Gold Standard for the Global Goals is our next-generation standard, designed to accelerate progress toward climate security and sustainable development. The standard enables initiatives to quantify, certify and maximise their impacts toward climate security and the Sustainable Development Goals, while enhanced safeguards, holistic project design, management of trade-offs and local stakeholder engagement ensure Gold Standard continues to deliver the highest levels of environmental and social integrity.

Why Gold Standard for the Global Goals?

Gold Standard has always stood for the best that can be achieved in climate and development projects. Today, we are evolving our standard to help Gold Standard projects remain best-in-class and resilient in changing carbon markets, as well as attract new funders.

When Gold Standard was established in 2003, sustainable development was a niche. Today, with the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its clear integration with the Paris Climate Agreement, sustainable development is mainstream. By allowing project developers to select from a range of innovative instruments, such as renewable energy certificates, certified emissions reduction statements (coming soon), Certified SDG Impact statements or carbon credits, Gold Standard for the Global Goals projects will be relevant in all sectors and geographies. By providing the flexibility to monetise multiple impacts – improved health, gender equality, or access to clean water – projects can also seek additional sources of finance from a funder universe that is increasingly demanding verified metrics. The possibility to credibly quantify and certify SDG impacts will make these projects more attractive to a wide range of funders, including buyers of carbon credits.

Building on more than a decade of experience, we have also enhanced key aspects of our standard – including our safeguarding principles and our sustainable development matrix – to ensure ongoing integrity and confidence in markets.

Through these measures, our new standard is helping future-proof Gold Standard projects for changing market conditions, including the emerging rules of the Paris Agreement and the aviation sector’s new market mechanism CORSIA, as well as broader trends in corporate sustainability and climate and development funding.

Transitioning existing projects to Gold Standard for the Global Goals.

The transition to the standard is designed to be simple and practical, minimising resources on the developer’s side. Please see our Transition Requirements>> for further information about transitioning existing projects to Gold Standard for the Global Goals.

We would be pleased to offer additional support to a limited number of projects that wish to make an early transition to Gold Standard for the Global Goals. Contact help@goldstandard.org if you are interested in receiving assistance.

For more information about Gold Standard for the Global Goals, please visit our FAQs>>

Earlier versions of our standard are available here>>