Goldbeck Forest Carbon Project

Audit Analysis

The Goldbeck Forest Carbon Project is a VCS-registered improved forest management project in the southeastern US with a 50-year crediting period, verified by EPIC Sustainability Services. While the project has a 20% buffer pool, quantified 10% market leakage deduction, and confirmed additionality, the verification report (November 2025) lists 21 material findings and 25 corrective actions spanning ERR reproducibility, baseline justification, safeguards completeness, and internal inconsistencies. Six contradictions between the PDD and verification reports on fundamental parameters (additionality test type, leakage rate, buffer pool percentage, reversal events, benefit sharing, and ERR magnitude) significantly undermine confidence in the project's data integrity.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠21 material findings in the November 2025 verification report, including inability to reproduce net GHG ERR calculations and inconsistency in ERR reporting across MR sections
• ⚠25 corrective actions required, covering baseline justification, additionality assessment, allometric equations, model appropriateness, and market leakage documentation
• ⚠Six contradictions between the PDD (Jan 2023) and verification reports (Jan/Nov 2025) on additionality test type, leakage deduction, buffer pool percentage, reversal events, benefit sharing, and ERR magnitude
• ⚠Additionality test type contradicts between documents: 'common practice' (Nov 2025 VR) vs 'investment' (Jan 2025 VR), with a material finding citing insufficient justification for both baseline and additionality
• ⚠Buffer pool percentage contradicts: 20% (Nov 2025 VR) vs 11% (2023 appendix), creating uncertainty about the actual permanence safeguard level

Credit Vintages