Global register will help vet the right accountants and help combat greenwashing

With mandatory carbon reporting looming for hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide, two leading sustainability groups are moving to crack down on greenwashing, by launching a global register to set professional standards in carbon accounting.

The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) and the Carbon Accounting Alliance (CAA) have unveiled plans for the Carbon Accounting and Auditors Register (CAAR), a rigorous new certification scheme to ensure only trained, competent professionals are calculating and verifying emissions data.

The register is set to launch globally by the end of 2025 but work is already under way. A new competency framework, lays out what skills, knowledge and qualifications carbon accountants must have – from junior to principal level – to be trusted with high-stakes climate data.

And it matters.