Isometric has released a draft module for Environmental and Social Safeguarding (ESS) in carbon removal projects for public consultation. The module is designed to provide a universal framework for ESS—enhancing transparency and consistency—that can be applied across all carbon removal pathways.
Accurately quantifying the climate impact of carbon removal is essential, but rigorous ESS is equally vital to ensuring project success and lasting benefits. This requires taking a holistic view of how projects interact with their environment and communities—encompassing regulatory compliance, risk mitigation, impact assessment, monitoring and adaptive management, and the principle of no net harm.
At present, ESS requirements are embedded within individual Isometric protocols. The ESS Module would consolidate these into a single framework, consistent across all carbon removal pathways, to ensure transparency, scientific rigor, and a clear source of truth for all projects.
The draft module establishes a pathway-agnostic framework for assessing environmental and social risks—fully aligned with the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s Core Carbon Principles—and sets consistent requirements across the following universal risk categories:
- Reporting and transparency
- Pollution prevention and safehandling
- Water efficiency and stewardship
- Biodiversity and management of living natural resources
- Protection of working conditions
- Environmental justice
- Sustainable development
Isometric’s draft Environmental and Social Safeguarding Module represents an important step toward a consistent and transparent framework for assessing the environmental and social impacts of all types of carbon removal projects. The module will continue to evolve as scientific understanding and data collection technologies advance.
The module was developed in line with the Isometric Standard, through collaboration between Isometric’s in-house Science Team and reviewers from Isometric’s independent Science Network of more than 300 academic experts and practitioners.
Comments on this module are welcome from interested buyers, suppliers and scientists during the 30-day public consultation period which ends on October 25, 2025.
