Plan Vivo projects migrate to updated Carbon Standard

Plan Vivo projects are officially migrating from the fourth version of the Plan Vivo Carbon Standard to the updated fifth version of the Standard (V5) which was released in 2022.

Registered projects will be required to complete migration from V4 to V5 at their next scheduled verifications, meaning all certified projects will have to update to V5 in the next five years (as per normal verification cycles). Pipeline projects are now submitting PINs and PDDs under V5. The first PV Climate V5 project was officially certified in May 2024.

The Plan Vivo Carbon Standard (PV Climate) was updated in 2022 in response to emerging best practice in the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM). Periodical updates of Plan Vivo Standards aim to incorporate the Foundation’s experience and progressive knowledge of project development, project marketability, and the changing landscape of environmental markets.

For prospective, pipeline projects and registered projects (certified beneath PV Climate V4), this updated Standard provides an opportunity to take advantage of standardised methodologies, improved environmental and social safeguarding procedures, ICROA endorsement, and new crediting unit types (designed to improve clarity for buyers and resellers of Plan Vivo Certificates).

Registered projects will be required to complete the migration from PV Climate V4 to V5 at their next scheduled verifications, meaning all PV Climate certified projects will have to update to V5 within the next five years (as per the normal verification cycle). Pipeline projects are now submitting Project Idea Notes (PINs) and Project Design Documents (PDDs) under V5. Projects with approved V4 PINs can move straight to the V5 PDD stage. The first PV Climate V5 project was officially certified in May 2024. Detailed information and guidance on this process has been made available to projects and is available from Plan Vivo upon request.

Registered projects that migrate to V5 of PV Climate during their next scheduled verification will have to complete a PDD update (involving a Plan Vivo Foundation Secretariat and Technical Review Panel (TRP) review period) and undergo an independent audit by a Plan Vivo approved Independent Expert (IE) or Validation and Verification Body (VVB). During this audit the IE or VVB will review the last 5 years of project activities and the updated PDD.

More information on this ‘migration verification’ - including its costs and fees - has been shared with projects and is available from Plan Vivo upon request.

Key changes included in PV Climate V5:

Projects must choose a Plan Vivo approved methodology (see methodologies and project requirements for more information).
Stronger Environmental and Social Safeguarding procedures and provisions (see the Plan Vivo environmental and social safeguard procedures).

Changes to the documentation that is to be filled out at the PIN and PDD stage for projects. This is available in the PV Climate V5 templates. Registered V4 projects will have to fill out this documentation retroactively during their migration verification (guidance has been sent to projects and is available upon request).

Changes to the language used around Plan Vivo Certificates (PVCs), with the introduction of fPVCs, rPVCs, and vPVCs. More information around these new crediting types can be found in the PV Climate Procedures Manual.
More requirements have been added regarding the monitoring of carbon, livelihood and ecosystem baselines using Progress Indicators and structured Monitoring Plans.
Additional requirements have been added regarding land tenure assessments in the project area, stakeholder identification, state/government relationships, the accessibility of project financial plans, and data management/storage.

For further information on certification beneath PV Climate V5, and for information on project migration, please see the PV Climate V5 documentation, available below, or email [email protected]

PV Climate Documentation