SustainCERT expands services to Agricultural Land Management

We are pleased to announce that we are expanding our scopes under the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) for our Greenhouse Gas (GHG) validation and verification services to Agricultural Land Management (ALM) projects. We now also offer validation and verification services for Verra projects under this new scope, supported by our digital platform.

Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) program includes the VM0042 Methodology for Improved Agricultural Land Management, which quantifies GHG emission reductions and soil organic carbon (SOC) removals resulting from the adoption of improved ALM practices. Such practices include, but are not limited to:

• Reduced tillage
• Improved fertilizer application
• Biomass residue and water management
• Cash and cover crop planting and harvesting practices
• Grazing practices

In September 2024, Verra released version 2.1 of VM0042, introducing an applicability condition that allows for a one-time land conversion from grassland to cropland or vice versa to restore degraded lands. Additionally, this revision requires accounting for emissions associated with the use of agricultural limestone and addresses leakage from the diversion of biomass residues used for energy applications in the baseline scenario.

The updated VM0042 methodology aims to facilitate the development of high-integrity ALM projects by providing a robust framework for quantifying GHG emission reductions and SOC removals.