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Carbon Ratings Methodology reaches version 2.0

The update introduces a non-compensatory MRV data quality floor and expands Biomass Atlas geospatial integration for forestry projects.

Methodology
15 January 2026
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SYNE Ratings today announced that its Carbon Ratings Methodology has reached version 2.0, introducing a non-compensatory data quality floor for MRV (Measurement, Reporting and Verification) evidence and expanding satellite-based Biomass Atlas geospatial integration for forestry projects.

Under the non-compensatory floor, a project can no longer offset weak MRV evidence with strong performance on other criteria such as additionality or co-benefits - MRV quality below the floor now caps the overall rating regardless of performance elsewhere, reflecting feedback from institutional buyers that verification quality is a gating factor, not simply one input among several.

The expanded Biomass Atlas integration adds higher-resolution canopy density and land-use change detection specifically for forestry and reforestation projects, reducing reliance on developer-submitted planting progress reports alone.

“Institutional buyers have been telling us for a while that weak MRV shouldn't be something a project can simply make up for elsewhere. Version 2.0 makes that explicit in the methodology itself, rather than leaving it to analyst judgment case by case.”

Isabelle Laurent, Head of Carbon Ratings, SYNE Ratings
About SYNE Ratings

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SYNE Ratings is an independent provider of ESG, sustainability, carbon and supplier ratings, licensed across 71 countries. SYNE's ratings are built on a shared, published methodology and a common AAA–D grade scale, and are positioned on the SYNE Index - a two-axis benchmark combining standards alignment with data quality and assurance.

SYNE operates under the EU ESG Ratings Regulation (ESMA 2023/2631) and the FCA Code of Conduct, and has adopted equivalent voluntary codes in other markets including Singapore's MAS and Japan's FSA. SYNE Ratings is incorporated as SYNE Limited (United Kingdom and New Zealand), SYNE Australia Pty Limited, SYNE Ratings Private Limited (India), and SYNE Inc. (Canada and the United States).

Media contact: press@syneratings.com