Gold Standard has introduced a new framework for organisations to take financial responsibility for the carbon emissions they continue to generate while they decarbonise. Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER) features in a report published on 24 June 2026, during London Climate Action Week. The report is designed to help organisations build a transparent, credible approach to emissions reductions, innovation, and adaptation, alongside their own decarbonisation efforts.
Sustainability specialists reviewing carbon emissions data on a digital dashboard while discussing climate strategies in a modern office. AI generated picture.
OER builds on Gold Standard's earlier Beyond Value Chain Mitigation (BVCM) concept. The organisation says the shift in terminology addresses concerns that the BVCM label implied a narrow focus on mitigation activities such as carbon credits. Research and development, policy advocacy, capacity building, and adaptation finance play an equally important role in reaching global environmental goals, the report says.
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has already embedded OER into its Corporate Net-Zero Standard 2.0, published on 11 June 2026 and taking effect from 1 February 2027. Under the standard, organisations can earn Recognised, Advanced, or Leadership status, reflecting how much financial responsibility they take for their ongoing emissions. Gold Standard's report ties these tiers to an internal carbon fee, recommending $20 per tonne of CO₂ for Recognised and Advanced status, and at least $80 per tonne for Leadership.
Read more: Updated SBTi standard signals rising credit demand
The report sets out four steps for a credible OER strategy: accounting for ongoing emissions, establishing an internal carbon fee, funding high-quality climate action, and communicating results with transparency. It recommends a diversified activity portfolio that combines near-term mitigation with longer-term investments, such as early-stage carbon removal technologies and other innovations still scaling towards commercial use.
Gold Standard frames carbon credits used under OER as a contribution to global climate mitigation, distinct from compensation for an organisation's own emissions. This framing, the report argues, gives organisations a clearer route to credible claims, at a time when regulatory scrutiny of climate messaging is increasing across major markets.
The report also flags a lack of credible claims pathways as a barrier to wider adoption. Gold Standard notes that more than 40% of carbon credit retirements in 2025 were made anonymously, pointing to a cautious communications climate that it says limits recognition for genuine environmental action and slows progress towards net zero.
Read more: The new SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard: what it means for business
Building a credible OER portfolio starts with the quality of what it funds. Green Earth's nature-based carbon projects are designed to meet exactly the criteria that frameworks like OER reward: additionality, independent verification, and lasting benefits for the communities and ecosystems involved. For businesses working out how much of their ongoing emissions to take responsibility for, and how to communicate that responsibility with confidence, a verified carbon credit portfolio offers a transparent way to start.
