What nine attributes is every Verified Carbon Unit from Verra meant to carry?

Verra's Program Guide lists nine attributes for Verified Carbon Units (VCUs): additional, durable, independently verified, traceable and not double counted, robustly quantified, participatory-based, safeguarded from unmitigated harm, aligned with sustainable development goals, and aligned with the net zero transition.

The list in plain words (Program Guide, Table 3)

• Additional: reductions exceed business as usual and would not have happened without carbon market incentive.
• Durable: where reversal is a risk, safeguards exist and any credited reversals are accounted, reported and, where possible, replaced.
• Independently verified: by an accredited verification body with expertise for the location and sector.
• Traceable and not double counted: units are recorded in the Verra Registry so they are not double issued, double claimed or double used.
• Robustly quantified: in line with Verra's rules and methodologies.
• Participatory-based: stakeholders are engaged, including seeking free, prior and informed consent, with ways to raise complaints.
• Safeguarded from unmitigated harm: risks to people and environment are assessed, human rights and Indigenous Peoples' rights upheld.
• Aligned with sustainable development goals: project activities are designed to deliver positive outcomes.
• Aligned with the net zero transition: activities avoid locking in emissions or technologies incompatible with net zero by mid-century.

How to use the list

The Program Guide says the VCS rules are designed so that all VCUs share these attributes, and that proponents and VVBs ensure it by following the rules. A buyer still checks the project: the methodology and version, the verification report, the registry status and any label on the units.

Where it sits next to other tests

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) runs a separate label, the Core Carbon Principles. The nine attributes are not that label and the Guide does not say they were built from it. See the linked page on how the label is applied.

What Senseible does here

Senseible is not part of Verra's process. Its in-house check is not an accredited third-party verification.

• The Core Carbon Principles
• How Verra applies the Core Carbon Principles label
• What to check before buying credits
• Carbon credits

Sources: Verra, VCS Program Guide v5.0 (16 December 2025)

Last reviewed 2026-11-05. Check the current VCS Standard, Registration and Issuance Process and Program Guide on Verra's site before you rely on this; Verra updates them periodically.