🔄ICR Board Procedures v3.0
Summary
ICR serves as a framework for climate projects of any size where environmental integrity is promoted with credibility, consistency, and transparency of quantification, monitoring, reporting, validation, and verification
Version no. | 3.0 |
Date of Version | 15. February 2024 |
Introduction
The International Carbon Registry (ICR) specializes in managing greenhouse gas (GHG) programs and providing registration services for climate projects and issuance of carbon credits and certificates. It employs ISO-standardized protocols to enhance the integrity and reliability of carbon credit issuance and verification, ensuring projects meet stringent quality and integrity standards. This focus supports the voluntary carbon market's credibility and advances ICR's GHG program, delivering tangible environmental and social benefits. Through its work, ICR is critical in promoting sustainable practices and using carbon markets strategically to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
The purpose of this document is to specify the responsibilities of the ICR board and structure how the ICR board decisions shall be made, taking technical input and recommendations from the ICR Program Advisory Panel (PAP) and any input from Program forums into account.
Figure 1: Organizational chart
ICR Board
The ICR board shall meet as necessary but no less than biannually for discussion of the operations of the ICR program management. All documentation for the ICR board meetings shall be made available to members in due time.
The ICR board controls the ICR under the guidance and recommendations of the PAP and ICR CEO. In this context, the ICR board shall:
Set out the strategic direction of the ICR and actively seek expansion opportunities.
Follow carbon market developments.
Make decisions on further documentation for the ICR program, as appropriate.
Make decisions on any revisions, amendments, or additions to requirements and procedures.
Approve new methodologies and/or revisions.
Set out requirements for approval of VVBs, following accreditation standards, further:
Decisions on suspension and withdrawal of approval.
Operationalization of procedures and standards for approval.
Identify barriers to implementing activities and mitigations of barriers to support funding of project activities, as necessary.
Review the operation of the ICR program with input from internal audit.
Approve and make requirements, processes, methodologies, and standards publicly available.
Develop and maintain the ICR registry for project activities containing information on registered project documentation and information on all ICCs issued.
Address issues relating to ICR documentation.
Carry out any other issues regarding the operation of the ICR program.
ICR Program Advisory Panel
The PAP is a group of carefully selected and highly competent technical experts in climate solutions and carbon markets providing advisory to ICR to maintain an effective and efficient GHG program for all users and interested parties. The procedure for the PAP is available in the ICR Program Advisory Panel procedure.
The PAP functions are to provide the ICR with guidance and recommendations through consultation on the strategic direction and development of the ICR program. The roles of the PAP are:
Provide advice on enhancements and strategic direction of the ICR program and its procedures.
Review processes related to the registration of climate projects and issuance of carbon credits.
Review and provide advice to draft documentation regarding establishing, revising, or withdrawing requirements, guidelines, and clarifications for climate projects to register and issue carbon credits.
Provide advice and recommendations to ICR regarding need and priority areas for revisions and amendments to requirements, guidelines, procedures, etc., for the operation of the ICR program.
Provide insight into the needs of interested parties.
The ICR board shall strive to follow the recommendations from the PAP.
Procedures of the ICR Board
Decisions by the ICR board shall be taken by consensus whenever possible. If all efforts at reaching a consensus have been exhausted and no agreement has been reached, decisions shall be taken by a majority of the members present and voting at the meeting.
All decisions of the ICR board concerning the ICR program management that are not confidential should be made publicly available. The working language of the ICR board is English, and documentation is published in English.
The ICR board selects members of the PAP to support the performance of the ICR board based on recommendations from the ICR CEO. The ICR board shall draw on the expertise necessary to perform functions and consider regional and gender balance.
The ICR leadership assesses issues for review by the ICR board and ensures that members promptly receive documentation for consideration.
ICR CEO is responsible for organizing and facilitating meetings and preparing and disseminating agendas and minutes. CSO is responsible for developing any draft updates to the ICR program requirements, processes, and guidelines, recommendations from the PAP, minutes of meetings with any program forums, and managing for consideration and/or approval by the ICR board.
The chair shall organize and host each meeting of the ICR board. The meeting agenda shall, at a minimum, include the following:
Revisions to the ICR program
Methodologies, modules, tools, and revisions for review and approval
Strategic direction
Updates on markets
Other issues
Before providing any review concerning revisions of documentation or proposals for new methodologies (revisions), members shall confirm the absence of conflict of interest with respect to any decisions.
Methodology Approval
After reviewing, following the ICR methodology approval process, the CSO shall prepare all relevant documentation about a revised or proposed new methodology for the ICR board. The documentation provided to the ICR board shall have incorporated public stakeholder input and follow the ICR's new methodology proposal form. The ICR board shall take due account the disclosed documentation and decide to either:
Approve the proposed new methodology (revision).
Reject the proposed new methodology (revision).
Request further information and provide guidance on issues to be addressed.
If the ICR board approves the proposed new methodology (revision), the methodology developer is informed, and the approved new methodology (revision) is published on the ICR website within seven days of the approval, and the list of ICR approved methodologies is updated accordingly.
Revisions to the ICR Program
The CSO shall prepare all relevant documentation on the proposed revisions of the ICR program documentation for which ICR has drafted amendments for the ICR board, along with comments received from the PAP and any public comments received during public consultation.
The ICR board shall take due account of any recommendation from the PAP and input from interested parties when approving revisions.
Appendix – Document History
Version | Date | Comment |
1.0 | 20.2.2022 | First version. |
2.0 | 14.10.2022 | Alignment with revised ICR requirement document and ICR methodology requirements. |
3.0 | 15.2.2024 | Alignment with ICR QMS and new organizational chart. |
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