Back to insights

Mapping the SDG declarations lifecycle

  • Torrey Sanseverino
    Research Manager, Sustainable Development Goals
  • Dr Nick Atkinson
    Chief Science Officer
  • Cara Howse
    Research Associate
  • Natural Capital
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are widely known and are often used by carbon credit projects as a framework through which to declare the co-benefits associated with credits. BeZero Carbon has published a report that examines the systems that process SDGs, and the future of co-benefit claims in the Voluntary Carbon Market.

Here are some key takeaways from the report

  • The SDG declarations lifecycle is complex and differs between accreditors

This lack of standardisation within the SDG declaration lifecycle has in some instances created room for less robust SDG declarations to be published, creating potential for buyers to be misled on the potential social, economic, and/or environmental impacts associated with a credit.

  • The quality of SDG declarations vary widely and are difficult to measure

Due to the lack of standardisation, the quality of SDG declarations can vary widely. Unlike carbon, which results in a quantitative and consistent outcome, SDG declarations often result in abstract impacts which are not straightforward to measure.

  • Ecosystem assets are evolving but remain early-stage

Ecosystem asset markets, with projects that focus on social, economic, and/or environmental impacts beyond carbon, are in development and we are starting to see accreditors establish systems for these markets. Through these systems, projects will be able to generate SDG units separate from Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) but the market is still very nascent. 

Contents

  • How the Sustainable Development Goals interact with the Voluntary Carbon Market

  • Accreditors’ SDG declarations systems

  • SDG project lifecycle examples

  • The SDG declaration lifecycle compared to the carbon credits verification lifecycle

  • The future of SDG declarations in the VCM

  • Conclusion

Get access

Already a customer? Login to the Platform.

BeZero Carbon is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. Occasionally, we would like to contact you about our products and services, as well as other content that may be of interest to you. If you consent to us contacting you for this purpose, please tick below:

PLEASE NOTE: The BeZero Carbon Rating sets out BeZero Carbon’s opinion on a particular carbon credit or project based on publicly available information. It is a statement of opinion as at the date expressed and does not constitute a solicitation, recommendation or endorsement by BeZero Carbon or any third party to invest, buy, hold or sell a carbon credit, nor is it a statement of fact, and nor should it be relied upon in isolation.

BeZero Carbon is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. Occasionally, we would like to contact you about our products and services, as well as other content that may be of interest to you. If you consent to us contacting you for this purpose, please tick below:

You can unsubscribe from these communications at any time by following the link at the bottom of each communication. For more information on our privacy practices, please review our Privacy Policy.