Is the voluntary carbon market finally ready to grow up?
It has been a depressed year for transactions, but winners of Environmental Finance's annual Voluntary Carbon Market rankings see hope amid increasing levels of government oversight. Genevieve Redgrave reports
With preparation beginning for a suspected demand "surge" over the next year, new challenges are emerging in the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM).
While market participants remain optimistic about incoming integration with compliance markets and digitalisation, they have urged for greater standardisation and clarity.
Environmental Finance's Voluntary Carbon Market Rankings are an annual poll of the market, in which participants vote for the leading companies and initiatives that exhibit best practice or innovation.
This year saw high interest, with 3365 votes across 23 categories.
EcoSecurities and Numerco are the biggest winners this year with two awards each. Some new winners were also awarded, including Triangle Digital, Abatable and Tullett Prebon.
| Award | Company | Runner up |
|---|---|---|
| Best trading company | Redshaw Advisors | Numerco |
| Best advisory/consultancy | ClearBlue Markets | CarbonExpert |
| Best law firm | Philip Lee | Resilient LLP |
| Best verification company | Earthood | EPIC Sustainability Services |
| Best wholesaler | Numerco | N/A |
| Best broker | Tullett Prebon | CORE Markets |
| Best project developer, renewable energy | Numerco | Ecosecurities |
| Best project developer, energy efficiency | TASC (formerly The African Stove Company) | Burn Manufacturing |
| Best project developer, forestry and land-use | Invert | Kanaka Management Services |
| Best project developer, public health | CarbonExpert | N/A |
| Best project developer, blue carbon | EcoSecurities | N/A |
| Best project developer, biodiversity | BioCarbon Partners | Ecosecurities |
| Best project developer, overall | EcoSecurities | Kanaka Management Services |
| Best offset retailer | Climate Impact Partners | Earthly |
| Best GHG crediting programme/standards setter | Cercarbono | Verra |
| Best registry provider | EcoRegistry | Verra |
| Best monitoring report | Gold Standard | BioCarbon Partners |
| Best carbon exchange | Climate Impact X (CIX) | AirCarbon Exchange |
| Best market innovation | Abatable | Carbonaires’ Carbon Streaming Investment Project |
| Best crediting innovation (non-carbon) | Triangle Digital | Terrasos |
| Best individual offsetting project | Greentech’s plastic credits through recycling | BCP’s Luangwa Community Forests Project |
| Best corporate offsetting programme | Microsoft | N/A |
| Best initiative | Natural Climate Solutions Alliance | N/A |
Read the full article with the Voluntary Carbon Market Rankings winners here.
