IWA Digital Measurement, Reporting and Verification Framework

Provides the high-level, implementation neutral specifications for creating a solution that issues standardized claims into an open ecosystem for validation, verification, and crediting.

Digitizing the Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) Process

Download the Framework White Paper

Carbon removal is an integral part of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. And while, significant investment has been poured into research, much remains to be done in establishing functional global markets. Under this context, the team at Microsoft Azure, including IWA Leadership Council Chair Marley Gray, has set out to determine: “What could Azure, [their] partners and customers do to innovate in carbon markets to help address net zero more effectively?”

In answering this question, Microsoft began their journey with IWA to lead as task force defining a Voluntary Ecological Markets (VEM) Lifecycle. This task force operates under the umbrella of IWA’s Sustainability Business Working Group, led by Accenture, Digital Asset, and Xpansiv. Using the Process and Data standards defined in the VEM lifecycle, Microsoft began working with its “customers and partners to identify the most critical scenarios to work on.”

The Digital Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) Framework was created in the process of testing the process and data standards using shared Azure infrastructure with partners, such as: Aker Carbon Capture, Carbon Asset Solutions, ClimateCHECK, ESMC, Gold Standard, Ørsted, Patch, Puro.earth, SustainCERT, and Verra as well as the Nation of Colombia.

Implementing this technical framework requires a collaborative ecosystem grounded in standards, protocols, and effective governance. Accenture, Digital Asset, and Xpansiv – along with IWA and Microsoft’s other network partners – helped to define the collective vision, map the lifecycle, and bring in the right strategic partners and customers. Together, using the Data and Process Standards, Microsoft started testing several scenarios to build this ecosystem.

The IWA is pleased to deliver the MRV Framework as an open-access resource as we seek to collectively further development and standardization in support of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.