As Seen in Trellis: A wonky accounting device is becoming an essential part of climate strategies

In a Trellis article published December 4, 2025, Editor-at-Large Jim Giles takes a closer look at environmental attribute certificates and how they are helping drive new and catalytic investment to decarbonized fuels, technologies and services.  The article kicks off with a nod to the growing awareness of and implementation of programs using EACs, followed by a quote from GMA CEO Kim Carnahan:

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“This may have been the year when a somewhat wonky component of sustainability strategy — the environmental attribute certificate (EAC) — went mainstream. The past 12 months have seen certificates for low-emission products minted in multiple sectors, including cement, iron and carbon capture. In parallel, standard setters are close to giving companies greater leeway to use certificates in carbon accounting and target setting.

‘It definitely feels like this year something really clicked across the board — with buyers and suppliers, but also the standard setters seem to be getting it, the environmental NGOs, even governments,’ said Kim Carnahan, CEO of the nonprofit Center for Green Market Activation (GMA).'”

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The article continues with an exploration of various sectors where EACs are working to overcome market barriers, highlighting individual projects helping decarbonize data centers as well as buyers alliances that aggregate demand for low and zero emission solutions from groups of climate-leading companies, allowing them to send a stronger signal to the market and support growth in supply. These include programs that GMA co-manages alongside our NGO partners, including the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), Sustainable Concrete Buyers Alliance (SCoBA), zero-emission trucking and low-carbon chemicals.

Click here for the complete article.