and help maximise positive impact. Third-party verification provided by SustainCERT enables credible claims for climate, including certified emissions factors, and the broader Sustainable Development Goals.
Initial working groups to solve industry-specific challenges include Food & Beverage and Apparel sectors. Future work will also include how to track emissions factors and other sustainability attributes for commodities, products and services for brand differentiation and price premiums.
To express interest in forming a new sector-focused working group or to learn more about the ValueChange programme, contact help@sustain-cert.com.
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Investment Funds
Impact investing is on the rise. New instruments like Climate Bonds and Social Impact Bonds are emerging as ways to finance positive change with greater certainty. However, a lack of credible tools for reporting on impact has led to a risk of green-washing, or its modern successor, “SDG washing.”
Certifying against Gold Standard for the Global Goals for funds investing in sustainable infrastructure and high-impact climate and development programmes helps de-risk investment and enables credible, comparable reporting on climate and sustainable development impacts.
- Embedded certification requirements in fund’s investment criteria and due diligence for robust but simple early-stage assessment of risks and estimation of development outcomes
- Pragmatic monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of project performance and aggregation of impact assessment and assurance at fund and portfolio level to streamline certification and optimise costs
- Potential for monetisation (carbon credits, Renewable Energy Certificates, other Certified SDG Impacts for results-based finance) to attract additional finance to enhance the return profile of investments
Examples of investments suitable for certification include:
- Infrastructure projects, such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport, or waste management
- Community-based programmes for energy access, water access, sanitation or health
- Sustainable land use initiatives, including forestry, agriculture, and ecosystem conservation and restoration