Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM)

Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM)

The Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) is a global environmental market where companies and organizations voluntarily buy and sell carbon credits to address residual emissions and support verified climate projects. Unlike compliance markets, the VCM operates alongside regulatory frameworks, providing flexibility, global access and project diversity for corporate climate strategies.

The primary objective of the Voluntary Carbon Market is to channel capital toward emission reduction and carbon removal projects, enabling companies to contribute directly to climate mitigation while aligning with sustainability commitments and reporting frameworks.

Carbon Credits Traded in the Voluntary Carbon Market

Carbon credits traded in the VCM are generated from verified climate projects and represent a quantified reduction or removal of greenhouse gas emissions.

Key project categories include:

  • Nature-based solutions – forest conservation (REDD+), afforestation and reforestation (ARR), soil and agricultural carbon
  • Renewable energy projects – solar, wind, biogas and hydropower
  • Waste management and methane reduction
  • Carbon removal technologies – biochar, carbon capture and durable removals
  • Plastic credit projects

All credits entering the market are issued under recognized international standards Gold Standard, Verra, International Carbon Standard ,upcoming Turkuaz credits and others) and managed through transparent registry systems.

Why the Voluntary Carbon Market?

  • Voluntary and globally accessible, allowing companies to participate across international carbon markets without regulatory constraints
  • Usable alongside compliance markets and mandatory reporting, supporting integrated corporate climate and sustainability strategies
  • Wide project diversity, spanning nature-based, technology-driven and removal-focused carbon solutions
  • Flexible price ranges, enabling alignment with different corporate budgets and procurement strategies
  • Direct contribution to climate targets, by financing verified emission reduction and carbon removal projects within the global Voluntary Carbon Market

Voluntary Carbon Market for Buyers

For buyers, the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) provides a flexible, market-driven sourcing channel to address emissions and support corporate climate action and sustainability strategies.

Buyer advantages include:

  • Access to verified and traceable carbon credits from recognised standards
  • Spot and forward procurement options supporting different carbon credit sourcing strategies
  • Alignment with net-zero targets, sustainability disclosures and climate reporting frameworks
  • Use of carbon credits in sustainability and climate reporting
  • Access to high-integrity credits aligned with ICVCM and VCMI principles
  • Retirement of credits matched to emissions, with formal registry-based certification

Voluntary Carbon Market for Project Developers

For project developers, the Voluntary Carbon Market enables environmental impact to be converted into a tradable financial asset, strengthening project economics and long-term viability.

Developer benefits include:

  • Access to global demand
  • Improved pricing and demand visibility
  • More predictable project revenue streams
  • Spot sales, forward offtake structures and market-based financing opportunities
  • Increased visibility of project impact within international markets

Voluntary Carbon Market for Sellers

For sellers, the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) provides a structured pathway to bring verified carbon credits to market, enabling project owners to monetize environmental impact while accessing global demand.

The VCM allows sellers to convert verified emission reductions or removals into tradable carbon credits and participate in international carbon markets through transparent registry and trading structures.

Seller advantages include:

  • Access to global buyer demand across the voluntary carbon market
  • Improved price discovery and demand visibility
  • Ability to monetize credits through spot sales and forward offtake structures
  • More predictable and sustainable project revenue streams
  • Increased visibility of projects and credits within international carbon markets

How Carbon Credits Work in the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM)

  1. A climate project is verified and certified under a recognized carbon standard within the Voluntary Carbon Market
  2. Carbon credits are issued, recorded in an official registry and made available for trading
  3. Credits are sold to buyers and subsequently retired, matching verified emissions and preventing double counting

This lifecycle ensures that carbon credits in the Voluntary Carbon Market are managed in a transparent, traceable and auditable manner, from issuance through to retirement.