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
Map every reported metric to its primary data source (satellite, government dataset, sensor).
Ensure the source is publicly accessible without authentication.
Document the verification pathway: source → method → aggregation → reported figure.
Test: ask an independent analyst to verify your top 5 climate claims using only public data.
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
  Related Principles: SCD-P02 · SCD-P03 · SCD-P07
  Document ID: SCD-P01  | 
  Version: 1.0.0  | 
  Last Updated: 2026-05-26  | 
  Category: Technical Quality  | 
  Source: CleantechHUB Sovereign Climate Data Framework  | 
  Licence: CC-BY 4.0
  
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