Carbon credits

Harnessing CBS climate benefits to attract new funding.

In 2023, a feasibility study conducted by CBSA and the carbon finance consultancy South Pole estimated that CBS can reduce methane emissions by 79–93% compared to typical sanitation options. These findings highlight CBS’s strong potential to contribute to climate mitigation – and to unlock new sources of finance through carbon offsetting.

As captured in our 2025 lessons learnt paper, momentum is already building:

• In 2024, Regen Organics, part of the Sanergy Collaborative, successfully registered and sold carbon credits through Verra’s voluntary market.
• Since 2020, Global Water Intelligence has funded SOIL to offset emissions from its conference attendees—demonstrating innovative models beyond traditional carbon credits.
• CBSA and partners are collaborating with the Gold Standard to design a dedicated sanitation methodology.

To advance this work further, CBSA is:

• Mitigating risk for providers by assessing feasibility, sharing lessons, and exploring an aggregator role for CBSA to streamline participation.
• Documenting our carbon credit access experiences to share insights and empower the wider sanitation sector.
• Collaborating with the Gold Standard to develop a tailored sanitation methodology for carbon credits.
• Exploring alternative standards and cost-effective pathways to make carbon offsetting accessible to smaller CBS providers.
• Providing guidance and practical tools – such as a carbon certification guide – to help CBS operators register projects and maximise value from carbon finance.
• Advocating for broader climate finance opportunities and the deeper integration of climate and sanitation policy through the Climate Resilient Sanitation Coalition.

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