About the Scope 3 Claim consultation

Companies are not reducing emissions fast enough and need tools to make more rapid progress on climate targets.

A high-integrity Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) can help companies go further, faster, and increase the flow of climate finance to where it is needed most.

To support greater action VCMI has strengthened its beta Scope 3 Claim. The Claim offers a science-based approach for companies to take action on scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions that remain unabated.

The Scope 3 Claim can be used as an additional tool for companies to deliver climate action through voluntary carbon markets, while they return to a scope 3 emissions trajectory, consistent with their net zero transition commitments.

To make a Scope 3 Claim, companies will also need to be transparent about progress made on decarbonization, challenges they are facing, and remedies being put in place, as well as purchasing and retiring high-quality carbon credits.

With an updated methodology, VCMI has launched a public consultation, open from 2 September until 7 October. It is seeking wide-ranging stakeholder input to ensure the perspectives of diverse groups will be at the heart of the process.

Objectives of the consultation

The Scope 3 Claim public consultation will ensure the requirements and recommendations covered by the Scope 3 Claim are clear, effective and further strengthen transparency.

Specific topics to be addressed include:

• The core methodology for the claim
• Guardrails in place for the use of high-integrity carbon credits
• Approaches in taking action by investing in high-quality carbon credits in an amount at least equal to the company’s scope 3 emissions gap

In line with best practice, VCMI is committed to transparency and actively engaging a wide range of stakeholders through the consultation process. A breadth of input and perspectives are crucial to help strengthen the Claim.

Consultation timeline

The beta Scope 3 Claim launched in November 2023 has already been the subject of an extensive consultation process involving stakeholders from business, government, NGOs, and civil society, as well as nearly 150 participants across VCMI’s Expert Advisory Group, Stakeholder Forum, and Early Adopters Program.

This next step in the process will help ensure VCMI can build on the input to date and develop a robust framework.

2 September: Public consultation opens.

17 and 19 September: Public webinars

7 October: Public consultation closes.

Collaborating with BSI

VCMI is collaborating with BSI to help deliver a robust, transparent, and representative consultation process for their beta Scope 3 Claim.

BSI is the UK’s National Standards Body and is established nationally and internationally as an independent convenor, engaging relevant experts in the public sector, academia, industry and civil society to develop consensus-based standards that reflect the latest good practice.

Accelerating progress towards a sustainable world and supporting the journey to net zero is fundamental to our purpose as a business. And as a global leader in standards, we are dedicated to driving trust and integrity, playing a neutral role in bringing stakeholders together to build international consensus on key issues.

How your feedback will be used

Any feedback you post on the consultation platform will only be visible to you. You will not be able to see other participants on the platform, nor will you be able to see any input from other users during the consultation process.

All feedback will be shared with VCMI to demonstrate the breadth of stakeholders who have participated and for comment resolution purposes. We will publish all respondent details alongside the comments either i) organization names (where respondents check they are responding on behalf of an organization) or ii) individual names (where responding as an individual).

Should you wish for your organization or individual names to not be shared as having taken part in this consultation, you can opt for your feedback to be treated as anonymous during the registration process. If commenting anonymously, please also avoid sharing any personal information in your feedback which could be used to identify you on the basis of the comment alone.