Our certification
Unlocking the international voluntary carbon market for smallholder farmers by streamlining the certification activities as a program.
Our agroforestry projects are certified with Plan Vivo, an independent certification body that specializes in smallholder forestry projects. As a leading certifier in community land-use projects, they work with us to ensure our projects are truly benefiting farmers, their land, and the environment.
How we make certification more accessible
To successfully certify a project and the CRUs generated, each project undergoes a thorough initial assessment to measure eligibility and additionality, alongside collecting a range of baseline data.
We recognize, however, that certification is not always easy for project coordinators or accessible for smallholder farmers. So we've made our certification process as straightforward as possible: our framework and methodology keep the certification process accessible and transparent, while reducing the costs and lead times of certification significantly. For example, we define and monitor only a few impact indicators (local livelihood, carbon storage, and environmental improvement).
Our framework and methodology
Our certification approach and the requirements that projects must adhere to are described in the Acorn Framework.
> Download the Acorn Framework v1.0 here
The complementary Acorn Methodology describes the processes involved when measuring and calculating CRUs. The Methodology has been externally assessed and approved by the Plan Vivo Foundation and an accredited validation and verification body: AENOR.
> Download the Acorn Methodology v1.0 here
The Sampling Approach and Program Certification document details the certifier-approved sampling approach and processes Acorn follows to confirm the veracity of its projects and program
> Download the Sampling Approach and Program Certification here
To help you better understand our Acorn CRU calculation methodology (2.0), we have created a simple visual guide that explains important factors that impact project CRU calculations.
Currently under review
The following documents are drafts of our new framework and methodology. All documents are currently under review by Plan Vivo.
The Acorn Framework for Voluntary, Ex-Post, Agroforestry Carbon Removal Units v2.0
The Acorn Methodology for Quantifying Carbon Benefits from Small-scale Agroforestry v2.0
AM-002 Tool for Assessment of Historic Deforestation on Small-scale Agroforestry v1.0
AM-003 Module for Ground Truth Sampling v1.0
AM-004 Module for Model Development, Calibration, Validation and Application v1.0
AM-005 Module for Performing Dynamic Pre-project Woody Biomass Baseline and Additionality for Small-scale Agroforestry v1.0
AM-006 Module for Performing Leakage Assessment of Carbon Benefits on Small-scale Agroforestry v1.0
AM-007 Module for Estimating Uncertainty of Carbon Benefits from Small-scale Agroforestry v1.0
AM-008 Module for Performing Partial Felling and Harvesting Estimation of Carbon Benefits on Small-scale Agroforestry v1.0
AM-009 Module for Estimating Contributions of Small-scale Agroforestry to Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration v1.0
AM-010 Module for Estimating Emissions from Livestock and Manure Decomposition for Small-scale Agroforestry v1.0
Inactive
The following documents are no longer active framework and/or methodology.
Why validation and verification are important
Validation and verification are critical to ensure the credibility and effectiveness of our projects. Validation is the initial assessment to confirm a project's design and expected outcomes, while verification measures and evaluates the actual results post-implementation. These processes provide transparency and accountability to help ensure our projects deliver real climate and community benefits. By adhering to rigorous standards, we can build trust with farmers, partners and buyers.
Currently, every Acorn project is initially validated and verified before sold Carbon Removal Units can be retired. Once validated and verified Carbon Removal Units will be retired immediately.
For more detailed information, you can refer to our FAQ on validation and verification assessments.
Registered Projects
Accion Fraterna Ecology Centre India (Eligibility Certificate | Validation Report)
Farm Africa Kenya (Eligibility Certificate | ADD | Verification Statement & Report | Validation Statement & Report)
Trees for Kenya (Eligibility Certificate | ADD | Verification Statement & Report | Validation Statement & Report)
Pipeline Projects
HRNS Tanzania (Eligibility Certificate)
Kaderes (Eligibility Certificate | ADD | Annual Report)
Lutheran World Relief Peru (Eligibility Certificate)
MoFA (Eligibility Certificate)
Norandino Peru (Eligibility Certificate)
Rwanda Trading Company (Eligibility Certificate)
Solidaridad Kenya (Eligibility Certificate | ADD)
Thrive Agriculture Nigeria (Eligibility Certificate)
All project details can be found on our Projects page.
Projects Pending Validation
Intellecap India (Eligibility Certificate)
IORA Ecological Solutions India
La Laja Mexico
Nabcons India (Eligibility Certificate)
Solidaridad Colombia (Eligibility Certificate)
Solidaridad Nicaragua (Eligibility Certificate | ADD)
Solidaridad Uganda (Eligibility Certificate | ADD | Annual Report)
Discontinued Projects
Here you can view the discontinued projects. These are projects that at least had an eligibility and ADD approved. There are varying reasons why a project may not reach the certification stage, including not acquiring sufficient start-up funding, blockages created by government legislation, or requirements of the relevant Standard not being met.
WETPA (Eligibility Certificate | ADD) - project merged with CGA
If you require more information about a specific project, please Contact us | Acorn Rabobank.
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