BUSINESS OUTCOMES

• Reduces reputational and regulatory exposure from retiring low-quality credits. Organisations with trained assessors can evaluate seller claims independently before commitment, certification brand, or third-party ratings as proxies for quality.

• Builds internal governance infrastructure around carbon credit procurement. Participants return with the criteria, due diligence questions, and approval logic needed to construct a defensible internal review process.

• Positions the organisation ahead of tightening market standards. The ICVCM Core Carbon Principles are becoming the de facto quality floor for institutional-grade credit procurement; teams trained to these standards now are ahead of the compliance curve.

• Applicable across functions — sustainability, finance, procurement, and risk — enabling cross-functional alignment on what constitutes an acceptable credit before internal policy is formalised.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• The only programme that trains you how to evaluate a carbon credit. You leave with a structured quality assessment framework grounded in the criteria that Verra, Gold Standard, and ICVCM use to determine integrity — applicable to any credit you are presented with.

• Additionality and verification literacy at practitioner depth. You will be able to interrogate a credit's additionality claim, read a verification statement critically, and identify where measurement methodology creates integrity risk.

• Article 6 and ITMO literacy. You will understand what corresponding adjustments mean for credit usability and why the regulatory environment is changing the eligibility calculus for voluntary market credits.

• Hands-on case studies using real market examples. The practical session applies quality criteria to actual credits, giving you direct exposure to the red flags and trade-offs you will encounter in practice.

1. Carbon Markets: Structure and Context

• Why carbon markets exist and the role of carbon credits in climate mitigation strategies

• Voluntary vs compliance markets

• Carbon pricing mechanisms and the factors driving and constraining credit demand

• Current market integrity challenges and regulatory developments reshaping the landscape

2. Carbon Credits: Types, Categories and Project Characteristics

• Nature-based vs technology-based credits

• Avoidance vs removal credits 

• Sectoral examples: forestry (REDD+, ARR), energy (cookstoves, renewable energy), industrial (methane capture), and carbon removal (biochar, enhanced weathering, direct air capture)

• Inherent strengths and limitations by project type — the baseline risk profile that comes with each category before evaluating any specific credit

3. Carbon Credit Quality and Integrity

• What defines a high-quality carbon credit

• The five quality principles applied as assessment criteria:

o Additionality

o Permanence 

o Leakage 

o MRV 

o Co-benefits and safeguards 

• Common integrity risks and red flags: over-crediting, vintage risk, baseline manipulation, weak third-party verification, and reputational exposure by project category

4. Paris Agreement Article 6: Regulatory Risk and Market Impact

• Article 6 architecture

• Article 6.2 and ITMOs 

• Corresponding adjustments: what they are, how double counting arises without them, and why this creates risk for credits without authorisation

• The difference between Article 6-authorised credits and standard VCM credits

• Practical risk implication: identifying whether a credit carries a corresponding adjustment and what the absence of authorisation means for corporate claim credibility

5. Using Carbon Credits Responsibly

• The role of carbon credits in a net-zero strategy 

• When carbon credits are appropriate and when their use is premature or indefensible

• Claims and communication: what the VCMI Claims Code permits, what language creates legal and reputational exposure, and the distinction between high-integrity and greenwashing claims

• Aligning credit retirement with SBTi pathways and internal decarbonisation commitments

6. Applied Quality Assessment: Case Studies

7. Governance and Decision Framework

• Internal controls and approval processes for carbon credit procurement 

• Due diligence checklist: the minimum information set required before committing to a credit purchase

• Monitoring, reporting, and ongoing review

• Structuring an internal policy position on carbon credit use

8. Wrap-Up and Q&A