Standards & schemes
Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative
In brief
The VCMI Claims Code of Practice defines the demand side of carbon-credit integrity: what companies may say when they use credits. Its tiers — Bronze through Platinum of the "Carbon Integrity" claims — require science-aligned targets, public reporting and use of high-integrity credits, with v3.1 of the Code and the MRA Framework (v1.4) current, plus a Scope 3 Action Code co-developed to govern credit use toward scope-3 targets. Where ICVCM governs credit quality, VCMI governs claim quality, and the two are designed to interlock. Following the Code is a published, checkable discipline; VCMI does not certify the company or its claims. The Code requires companies to publish how credits fit within a decarbonisation pathway, and its monitoring, reporting and assurance framework sets out how claims are evidenced. Early-adopter companies have piloted the tiers publicly, giving the market its first worked examples of code-compliant claims. Alignment with these principles is a stated position, not a certification; it does not by itself demonstrate compliance or outcomes.
Conditional relationships
A relationship does not mean that the standard proves or validates every use of a claim.
Recognition & legal context
No reviewed law references are published.
Have evidence, context or a correction?
Suggest a correction