Navigating Net Zero with Alexia Kelly

In this episode of the Navigating Net Zero: In Focus mini-series on Developments in Climate Standards & Guidance, Alexia Kelly is joined by Amy Merrill, CEO of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM). Amy outlines how the independent governance body is creating an auditable, regulatory-style floor for credit quality through its Core Carbon Principles (CCPs). They unpack the mechanics of ICVCM's "double-tick" framework – evaluating both program governance and project-level quantification methodologies – to explain how 13 CCP-eligible programs representing 96% of the market are now providing comparable, high-integrity carbon credits to institutional buyers and corporate procurement teams. Highlights from the Discussion: The Mechanics of the "Double-Tick" Assessment: Amy breaks down how ICVCM evaluates carbon registries on governance, transparency, and grievance handling (Tick 1) alongside methodology-specific assessments of additionality, conservative baselines, and reversal risk (Tick 2). Pre-Market Conditioning and Governance Reform: How publishing strict threshold requirements has driven carbon crediting programs to proactively upgrade their internal governance and risk management frameworks before undergoing formal review. Continuous Improvement and the Rule Architecture: An inside look at how stakeholder-led Continuous Improvement Work Programs (CIWPs) and the new Rule Architecture allow the ICVCM to clarify, interpret, and deepen quality standards over time without stranding market investments.

In this episode of the Navigating Net Zero: In Focus – Developments in Climate Standards & Guidance, host Alexia Kelly is joined by Chris Davis, Senior Fellow at the High Tide Foundation and lead for the Task Force for Corporate Action Transparency (TCAT). Chris unpacks the fundamental challenges facing corporate sustainability leaders as legacy carbon accounting standards fail to keep pace with modern market instruments. They discuss TCAT’s practitioner-led framework – including the Mitigation Action Accounting & Reporting Guidance (MAARG) and Targeted Action Reporting Guidance (TARG) – which provides the scaffolding companies need to report mitigation actions credibly, satisfy financial auditors and assurability requirements, and navigate complex global disclosure regulations amidst anti-ESG scrutiny. Highlights from the Discussion: Bridging the Third-Party Assurability Gap: Chris explains how TCAT fills a critical void by creating auditable, rule-based methodologies that allow accounting firms to assure active mitigation investments with the same rigor applied to financial audits. The Architecture of the MAARG Logic Structure: A breakdown of TCAT’s multi-statement "sorting hat" framework, which applies strict logical tests to categorize corporate climate interventions inside or outside direct value chain footprints. Standardizing Regulatory Disclosures via TARG: How TARG translates granular mitigation data into audit-ready reporting templates, easing administrative friction for multinationals navigating complex global disclosure mandates. Differentiating Caused Mitigation from Footprint Volatility: Why net inventory changes fall short, and how TCAT isolates direct corporate investments so companies receive credit for intentional decarbonization rather than macro-economic shifts.

In this episode of the Navigating Net Zero: In Focus mini-series on Developments in Climate Standards & Guidance, host Alexia Kelly is joined by longtime climate policy expert Kim Carnahan. Kim shares the story behind launching the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), which led to the Center for Green Market Activation (GMA) and informed the development of the new AIM Platform Standard and Guidance. Together, Alexia and Kim explore: Why Scope 3 accounting remains such a challenge How buyer alliances and book-and-claim systems work The launch of the new AIM Platform Standard Why accounting rules are shaping the speed of climate action The balance between environmental integrity and scaling investment A thoughtful conversation about the future of corporate decarbonization and the market infrastructure needed to reach net zero.

What happens when the world’s most widely used carbon accounting rules evolve from a voluntary framework to being crucial regulatory infrastructure? In this episode, host Alexia Kelly sits down with Dominic Waughray, Executive Vice President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and Executive Co-Chair of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Dominic maps out the massive institutional transformation currently underway at the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, as carbon data moves directly into the sightlines of CFOs, global regulators, and international standard-setters like the ISSB and ISO. Highlights from the Discussion: Born in Chaos: Dominic reminds us of the protocol's unique DNA, tracing back to the mid-1990s when Dow Chemical, General Motors, and BP sat down with WRI and WBCSD to design the Scope 1, 2, and 3 framework at a moment when nothing else existed. The Structural Evolution of the GHG Protocol: A behind-the-scenes look at the professionalization of the protocol, including the creation of an Independent Standards Board, a new steering committee chaired by Geraldine Matchett, and the appointment of Tim Mohin as CEO. The Global Regulatory Leap: How the voluntary framework is being hardcoded into mandatory laws, from California's climate legislation to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) alignment across 38 jurisdictions—including China’s 2027 alignment journey. The ISO & Global Collaboration Milestone: Celebrating the major alignment launched at COP30 in Brazil, uniting greenhouse gas accounting with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) across 174 countries.

How do we pivot global corporate behavior from making broad climate commitments to deploying capital for deep decarbonization? In this episode of Navigating Net Zero’s In Focus mini-series on Climate Standards and Guidance, host Alexia Kelly sits down with Amy Brachio, the newly appointed CEO of Carbon Measures. Leveraging nearly three decades of institutional experience at EY—including serving as its Global Vice Chair for Sustainability—Brachio argues that the roadblock to global net zero isn't a lack of corporate ambition, but a lack of functional market structures that incentivize scaled finance for low-carbon commodities. This deep-dive conversation explores the origin and theory behind Carbon Measures, a new greenhouse gas accounting initiative backed by some of the world's heaviest emitters. Brachio outlines their strategy to move past enterprise-wide risk disclosure toward product-level carbon intensity standards for globally traded commodities like steel, cement, and fuels. By standardizing accounting at the "cradle-to-gate" asset level, Carbon Measures aims to help lawmakers design trade-compliant curves that naturally retool the upstream market supply signal.