Validation & Verification Bodies

Under the Plan Vivo system, projects are independently validated by third party experts before a project is registered. Verifications of registered Plan Vivo projects then take place at least every 5 years, in accordance with requirements outlined in PV Climate.

The purpose of project verification is to ensure periodic, thorough, independent assessments of project design and implementation against PV Climate. Through these assessments, approved Validation and Verification Bodies (VVBs) confirm that project activities are described as stated in Project Design Documents (PDDs), that project partners have sufficient capacity to implement the project's objectives successfully, and that the ecosystem service benefits, e.g. emissions reductions, are being achieved as envisaged. Where a project is not meeting any particular requirement(s) under the Plan Vivo Carbon Standard (PV Climate), corrective actions (CARs) with defined timescales will be imposed and progress against these monitored.

The cost and fees of verification will vary based on project size, scope and many other variables. It is recommended to start planning for verifications several months (6 months is advised) in advance of the desired verification visit. Projects may also contact the Foundation to request approval of additional VVBs, which will be assessed on an individual basis by the Secretariat.

Approval of Validation and Verification Bodies

The Plan Vivo Foundation (PVF) requires that Validation and Verification Bodies (VVBs) be accredited prior to the commencement of any validation or verification activities under the PV Climate. Accreditations provide criteria for assessing and recognizing the competence of VVBs, thereby allowing for a consistent and comparable scheme across GHG programs. Accreditation reduces the risk to GHG programmes by providing assurance that VVBs are competent, and it helps establish trust within the Voluntary Carbon Market by ensuring impartiality in the validation and verification processes.

Plan Vivo accepts the following accreditation for VVBs:

Approval as a Designated Operational Entity (DOE) under UNFCCC-CDM (Scope 14 and 15)
Accreditation by an International Accreditation Forum (IAF) member body for ISO14065 with a scope that includes AFOLU projects.

VVBs must be approved by PVF prior to the start of any validation or verification activities under PV Climate. VVBs may apply at any time for approval to conduct validation and verification activities.

All relevant information to support an application to become an approved VVB can be found below. This includes the VVB application form, which should be be submitted along with all required supporting documentation to [email protected].

VVB Application Form >

Terms of Reference >

Validation Report Template >

Required supporting documentation:

Evidence of accreditation;

Curriculum Vitae of all lead Auditors and essential team members, including training and skills; or Qualification Reports from the Qualification Committee for the technical area of AFOLU and the internal procedure of the VVB to evaluate the validators/verifier competence.

Evidence of professional service liability insurance.

See Approved VVBs

N.B. Rainforest Alliance discontinued their auditing services in September 2017.