Offset group aiming to quadruple in size

Recently launched offsetting industry trade group the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA) has today set out ambitious expansion plans that could see the eight-member organisation more than quadruple in size over the next 12 months.

Speaking at a roundtable event in London on the state of the voluntary carbon market, ICROA co-chair Jonathan Shopley said that the organisation was actively seeking new members.

"The past few years have seen the voluntary offset market boom from a handful of operators to around 140 providers of carbon offsets," he said. "It is our belief that around a quarter of those would adhere to the code of conduct ICROA has set out for its members and would be eligible to join – we hope for between 30 and 40 members within a year."

Offset providers interested in joining the group are required to adhere to accepted international standards for measuring and managing carbon offset projects, engage with customers to reduce as well as offset emissions, report annually on their compliance with the code, and subject themselves to independent third-party verification.

Shopley said that while around three quarters of those offset providers currently operating were unlikely to join the group, it did not necessarily follow that three out of four firms were failing to follow industry best practices.

"You have to have been operating for a year to join ICROA and that will exclude some firms, while it also costs £5,000 for the auditing process to join and some may not be able to pay," he said, before adding that some would not be able to join due to a failure to apply sufficiently vigorous quality standards.

The group also provided further details about its planned activities for the coming year, confirming that as well as working to increase adoption of offsetting best practices across the industry, it will also begin work on developing a standard for measuring carbon emissions from aviation.

"We'd like to have an international agreement on how to measure airline emissions and account for the impact of releasing emissions at high altitude within a year," added Shopley. Currently, the carbon calculators used by different airlines can vary enormously, a state of affairs that Shopley admitted had eroded some confidence in the market.