# P01 — Verifiability by Design

SCD-P01 · Principle 1 of 10

Verifiability by Design

“If it cannot be checked, it does not count.”

Technical Layer

## Definition

Every metric in a climate claim must be independently verifiable by any third party — including AI agents — without requiring permission, credentials, or manual intervention from the originating organisation. Verification must be possible from the primary source data alone.

## Rationale

The EU Green Claims Directive (2024/825, enforcement September 2026) bans environmental claims that cannot be substantiated with publicly accessible evidence. AI audit tools already scan public data continuously; unverifiable claims are either invisible or automatically flagged as greenwashing. In 2026, verifiability is not a differentiator — it is the minimum floor for market credibility.

## Implementation Steps 1. Map every reported metric to its primary data source (satellite, government dataset, sensor). 2. Ensure the source is publicly accessible without authentication. 3. Document the verification pathway: source → method → aggregation → reported figure. 4. Test: ask an independent analyst to verify your top 5 climate claims using only public data. 5. Resolve any metric that cannot be independently verified before publication. ## Compliance Checklist

	Criterion	What it means
☐	Metric-to-source mapping exists	Every reported figure has a documented primary source.
☐	Sources are publicly accessible	No login or permission required to access primary sources.
☐	Verification pathway documented	Steps to reproduce any metric from scratch are written down.
☐	AI scan performed	Climate TRACE / GFW / EDGAR check confirms the org is findable.

## Regulatory References - EU Directive 2024/825 (Green Claims / EmpCo) — Art. 5, 6 - IPCC AR6 Working Group III — Chapter 2 (Emissions Methodologies) - ISSB IFRS S2 — Para. 63 (Disclosure verification) ## Recommended Tools and Platforms Climate TRACE Global Forest Watch EDGAR (EU JRC) Copernicus / ESA ## Keywords verifiability greenwashing EU Green Claims Directive AI audit ESG verification