Activity Requirements – Industrial Decarbonisation

Gold Standard is seeking stakeholder feedback on new Activity Requirements for industrial decarbonisation activities under GS4GG. It covers activities that reduce energy-related and process emissions in industry, manufacturing and heavy industry, including process changes, material and feedstock switching, energy efficiency, electrification, industrial use of green hydrogen, and carbon capture and utilisation of fossil or process CO₂. 

the proposed Activity Requirements: 

• Apply Core requirements to all activities and includes four modules. These cover low-carbon cement and concrete, sustainable steelmaking, industrial fuel switching and efficiency, and low-carbon chemicals, feedstocks and process emissions. 
• Set benchmark-based eligibility requirements. Activities must meet or outperform best-practice emissions-intensity benchmarks set by the applicable methodology. These benchmarks are intended to tighten over time. 
• Require activities to align with a recognised sectoral pathway. Where no sectoral pathway exists, activities must align with the host country’s national or economy-wide pathway. 
• Include safeguards for industrial impacts. These cover pollution control, resource and water efficiency, just transition, affected communities, and the sustainability of biomass and other feedstocks. 
• Clarify boundaries with other GS4GG requirements. Fossil or process CO₂ capture and utilisation is covered here. Removal of biogenic or atmospheric CO₂ is covered by Engineered Removals (AR 208). 
• Provid a VVB evidentiary checklist in each module to support assessment of eligibility, benchmarks and safeguards. 

We are particularly seeking feedback on: 

• the proposed expansion of GS4GG to cover activities involving N20 abatement, including how environmental integrity should be ensured.  

Specific questions are given in the document for stakeholders’ reference.