Project Selection Criteria

3Degrees sources carbon offsets that have been verified using objective, credible and transparent protocols.

Carbon offsets provide much-needed revenues to carbon emission reduction project owners, allowing them to secure returns that justify their investments in greenhouse gas emission reductions. 

However, ensuring a carbon emission reduction project is reducing greenhouse gas emissions beyond a defined baseline or regulatory requirement is not simple. 3Degrees asks the following due diligence questions when sourcing carbon offsets.

Question 1: Are the carbon offsets real, quantifiable, permanent, and additional?

3Degrees ensures that the carbon offsets it sources are certified as real, quantifiable, permanent, and additional and are not counted towards any greenhouse gas emission reduction caps in any mandatory local, state, national or international greenhouse gas regulatory structure or cap-and-trade program, or in any voluntary but legally binding cap-and-trade program.

Question 2: Are the carbon offsets from a specific project?

3Degrees primarily sources carbon offsets from specific greenhouse gas emission reduction projects. The firm secures a full set of information on the project, including its location, type, start date, the vintage of reductions, the verification protocol and carbon offset registries used, the project crediting period, and any social, environmental and economic co-benefits.

Question 3: Are the carbon offsets third-party verified against transparent and credible offset protocols?

3Degrees sources carbon offsets that are verified and validated using objective, credible and transparent standards. 3Degrees does not source carbon offsets that use proprietary verification standards which are not in the public domain and lack public input. In addition, 3Degrees does not verify any of the offsets itself. All verification is performed by independent third-parties approved by the issuing body for the verification protocol.

Question 4: Has the carbon emission reduction project passed an “additionality” test?

As part of its verification process, 3Degrees determines if the carbon emission reduction project has passed a defined additionality test according to the protocol under which the project is verified. Additionality means demonstrating that the project is not common practice and goes beyond business as usual as well as legal and regulatory requirements. Additionality can also be demonstrated by showing that revenue from the sale of offsets was critical to the financial viability of the project or helped to overcome certain barriers. The former is known as a Performance Standard and latter is known as the CDM Tool for Assessment of Additionality.

Question 5: Are the carbon offsets delivered after verification is complete (ex-post), not in advance of verification (ex-ante)?

3Degrees delivers its carbon offsets after the carbon emission reductions have been verified. This is important because it means that the reduction has already occurred, and therefore eliminates much of the risks associated with buying carbon offsets.

Verification is the ex-post determination that emission reductions are real, quantified, additional, and permanent.

Please note though that 3Degrees distinguishes between forward selling and forward crediting. Forward selling is a common and important practice in carbon markets to secure income streams to projects and cost-reduction streams to buyers who are making long-term environmental commitments.

However, forward crediting (ex-ante) means making reduction claims against your present day greenhouse gas emissions by using emission reductions that will occur sometime in the future. This is risky to the buyer because there is no guarantee the emission reductions purchased will be generated by the project, and therefore today's claim could be false.

3Degrees does not encourage making forward crediting claims, especially as there are no independent carbon offset protocols or certification programs that will certify forward carbon offsets prior to verification and prior to the reductions actually occurring.

Question 6: Can the provider demonstrate that the carbon offsets are not being double sold?

Carbon offsets delivered by 3Degrees are usually registered in an institutional carbon offset registry administered by the host organization that developed the carbon offsets protocol. These carbon offset registries guard against double selling by providing unique serial numbers for each carbon offset and by creating transparency about each project that is registered.

In addition, 3Degrees contracts with project owners to transfer the sole title of the carbon asset and all environmental claims associated with ownership to 3Degrees.
 
Question 7: Does the carbon offset provider have clear legal title to the carbon offsets?

3Degrees requires project owners to attest to the transfer of ownership when carbon offsets are delivered to 3Degrees. Specifically, 3Degrees requires its suppliers to represent that the carbon offsets were not separately sold, separately marketed, or otherwise separately represented as carbon reductions to any other parties.