First carbon credits issued under Verra food loss and waste methodology
Verra has approved the first carbon credits under its methodology for reducing food loss and waste. This opens a new route to carbon finance for organisations that keep surplus food out of landfill. The credits come from a US project that has avoided about 720,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
The issuance uses VM0046 Methodology for Reducing Food Loss and Waste, version 1.0. Verra approved the methodology in 2023, but no credits had been issued under it until now. It sets out how to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions avoided when edible food that would otherwise be lost or wasted stays in the human food supply. Most of the climate benefit comes from preventing methane, which forms when food decomposes in landfill.
The project is Brightly – Reducing Food Loss and Waste, registered as Verra Project 4711. It was developed by Brightly, a Boston-based company that works with 29 independent food rescue organisations across the US, including the Feeding America network. Between March 2020 and December 2023, these organisations rescued 15.3 billion pounds of surplus food, about 6.9 million tonnes, and redistributed it to people. The project registered under Verra’s programme in May 2026, and the first issuance has followed within months. SCS Global Services carried out validation and verification.
Verra’s chief executive called food waste one of the most overlooked sources of methane. She said the first issuance shows that keeping food out of landfill can be measured credibly, and that carbon finance can reach the groups doing the work. Brightly’s chief executive said the credits turn its partners’ food rescue work into verified climate impact and a new funding source to expand it.
Brightly has said most of the credit proceeds will go back to its non-profit partners. Food banks would gain earned income alongside donations and grants. The credits will be offered to companies that want to support verified methane reduction alongside food security in US communities.
The scale of the problem explains the interest in this credit type. Verra estimates that food loss and waste causes about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Methane traps far more heat than CO2 in the short term, so cutting it is a priority under the Global Methane Pledge.
The issuance also widens the range of methane-focused credits on Verra’s registry, which already includes landfill gas capture, coal mine methane and rice cultivation. As with other avoided-emissions credits, the outcome depends heavily on baseline assumptions: how much of the rescued food would otherwise have gone to landfill, and how much methane it would have produced there. VM0046 also includes rules for leakage, the risk that emissions shift elsewhere instead of being avoided. These are the details buyers and ratings agencies will examine as more food rescue projects apply.
