When one entity issues the label, sells the premium and takes a share of the insurance, its numbers stop working as evidence — not because it lied, but because the structure makes the claim untestable.
A verification body is only worth what its independence is worth. If the party being verified can also profit from a favourable result, the conclusion is not evidence; it is sales collateral with a signature.
None of these require dishonesty to do damage. They only require that an awkward finding be slightly easier to soften, and the incentive does the rest.
| Control | How it is enforced | What it prevents |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | No equity in verified parties, declared annually | Self-dealing |
| Remuneration | Fixed fees, never outcome-linked | Buying a result |
| Sales separation | Sales staff cannot alter findings | Scope creep |
| Technical veto | Reviewer can stop issuance | Pressure at the last gate |
| Cooling-off | No advisory work for a client we verify | Consult-then-certify |
The most common breach is not corruption, it is convenience. A client asks for help preparing the data, the verifier helps because it is friendly and billable, and then verifies its own advice. Nobody thinks of it as wrongdoing; the file looks tidy.
We do not take advisory engagements with clients we verify. If a client needs help preparing evidence, they get a different firm or they get a refusal.
Independence has a price: a separated body cannot sell the software, the hardware or the implementation. It earns only on verification, which means the fee has to cover a whole organisation whose only product is judgement. That is why verified carbon costs more than a self-declared label, and why the cheaper one is cheaper.
This note describes our method and commercial position. It is not a verification statement and carries no assurance. Under the two-track plan the certification conclusion is signed by a licensed partner; this site issues the method, the evidence grades and the register.