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American Carbon Registry Standards
The American Carbon Registry publishes standards, methodologies, protocols and tools for greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting, which are all based on International Standards Organization (ISO) 14064. ACR only registers project-based carbon offset tons that are real, additional, permanent and verifiable and comply with American Carbon Registry Standards including meeting our published American Carbon Registry Technical Standard, which outlines requirements for registration of project-based carbon offsets.
How we develop our standards
The American Carbon Registry process for development of standards and methodologies is led by an expert technical team and includes a scientific peer review process, a rigorous technical review by experts in the relevant field. In addition, we involve stakeholders in the product design and accept public comments on our published standards and methodologies. This combination of approaches ensures that our published standards and methodologies are the highest quality.
The Winrock and American Carbon Registry team that leads the development of standards and methodologies includes internationally recognized leaders in the forestry, agriculture and clean energy sectors and is widely recognized for its deep expertise in carbon accounting. Team members have co-authored carbon project protocols for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the California Energy Commission (CEC), the World Bank, the International Tropical Timber Organization, United Nations organizations, the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) and the California Climate Action Registry (CCAR), among others.
How we promote flexibility and innovation
The American Carbon Registry allows the use of methodologies and tools from other systems including CDM, U.S. EPA Climate Leaders, VCS, and WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol, to the extent they comply with the Registry’s Standards, including offset project eligibility and additionality criteria.
If there is not an American Carbon Registry sector specific standard yet for a particular project type, the American Carbon Registry may still validate and accept a site-specific project plan (MRV protocol) for that individual project, on a case-by-case basis including additional independent validation and /or scientific peer review.
The American Carbon Registry promotes innovation to bring new offsets types to market. Project developers are welcome to submit new methodologies and tools for evaluation and validation. Alternatively, the project developer may work with the Registry to design, evaluate and implement a new methodology and/or tool. Upon validation and scientific peer review, the American Carbon Registry may publish the methodology for public and stakeholder comment and for future use.
GHG Accounting Standards, Methods, Tools
In recent years the field of GHG accounting has benefited from the release of a variety of guidance documents, reporting guidelines, and standards that were developed to assist in the quantification, monitoring, reporting, and verification of GHG emissions, reductions and/or removals.
The American Carbon Registry Standards build upon the foundation laid by a number of normative reference documents as summarized in the chart below.
Normative References for American Carbon Registry
GHG Accounting Standards
| Authoring Body | Document or Standard | Relationship to ACR Registry |
|---|---|---|
| Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) | • IPCC Guidelines for National GHG Inventories, and • IPCC Good Practice Guidance |
Identification of best practice and options for GHG emission inventory development; methodological guidance and primary seed document for more specific guidance materials and standards. |
| International Standards Organization (ISO) | ISO 14064 Parts 1-3: a set of international standards that address the quantification, reporting, and verification of GHG emissions and project reductions. ISO 14065: requirements for validation & verification. | ISO 14064 provides a foundation for the American Carbon Registry Standard by providing technical specifications for GHG accounting and Reporting. ISO 14065 specifies the principles and requirements used in validation and verification. |
| Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) | • VCS Standard 2007 • AFOLU Guidance Document |
• Specifications for project-level quantification, monitoring and reporting • Provides details on voluntary market requirements and norms |
| American Carbon Registry (ACR) | American Carbon Registry Standard |
Provides general rules and programmatic requirements to participate in the ACR. |
| American Carbon Registry (ACR) | Sector Specific Standards | Provides rules and requirements for specific sectors such as forestry, agriculture, waste (landfills), etc. |
| Project Developer or Agent | • Site Specific Project Design Document (PDD), or • Site Specific Monitoring, Reporting and Verification Protocol (MRV Protocol) |
A report that includes project description and eligibility demonstration and provides site specific plan for complying with relevant ACR standards and best practices. |
| Corporate Reporter or Entity Reporter | Emission Inventory Management Plan, GHG Report, and/or GHG Assertion | Documentation of how the entity wide inventory was developed; Presentation of verified annual inventory results; and identification of any publicly expressed GHG goals or targets. |
