The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market has recognized the latest version of Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program, which was released in December 2025, as meeting the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) criteria: the highest benchmark of quality in the voluntary carbon market.
The recognition of version 5 of the VCS Program follows the ICVCM’s approval of version 4.7 of the VCS Program in May 2024. The VCS Program was among the first major carbon crediting programs to reach CCP-Eligible status, reflecting that the program’s rules, governance framework, and oversight mechanisms meet the ICVCM’s rigorous integrity requirements.
>> In Other News: Deep Sky Receives First Pre-Issuance DAC Rating
Verra released VCS Version 5 in response to the evolving market conditions and to further strengthen requirements across the full project lifecycle, with a particular focus on social and environmental safeguards and placing communities at the center of climate action. Developed through an extensive and rigorous stakeholder engagement process and in dialogue with leading experts, VCS Version 5 introduces stronger safeguards, enhanced transparency, and improved usability.
With updated templates now available for use, version 5 of the VCS Program is fully operational, enabling the carbon markets to operate at the scale, pace, and with the integrity needed to support global climate ambitions.
The ICVCM has also approved 13 methodologies that are active in the VCS Program, as well as the VCS Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ Framework, as meeting the criteria of the CCP Assessment Framework.
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