Choosing your Climate Dividends approach

Organizations can use Climate Dividends in different ways, ranging from simply applying the methodology to certifying their impact through Climate Dividends issuance:

Feature	Open Source Method	Self-Declared Claim	Certified Claim
Climate Dividends methodology	✅	✅	✅
Climate Dividends issuance	❌	❌	✅
Registry listing	❌	✅ Self-declared registry	✅ Official registry
Avoided emissions certification	❌	❌	✅
3rd party audit validation*	❌	❌	✅
Climate Dividends Distribution to financiers	❌	❌	✅
Communication support	❌	✅ Limited	✅
Cost	Free	Free without Climate Dividends support; otherwise standard Climate Dividends Application Fees	Climate Dividends Application Fees & Audit
Use case	Internal KPIs, pilot projects, R&D activities, projections for early stage startups	Internal KPIs, ESG reporting (without third-party assurance)	Audited KPIs for impact reporting to investors or stakeholders, for sustainability-linked loans, public claims

*list of accredited auditors

Which level should you choose?

Open Source Method

👉For organizations looking to explore and apply Climate Dividends methodologies independently.

Recommended for: early-stage users, pilots, internal assessments.

Self-Declared Claim

👉For organizations seeking greater transparency and public visibility through a structured Climate Dividends process, without third-party audit.

Recommended for: growing companies, first-time Climate Dividends users, transparency-driven organizations and companies preparing for future certification.

Certified Claim

👉For organizations putting their impact and avoided emissions at the core of their strategy - climate, commercial or financial.

Recommended for: scale-ups, mature climate companies, investment-backed businesses and companies seeking sustainability-linked loans (SLLs) or sustainable bank financing.

Starting with a self-declared claim can be a very good first step before moving to a certified claim the following year. It allows organizations to progressively structure their approach, familiarize themselves with the process and prepare more efficiently for the audit phase.