Can we leave a small emission source out of our Verra calculation?
Only if your methodology permits it. Then you may leave out a source if the total you omit is below the methodology's threshold or, where it sets none, under 5 percent of the reductions and removals in the period. A methodology can also declare a source de minimis outright.
Two ways in
- The methodology permits exclusion, and the sum of everything you omit in the period is below the threshold the methodology gives.
- The methodology gives no threshold, and that sum is under 5% of the reductions and removals generated across the period.
- The methodology itself says the source is de minimis, so it can be left out without further analysis.
How to count it
The test is the sum of the omitted sources, not each one alone. Five sources at 1.5% each add up to 7.5% and fail the 5% test.
Not the same as a GHG inventory exclusion
For a company inventory you justify exclusions to the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol and your own materiality. For a Verra project, this test applies, and only where the methodology allows exclusions at all.
Example: a furnace project claiming 5,000 t CO2e (example figures)
- Omitted: diesel pump 60 t, canteen LPG 45 t, pickup truck 90 t = 195 t
- 195 / 5,000 = 3.9%, under 5%, so the exclusion passes if the methodology permits it and sets no lower threshold
- Add a fourth source of 80 t: 275 / 5,000 = 5.5%, over 5%, so one of them must be counted
Example figures only. CO2e means carbon dioxide equivalent.
What Senseible does here
Senseible's records show the small sources too, so you can size what you leave out instead of guessing. It does not decide whether your methodology allows the exclusion. It does not register projects or issue credits; Verra and your validation and verification body do.
Sources: Verra, VCS Standard v5.0 (16 December 2025), section 3.14, requirement 3.14.6
Last reviewed 2026-11-04. Section numbers are from VCS Standard v5.0; re-check them when Verra publishes a new version.