California Code of Regulations › Title 17 - Public Health › Division 3 - Air Resources › Chapter 1 - Air Resources Board › Subchapter 10 - Climate Change › Article 5 - California Cap on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Market-Based Compliance Mechanisms › Subarticle 13 - ARB Offset Credits and Registry Offset Credits › Section 95979 - Conflict of Interest Requirements for Verification Bodies and Offset Verifiers for Verification of Offset Project Data Reports

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) The conflict of interest provisions of
						this section shall apply to verification bodies, lead verifiers, and offset
						verifiers accredited by ARB to perform offset verification services for Offset
						Project Operators, and Authorized Project Designees, if applicable, as well as
						any other member of the offset verification team and any technical
						consultant(s) used by the Offset Project Operator or Authorized Project
						Designee, if applicable.
(b)
						"Member" for the purposes of this section means any employee or subcontractor
						of the verification body or related entities of the verification body. "Member"
						also includes any individual with majority equity share in the verification
						body or its related entities. "Related entity" for the purposes of this section
						means any direct parent company, direct subsidiary, or sister company.
						"Non-offset verification services" for purposes of this section do not include
						independent, third-party certification or verification services which have been
						provided for ARB or any other voluntary or mandatory program; such
						certification and verification services may be counted as offset verification
						services for the purposes of this section. The potential for a conflict of
						interest must be deemed to be high where:
(1)
						The verification body and Offset Project Operator, Authorized Project Designee,
						if applicable, and their technical consultant(s) share any senior management
						staff or board of directors membership, or any of the senior management staff
						of the Offset Project Operator, Authorized Project Designee, if applicable, and
						their technical consultant(s) have been employed by the verification body, or
						vice versa, within the previous three years; or
(2) Within the previous five years, any staff
						member of the verification body or any related entity or any member of the
						offset verification team has provided to the Offset Project Operator,
						Authorized Project Designee, if applicable, and their technical consultant(s)
						any of the following non-offset verification services:
(A) Designing, developing, implementing,
						reviewing, or maintaining an inventory or offset project information or data
						management system for air emissions or development of a forest management plan,
						or timber harvest plan, unless the review was part of providing GHG offset
						verification services;
(B)
						Developing GHG emission factors or other GHG-related engineering analysis,
						including developing or reviewing a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
						GHG analysis that includes offset project specific information;
(C) Designing energy efficiency, renewable
						power, or other projects which explicitly identify GHG reductions and GHG
						removal enhancements as a benefit;
(D) Designing, developing, implementing,
						internally auditing, consulting, or maintaining an offset project resulting in
						GHG emission reductions and GHG removal enhancements;
(E) Owning, buying, selling, trading, or
						retiring shares, stocks, or ARB offset credits or registry offset credits from
						the offset project;
(F) Dealing in
						or being a promoter of ARB offset credits or registry offset credits on behalf
						of an Offset Project Operator, Authorized Project Designee, if applicable, and
						their technical consultant(s);
(G)
						Preparing or producing GHG-related manuals, handbooks, or procedures
						specifically for the Offset Project Operator, Authorized Project Designee, if
						applicable, and their technical consultant(s);
(H) Appraisal services of carbon or GHG
						liabilities or assets;
(I)
						Brokering in, advising on, or assisting in any way in carbon or GHG-related
						markets;
(J) Directly responsible
						for developing any health, environment or safety policies for the Offset
						Project Operator, Authorized Project Designee, if applicable, and their
						technical consultant(s);
(K)
						Bookkeeping or other services related to the accounting records or financial
						statements;
(L) Any service related
						to information systems, including International Organization for
						Standardization 14001 Certification for Environmental Management (ISO 14001
						Certification), unless those systems will not be reviewed as part of the offset
						verification process;
(M) Appraisal
						and valuation services, both tangible and intangible;
(N) Fairness opinions and
						contribution-in-kind reports in which the verification body has provided its
						opinion on the adequacy of consideration in a transaction, unless the
						information reviewed in formulating the Offset Verification Statement will not
						be reviewed as part of the offset verification services;
(O) Any actuarially oriented advisory service
						involving the determination of amounts recorded in financial statements and
						related accounts;
(P) Any internal
						audit service that has been outsourced by the Offset Project Operator,
						Authorized Project Designee, if applicable, and their technical consultant(s)
						that relates to the Offset Project Operator's, Authorized Project Designee's,
						if applicable, and their technical consultant(s) internal accounting controls,
						financial systems, or financial statements, unless the systems and data
						reviewed during those services, as well as the result of those services will
						not be part of the offset verification process;
(Q) Acting as a broker-dealer (registered or
						unregistered), promoter, or underwriter on behalf of the Offset Project
						Operator, Authorized Project Designee, if applicable, and their technical
						consultant(s);
(R) Any legal
						services; and
(S) Expert services
						to the Offset Project Operator, Authorized Project Designee, if applicable, and
						their technical consultant(s) or a legal representative for the purpose of
						advocating the Offset Project Operator's, Authorized Project Designee's, if
						applicable, and their technical consultant(s) interests in litigation or in a
						regulatory or administrative proceeding or investigation, unless providing
						factual testimony.
(3)
						Within the previous three years, any staff member of the verification body or
						any related entity or any member of the offset verification team has provided
						to the ozone depleting substances destruction facility a third-party
						certification of a facility to meet the requirements set forth by the United
						Nations Environment Programme Ozone Secretariat's Technology and Assessment
						Panel (TEAP) for ozone depleting substances destruction.
(4) The potential for conflict of interest
						will be deemed to be high when any member of the verification body provides any
						type of incentive to an Offset Project Operator, Authorized Project Designee,
						if applicable, and their technical consultant(s) to secure an offset
						verification services contract.
(5)
						The potential for a conflict of interest will also be deemed to be high where
						any member of the verification body has provided offset verification services
						for the Offset Project Operator, Authorized Project Designee, if applicable,
						and their technical consultant(s) except within the time periods in which the
						Offset Project Operator, Authorized Project Designee, if applicable, and their
						technical consultant(s) is allowed to use the same verification body as
						specified in section
						95977.1(a).