Standard-setting organization Gold Standard has opened a public consultation on a draft regulatory framework governing the deployment of digital measurement, reporting, and verification (dMRV) solutions within its Gold Standard for the Global Goals (GS4GG) certification ecosystem.

The public comment period opened on October 22, 2026, and will close on November 21, 2026. The draft proposal outlines how independent Validation and Verification Bodies (VVBs), alongside internal Gold Standard reviewers, will assess automated digital data streams without creating a standalone, separate approval track.

The framework establishes technical criteria for digital evidence, focusing on data integrity, traceability, immutable audit trails, system architecture controls, data retention, and disaster recovery. Computational models integrated into the creditable data chain will face risk-based evaluations proportional to their direct impact on certified carbon impact quantities.

A central element of the proposal is a reciprocity mechanism that allows a dMRV solution audited in one project activity to be recognized and re-used across other project activities within defined parameters. 

This structure enables VVBs to evaluate local activity integration without repeating a full technical audit of the underlying software architecture.

The rules also provide for the conservative treatment of missing data points, ensuring that temporary data gaps do not automatically disqualify a project activity from credit issuance.

Additionally, Gold Standard is introducing an Interim Issuance Track under specific operational conditions, permitting limited credit issuances subject to formal reconciliation during subsequent Full Issuance Track verifications.

Gold Standard is soliciting market feedback on specific operational parameters, including observation timing, data-availability thresholds, intervals between physical site visits, VVB affiliation restrictions, and limits on interim credit issuances ahead of final adoption.

Source link