Approval Process

To gain UKCCC certification as a high-integrity project producing high-integrity nature credits, landholders need to follow a strict approval process. UKCCC can verify and certify projects that join at later stages by checking that they align at point of entry.

Find the right Project Developer

There are a growing number of project developers, all with the common interest of delivery climate change and biodiversity collapse reversal strategies ensuring the land manager is rewarded for enacting positive change. Project developers can also design and monitor corporate climate and Net Zero journey claims, putting them forward to the UKCCC for approval.

Design the project

The first thing a project developer will do is to walk over the landholding and come up with ideas for what can be done. From a move to regenerative agriculture, tree planting and wetland creation to biochar production and use, agroforestry and habitat creation there is the opportunity to use natural capital assets to generate and sell credits where a positive change has taken place.

Establish a baseline

Once it has been decided what the project will set out to achieve, the next step is to measure the baseline. This involves testing soil, establishing the current net CO₂e position of the business and conducting a biodiversity assessment. The UKCCC only issues credits calculated through real and measured outcomes.

Complete the Project Reports

Working with the project host and developer, a detailed report is written using a range of templates. The project developer will gather everything required to forward to the UKCCC Commissioner for comment and approval. All required project development paperwork is assessed by a third-party auditor before being passed to the UKCCC for final approval.

Project Approval

In the approval process, the UKCCC establishes the number of credits that can be issued. Some will be needed to get the landholding business to Net Zero. Once Net Zero has been established, the UKCCC will certify that position and it can be used by the landholding to sell produce at Net Zero into their supply chains, satisifying customers’ Scope 3 emissions.

Carbon Tracking

Once the number of remaining carbon credits has been established, the remainder are forwarded to an approved blockchain-enabled tracking system and marketplace to be sold at a time of the project host’s choosing.

Annual Reporting

Each year an Annual Monitoring Report is completed by the project developer. This is an opportunity to walk the landholding, discuss the project’s progress and work out how things can be improved or further developed to continually optimise the opportunity to sequester more CO₂ and improve biodiversity habitats.