ERS, a company committed to empowering local communities and ensuring climate finance reaches restoration projects, is launching a new standard, the Ecosystem Restoration Standard, for the Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs). The company has opened a public consultation on its new Standard to ensure it is well-informed and aligned with the needs and expectations of its users.
Read below what ERS has been developing, including more details about the Public Consultation on the Ecosystem Restoration Standard, open until May 5th 2023.
ERS Raises €5M to Develop High-Integrity Restoration Standard for Voluntary Carbon Markets
After two years of research and development, ERS has secured €5M in seed funding from top-tier investors, led by LocalGlobe and RAISE Seed for Good. The standard certifies restoration projects on the VCMs and assesses and monitors their impact on climate, biodiversity, and local livelihoods. ERS has invested heavily in digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (dMRV) technologies to improve the traceability of certified projects. The company aims to reduce barriers to entry for smaller-scale restoration projects and increase financing for them on the VCMs.
Boanamary area, Madagascar: Local communities headed on their way to plant mangrove propagules (photo credit: ERS)
ERS Aims to Increase Financing for Smaller-scale Restoration Projects on Voluntary Carbon Markets
Founded in 2020 by Thibault Sorret (CEO) and Priscille Raynaud (Director of Operations), the Ecosystem Restoration Standard was built in a context where the voluntary carbon markets present a challenge for astute buyers.
Quote of Thibault Sorret, co-founder and CEO of ERS:
"Less than 5% of credits on the voluntary carbon markets come from reforestation projects, and of those, most are industrial plantations of non-native species. We strongly believe that more financing needs to go to smaller-scale restoration projects. That starts with building a standard designed to assess and monitor projects’ impact on climate, biodiversity, and local livelihoods.”
The standard stipulates that at least 70% of financing must go directly to the project to enable restoration projects to play a critical role in meeting global climate and biodiversity objectives. By engaging key actors and the general public in the consultation process, ERS hopes to ensure that its upcoming standard is widely adopted and positively impacts the ecosystem restoration initiatives and projects it aims to support.
Mangrove propagules planted by the local community in the Boanamary area, on one of the pilot testing sites in Madagascar (photo credit: ERS)
ERS Launches a Public Consultation on its New Standard, Ensuring Climate Finance Reaches Projects
ERS has kicked off a public consultation for its Ecosystem Restoration Standard, gathering input and feedback from key actors, including corporates, NGOs, governments, and local communities, until May 5th, 2023. The company is committed to empowering local communities by ensuring that at least 70% of climate financing goes directly to the ground. The consultation process will help ERS guarantee that its standard is well-informed, practical, and aligned with the needs and expectations of its users.
Quote of Thibault Sorret, Co-Founder and CEO of ERS:
“By engaging key actors and the general public in the consultation process, the standard is more likely to be widely adopted and positively impact the ecosystem restoration initiatives and projects it aims to support. Our stakeholders’ opinion matters to us. We want their feedback on the Ecosystem Restoration Standard.”
Participate in the Public Consultation on the Ecosystem Restoration Standard until May 5th 2023.
Please note that ERS has presented the Standard in detail during a Webinar session. You can watch the replay here.
About the Company
The Ecosystem Restoration Standard is a certification for nature-based restoration projects on the Voluntary Carbon Markets. It is designed to empower small-scale, community-led restoration efforts that combat climate change, uplift biodiversity, and improve livelihoods.
By integrating next-generation dMRV (Digital Monitoring, Reporting & Verification) into the Standard we are able to continuously track progress across multiple baselines, providing greater traceability and transparency for project developers and buyers.
To learn more visit our website https://www.ers.org .
