Verification Body Requirements

The Accreditation Process

The Climate Action Reserve has partnered with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to accredit independent third party Verification Bodies under ISO14065:2007, ISO 14064-3:2006, and the International Accreditation Forum, Inc. (IAF) MD 6:2009 for specific project sector groupings in accordance with ANSI Scoping Policy GHG-PR-706. This coordinated effort streamlines the accreditation process for Verification Bodies in North America and create consistency with international practice.

Only Verification Bodies currently accredited or enrolled in the ANSI accreditation program may provide verification services to Reserve project developers. The Reserve no longer accredits Verification Bodies. ANSI is currently accepting applications for the GHG accreditation program. Please visit ANSI’s website for details on application and accreditation requirements.

To perform verification under the Climate Action Reserve

To successfully gain approval to conduct verification activities for the Climate Action Reserve, verification bodies and Lead Verifiers must meet the following requirements. Refer to the Reserve Verification Program Manual further information on these requirements.

VERIFICATION BODY REQUIREMENTS INDIVIDUAL VERIFIER REQUIREMENTS
Accredited under ISO 14065: 2007, IAF MD 6:2009 and ISO 14064-3: 2006 for specific project sector groupings in accordance with ANSI Scoping Policy GHG-PR-706. Be employed or subcontracted to one of the verification bodies accredited under ISO 14065:2007 and ISO 14064-3: 2006, IAF MD 6: 2009.
Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the Climate Action Reserve Project and Verification Protocols. Attended and successfully completed REQUIRED training under the Climate Action Reserve protocols and manuals. See Verification Training for additional details.
Have a minimum of two staff members designated as Lead Verifiers Meet internal training requirements, following proper processes and procedures under his/her ISO 14065: 2007, ISO 14064-3: 2006 and IAF MD 6: 2009 accredited Verification Body.
When a new protocol version is released (e.g. v1.0 to v2.0), at least one staff member from any Verification Body working under that protocol must attend the associated protocol update webinar. It is preferred that the staff member be a Lead Verifier for the project type. Protocol update webinars are free, conducted online, and typically last ~ 1.5 hours. See the events page for registration information. Be identified as “Lead Verifier” in the Verification Staff Reporting form submitted by his/her Verification Body to the Reserve at [email protected].
Meet the Reserve’s additional accreditation requirements

Generally accredited Verification Bodies may conduct one additional verification in each sector for which it is qualified. There is no deadline for this requirement and CRTs will not be held up for the additional verification. This verification shall be used for the purpose of obtaining the required witness assessment and finalizing sector-specific group accreditations. If the Verification Body fails to obtain its sector-specific accreditation using this additional verification, CRTs will not be issued until such time as the Verification Body has obtained said accreditation.

Please refer to Section 2.2 of the Verification Program Manual for a comprehensive list of Verification Body obligations.