London, UK – May 28, 2025

The Social Carbon Foundation is proud to announce that its SOCIALCARBON® Standard has been fully endorsed by the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA), marking a significant milestone in the global recognition of high-integrity carbon standards that prioritize both environmental impact and social co-benefits.

ICROA’s full endorsement marks a significant achievement in establishing SOCIALCARBON® as a leading standard for holistic nature-based solutions in global climate and sustainability efforts.

The SOCIALCARBON® Standard stands out as a comprehensive nature-based solution (NbS) Standard, uniquely supporting a wide range of initiatives including carbon offsetting, insetting, and nature stewardship. Rooted in social and environmental integrity, it empowers stakeholders to measure and enhance co-benefits across ecosystems and communities.

“This endorsement is a powerful affirmation of our mission,” said Mike Davies, CEO of the Social Carbon Foundation. “The SOCIALCARBON® Standard has always been about more than just carbon—it’s about recognizing the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of sustainability. ICROA’s support underscores the value of that vision.”

“ICROA is pleased to announce Social Carbon’s passing from conditional to full Endorsement. This milestone reflects Social Carbon’s continued progress in meeting our scale criteria, and reinforces our shared commitment recognising high-quality, impactful crediting programmes.” Franco Sebastián D’Aprile, Programme Manager, IETA.

Enabling High-Integrity Nature-Based Action

ICROA’s endorsement follows a rigorous evaluation against its Code of Best Practice, confirming that the SOCIALCARBON® Standard meets essential criteria for environmental integrity, additionality, permanence, and robust co-benefit assessment.

The SOCIALCARBON® framework is structured around the sustainable livelihood approach, ensuring that climate action is grounded in a deep understanding of both ecological systems and human wellbeing.

A Milestone for Nature-Positive Climate Markets

This endorsement elevates SOCIALCARBON® into a distinguished group of ICROA-approved standards, reinforcing its credibility for climate investors, project developers, and corporate buyers seeking trusted solutions aligned with ESG and net-zero goals.

The Social Carbon Foundation expresses its gratitude to ICROA for its detailed review and endorsement, and reaffirms its commitment to scaling nature-positive, socially responsible solutions across the globe.

About Social Carbon Foundation

Social Carbon Foundation is a registered charity headquartered in the United Kingdom. Our high integrity standards and process innovation catalyse scalable Nature-based-Solutions to mitigate climate change, enhance biodiversity, and support sustainable livelihoods.

Social Carbon Foundation is a carbon standard setter and has developed and manages the SOCIALCARBON standard, which goes beyond carbon accounting embedding meaningful social, environmental and economic benefits in each of its projects and sharing them with their local stakeholders. As with all standards, it includes independent monitoring and verification requirements and ensures that projects comply with local laws and regulations