How long can a Gold Standard programme of activities run, and who is liable if one unit was wrongly included?
Under Gold Standard's Programme of Activity Requirements v3.0, a PoA runs from the crediting start of its earliest VPA for at most 20 years, or 50 for forestry. New real case VPAs can be added at any time in that span. The coordinating/managing entity (CME) is liable for any erroneous inclusion.
How long the programme lasts
- Non-forestry PoAs: 20 years at most.
- Agriculture PoAs: 20 years at most.
- Forestry PoAs: 50 years at most.
- The clock starts on the crediting period start date of the first VPA, so a unit added late earns only until the programme ends.
- PoAs design certified under an older version keep the maximum they had at registration.
Adding units
- A new real case VPA can be submitted at any time during the PoA. It must meet the inclusion criteria in force when the VVB submits its validation report.
- A new technology or methodology goes through the design change rules.
- Every VPA must reach preliminary review within one year of its own start date, or it is not eligible.
When one unit should not have been included
- Units already verified with a site visit can still proceed to certification and issuance.
- Units of the same type that were not visited, for example because of sampling, are put on hold until Gold Standard closes the issue.
- The CME must assess, with credible evidence, whether the problem is systemic. If it is not, the unvisited units can proceed.
- If credits were already issued for the wrong unit, the CME has 60 calendar days from notification to retire the same number of Gold Standard credits from its own portfolio or bought from other Gold Standard projects. Forestry and agriculture follow the Performance Shortfall Guidelines.
- The same 60-day rule applies if a verified unit stops operating after credits were issued.
Example: an efficiency PoA for small boilers
- First VPA crediting period starts: 1 June 2027, so the PoA ends by 31 May 2047
- A VPA added in 2040 can earn for about seven years
- A unit found wrongly included had 1,200 t CO2e issued
- CME retires 1,200 Gold Standard credits from elsewhere within 60 calendar days of notice
Dates and tonnes are an example.
What Senseible does here
For a programme of many small units, Senseible keeps each unit's bills and invoices separately and fingerprinted, so a VVB sampling one unit sees that unit's own trail. It does not act as a CME or hold credits.
Sources: Gold Standard, Programme of Activity Requirements and Procedures v3.0 (12 November 2024), Gold Standard, Principles & Requirements v2.1: 4.1.50
Last reviewed 2026-11-03. PoA Requirements v3.0 listed a planned update for 12 November 2025; check Gold Standard for a newer version.