Our Process

Furthr's own board brings over 20 years experience in the carbon markets, having delivered 60 separate carbon projects over the years. We understand exactly what makes a carbon project successful or not.

When it comes to offsetting, we guide our clients through the process of selecting quality offsets, instead of simply offering whatever projects are available at the time. Crucially, we conduct thorough integrity due diligence on any offsets we bring into our portfolio from our partner network, focussing on the following quality criteria:

1. Additionality: Could this project have happened anyway, without the carbon offset funding?

One of the primary criteria for assessing offsets is additionality. This concept assesses whether the reduction or removal of emissions would have occurred without the credit funding. In other words, the project's impact must go above and beyond what would have happened under business-as-usual scenarios.

2. Leakage: Are there emissions displaced elsewhere because of the project?

Leakage refers to the safeguards put on the project to de-risk the emissions reduction/removal being lost through displacement into emissions downstream or upstream. Essentially, it ensures that a project doesn't inadvertently cause an increase in carbon emissions in another area, while reducing them in the project area.

3. Permanence: How long does the emission reduction/removal lasts for on the project?

Permanence measures the duration for which the emission reduction or removal lasts. A project with high permanence will have a long-lasting carbon reduction/removal, providing a sustained benefit to the environment.

4. Net Zero Compatibility: Does this project really support our energy transition?

Net Zero compatibility assesses whether the project type facilitates a long-term transition to low, zero, or negative-emissions technologies.

5. Developer Experience: Has the project developer delivered quality projects before, successfully?

The credibility and experience of the carbon project developer play a significant role in the project's success. This includes their level of engagement and commitment to quality, as well as a demonstrated track record in previous projects.

6. Governance & Audit: It's not enough to just be accredited. Project-level governance and independent audit is mandatory for quality projects.

Good governance in a carbon offset project entails transparency, annual third-party auditing, and adherence to a wealth of environmental, social and carbon-based safeguards.

7. Social & Environmental Safeguards: Is the project taking into account the negative potential impacts to both biodiversity and wellbeing of local communities?

A quality offset project always includes safeguards that prevent negative social & environmental impacts and has very close relationships with local stakeholders.

8. Double Counting: Is the carbon reduction/removal of the project counted and claimed twice?

Double counting is avoided in two key ways - one that is simple, the other slightly more complex :

• Avoiding double counting between two independent parties is resolved by the existence of a credible accreditor and associated registry, which ensures that an offset is only retired once.

• Avoiding double counting between a nation and an independent party. Here, you need to select an offset that has been verified as sitting in a country that has a corresponding adjustment in place under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This is a key current focus of the carbon markets, as the authorisation can only take place at national level.

9. SDG Impact: What other impact is the project measuring?

The United Nations defined a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which need to be achieved in order to build a just and sustainable future for the planet. Project developers have the means to verify and monitor how their projects are affecting local populations, improving communities and the natural environment, beyond the carbon avoided or removed.

10. Host Country Ambition: What Net Zero goals has the project's host country committed to?

If the host country of a project has strong ambitions to reduce its emissions, they are more likely to provide an accurate benchmark for carbon projects to calculate baseline emissions. Most importantly, reversals reporting and additionality will be skewed negatively in countries with poor NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions).

11. Stakeholder Management: How is this project benefiting the local community?

Stakeholder management at the hyper-local level is a key element of carbon offset methodologies. Part of the mandatory documentation which needs to be provided prior to any project receiving approval is robust evidence of local engagement, ensuring the project does not displace local economic activity and enhances local area.

12. Developer Transparency: What assets & engagement  are available from this project?

Developer transparency refers to the ability to document a project's impacts through written updates, interviews with team members, and video/photography.

A quality project will have a host of content, account support, and documentation on the impact it’s having on the ground and how the community is responding to the changes implemented by the development.