Engaging CEOs: Voluntary carbon market mobilisation guide

By 2050, the world needs to remove up to 10 GtCO2e a year — and most of that capacity doesn’t exist yet. That’s why the time value of carbon matters. Early, high‑integrity action through voluntary carbon markets can reduce risk, secure supply, and lower long‑term costs.

This guide was written by Sustainable Market Initiative and Patch in partnership with EY, Climate Asset Management, and Bank of America. It distills insights from 40+ sustainability and finance leaders into a CEO‑level blueprint for using carbon credits alongside deep decarbonization. You’ll get clear use cases, governance standards, and a practical maturity curve from first spot purchases to offtakes and project investments.

It also covers how to maintain integrity and protect your brand: what to buy, how to report, and how to communicate. Plus, there's a policy roadmap so you can anticipate convergence with compliance markets and engage regulators with confidence.

What’s inside

• The CEO case for VCMs: when to use credits for residual emissions, why acting now hedges price and delivery risk, and how to signal credible progress to investors and customers.
• A buying strategy you can run: portfolio design, spot vs. offtake vs. investment, internal governance and budgeting, and how to integrate internal carbon pricing.
• The integrity and risk toolkit: applying ICVCM Core Carbon Principles, due diligence checklists, independent MRV options, legal risk mitigations, and reporting alignment (VCMI, SBTi, ISSB/FASB).
• The policy roadmap: near‑term non‑regulatory levers, convergence with ETS and Article 6, emerging registry infrastructure (e.g., EU CRCF), and how CEOs can help shape high‑integrity market growth.

A buyer’s guide to carbon credits

Get actionable guidance for engaging with the voluntary carbon market, no matter your level of experience:

• An introduction to carbon credits
• 
A portfolio approach
• 
A long-term outlook on pricing and supply

Guidance that matches your experience level

Carbon markets are complex, and constantly evolving. Buyers need education informed by the latest science that meets them where they are.

01: An introduction to carbon credits

If you’ve never purchased carbon credits before, this guide is your primer on the fundamentals.

02: A portfolio approach

If you’ve purchased credits and are looking to make more impact, this guide gives you the next step.

03: Outlook on pricing and supply

If you’re an experienced buyer, this guide will help inform your near- and long-term climate strategy.

What you’ll learn

To help you take climate action with more confidence, each guide will:

• Explain the risks and benefits of purchasing carbon credits
• Provide a strategic pathway to maximizing climate impact and mitigating risk
• Offer a tactical buying checklist to corporate sustainability leaders

Data analysis of the post-election VCM

Get insights into the state of carbon markets since the U.S. presidential election.

You’ll learn:

• Whether companies are withdrawing from carbon markets and climate commitments
• Which project types are in high demand and short supply
• How to engage strategically with carbon markets in an unevenly distributed supply crunch

Leading signals for market trends

The Patch platform collects and aggregates signals other sources don’t — like what buyers are searching for versus what they actually purchase, preferences broken out by mechanism and rating, and more.

This report includes insightful data on every project type in the VCM plus expert analysis of what it means.