Third-Party Verification

How independent third parties provide assurance across the Carrot ecosystem — from facility audits to dMRV evidence review.

Independent assurance around Carrot's dMRV verification

A recycling or carbon credit should not rest on Carrot's word alone. Carrot's digital MRV (dMRV) system runs the verification: it executes each methodology's rules deterministically, and where a rule cannot be settled by code, a recorded human decision applies. Parties independent of Carrot provide the assurance around it: independent auditors verify facilities on site, validation and verification bodies (VVBs) validate methodology frameworks and audit the evidence where a methodology, program, or market requires it, and anyone can check the records on the public registry.

This separation between Carrot's operations and independent assurance is what lets a buyer check a credit instead of taking the seller's word for it. Every rule outcome and every recorded decision stays reviewable.

For the broader role map, including where VVBs and auditors sit in the crediting system, see Credit Ecosystem Roles.

Four levels of validation

Each level addresses a different dimension of trust — from physical operations to digital rule execution.

Level	What is validated	Who validates
Facility audit	Physical inspection of recycling and biological treatment facilities. Verifies that the facility operates as claimed and meets the requirements defined in the methodology.	Independent auditors
Accreditation	Document and process validation. Verifies the accreditation of Network Integrators, Processors, and Recyclers — and of a Waste Generator, when present — covering documentation, licensing, and operational capacity.	Independent auditors for facilities; Carrot's accreditation process for Network Integrators
Methodology framework validation	The methodology framework (MvF) is validated against the source scientific methodology. Ensures the operational rules faithfully represent the scientific basis.	Validation/Verification Bodies (VVBs), where the methodology, program, or market requires it; approval for use on the network is Carrot's process
dMRV execution	The automated verification application (MvA) runs methodology rules against supply chain data. Execution results, rule runs, and inputs remain platform data; selected commitments are recorded on the public registry.	Carrot's deterministic software, with recorded human decisions where a rule cannot be settled by code; rule outcomes are public in the Carrot Registry, and the evidence is open to audit by VVBs where required

Where a rule cannot be settled by code it returns an indeterminate result, and the judgment is made by a decision recorded on Carrot's side — approve or reject, each with a mandatory written justification and a named reviewer. If the review window closes with no decision, the outstanding rules are rejected automatically and the verification fails. Those decisions are preserved with the verification run, so external assurance can review both the rule outcomes and the judgments applied to them.

What Carrot does vs. what third parties do

Carrot — infrastructure and approval

Carrot provides the infrastructure that orchestrates and records dMRV execution. It approves methodologies, methodology verification frameworks, and third-party dMRV applications for use on the Carrot Network, then runs approved framework criteria against submitted data and preserves the resulting evidence.

It does not replace external assurance: its role in verification is to execute approved criteria, record outcomes, and make the evidence reviewable.

Carrot's infrastructure includes:

Validating data inputs against approved framework criteria
Executing calculations and eligibility or exclusion rules
Recording digital evidence and audit trails, including versions, events, and automated and human decisions
Applying integrity controls and double-counting prevention, including across overlapping methodologies

Third parties — independent assurance

Validation/Verification Bodies, independent auditors, and other approved assurance providers review the evidence and governance process with scope and depth defined by the applicable methodology, framework, accreditation process, or market requirement.

They may:

Validate MvF fidelity against the source methodology
Evaluate whether the MvA faithfully implements the MvF
Review the digital evidence package generated by Carrot's dMRV system and perform tests, sampling, and additional audits
Issue independent reports with findings, non-conformities, and recommendations

The evidence package

Carrot's dMRV system records the evidence behind each verification — the data and documents evaluated, the rule outcomes, and any recorded decisions — so that VVBs and other assurance providers can use it in their independent analysis. The Carrot Registry shows the rule runs and outcomes of MassID verifications. This evidence is the interface between automated verification and human judgment.