Lisbon, 30 March 2023, European Climate Summit (ECS).
ICROA today announced its remodeled Accreditation Programme to better meet the integrity demands and evolutions of the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM). The Initiative, housed within the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), has become an Accreditation body, reflected in its refreshed name: The International Carbon Reduction and Offsetting Accreditation. ICROA will now focus solely on the Accreditation Programme and endorsing new VCM Standards.
The ICROA Accreditation Programme for carbon offsetting service providers and suppliers has been in operation since 2008. The recent transformation includes changes to the ICROA governance structure to better serve the new model. The ICROA Executive Committee is replaced by an Accreditation Committee which provides leadership to the Initiative. The Committee informs the strategy of ICROA in the development and application of the Accreditation and reviews the implementation of the strategy by the ICROA Secretariat while representing the collective views of the Accredited organisations.
The newly elected ICROA Accreditation Committee members are:
Jeremy Manion, Managing Director, Carbon Markets, Arbor Day Carbon.
Katerina Kolaciova, Commercial Director, Strive by Vertis
Alexis L. Leroy, Founder & CEO, ALLCOT
Chetan Aggarwal, Manager – Sustainable Standards and Methodology, South Pole
Ellen Brouwer, Certification Programme Manager, Climate Neutral Group
Mathilde Mignot, Group Director – Nature and Tech-based Solutions, EcoAct
Sascha Lafeld, Chief Carbon Officer, ClimatePartner
Expert and independent guidance will be provided to ICROA by a new Independent Advisory Committee (IAC). The IAC will review the ICROA Code of Best Practice, upon which the Accreditation is based and the Standards Endorsement Criteria annually, and present recommendations for improvement. The IAC members will be announced soon.
ICROA will also be introducing new and simplified Accreditation application procedures for both current IETA members and any other organisations that meet the criteria. The transformation of the Accreditation Programme reflects ICROA’s commitment to helping build rigour and integrity in the market, ensuring offsetting service providers are applying best practices in the use of carbon credits in delivering climate change strategies.
“The improved ICROA Accreditation Programme for carbon offsetting providers across the world to assure their compliance to The Code of Best Practice through the annual audit cycle. The Code promotes best use of carbon offsetting within a corporate’s net zero delivery. We are looking forward to working with the current and new ICROA Accredited organisations to further advance best practices in the voluntary carbon market,” said Andrea Abrahams, Managing Director at ICROA.
Media Contact:
Lukasz Biernacki, Communications Director, IETA VCM Initiatives.
