Open protocol for environmental claims

Open dMRV

The Open dMRV Protocol is a modular, industry-agnostic technical layer for monitoring, reporting and verification—designed to let evidence, claims and assurance travel across organisations without centralising custody or control.

Explore the five actions Follow the protocol

01 / Protocol

MRV coordination, stripped to its essentials.

The protocol standardises who participates, what action is being performed and which evidence or methodology reference applies. It does not prescribe how soil carbon, biomass or any other outcome must be calculated.

Pipeline validation

The five-action sequence

register → monitor → report → verify → attest is a complete minimal MRV flow.

Three necessary guardrails

The Field is the monitored subject, not an autonomous organisation.
Verification must be independent of the report producer.
Attestation is a signed standards-aligned statement; issuance remains outside the core protocol.

02 / Actors

Multiple actors. One accountable chain.

The protocol defines roles rather than fixed organisations. A person, government department, company or software service may perform a role, but every action records the accountable party and the agent acting on its behalf.

Protocol entity · not an actor

Monitored Subject

The thing, place, activity or system being measured—for example a land parcel, administrative unit, facility, ecosystem, supply chain or programme.

Control and consent

Subject Controller

Controls, manages or has legal responsibility for the Monitored Subject and authorises its participation.

Coordination

Implementer

Establishes the MRV activity, selects the applicable standard and coordinates the participating roles.

Observation

Measurement Provider

Produces observations through devices, applications, laboratories, surveys or administrative systems.

Interpretation

Reporting Provider

Converts monitoring evidence into a structured result using the referenced external methodology.

Independent control

Assurance Provider

Independently checks evidence quality, provenance, calculations, methodology application and reproducibility.

Rules and methodology

Standards Authority

Publishes or recognises the methodology, controls its versions and defines conformance requirements.

Authoritative endorsement

Attesting Authority

Issues the signed authoritative statement binding the subject, report, verification result and methodology version.

Mandatory separation of duties

The actor performing verify must be independent of the actor responsible for report. The Standards Authority and Attesting Authority may also be different organisations.

03 / Actions

The complete protocol in five verbs.

Every action identifies the project, field, initiating role, receiving role, timestamp, evidence references and methodology reference where applicable.

01

register
Establish the project context.

Register the field, farmer, implementer, measurement systems, permissions and selected methodology identifier and version.

Initiator

Project Implementer

Responders

Farmer · Measurement System · Standards Registry
02

monitor
Capture observations.

Observe the field using satellite imagery, sensors, laboratory tests, ground surveys or signed manual records.

Initiator

Measurement System

Contributors

Farmer · Project Implementer
03

report
Package findings under the selected method.

Transform the monitoring evidence into the measurements and claims required by the referenced methodology.

Initiator

Project Implementer

Inputs

Measurement Systems · Farmer declarations
04

verify
Test the quality of the evidence.

Check completeness, provenance, calibration, sampling, integrity and whether the reported result can be reproduced.

Initiator

Assurance Provider

Responders

Project Implementer · Measurement Systems
05

attest
Issue a signed standards-aligned statement.

Bind the verified report, verification result and exact methodology version into a tamper-evident attestation.

Initiator

Authorised Attestor

Recipient

Standards Registry · Project Implementer

04 / Government profiles

Five high-value applications for government.

Each profile uses the same five actions to turn distributed observations into a traceable claim, independent assurance and an authoritative public outcome.

Government profile	Example claim	Evidence base	Assurance and attestation
01Land-use change and DEGURBA classification	A 1 km² grid or administrative unit changed from rural to urban under the referenced DEGURBA version.	Population grids, satellite imagery, built-up layers, administrative boundaries and cadastral records.	An independent geospatial or statistical reviewer verifies the classification; the planning or statistics authority attests the official release.
02Public infrastructure completion and performance	A public asset was completed to its approved dimensions and specification and meets the stated performance target.	Drone surveys, BIM or GIS models, material tests, sensor data, inspection records, invoices and geotagged photographs.	An independent engineer verifies delivery and performance; the responsible public works authority attests acceptance.
03Environmental compliance	A facility, project or jurisdiction remained within its authorised air, water, waste or land-use limits during the reporting period.	Continuous monitoring, laboratory samples, calibration logs, permits, waste manifests, inspections and satellite observations.	An accredited auditor or laboratory verifies the evidence; the environmental regulator attests the compliance outcome.
04Agricultural scheme implementation	Enrolled farms implemented the required soil, water, crop or land-management practices and achieved the reported result.	Farm boundaries, satellite imagery, IoT sensors, field surveys, laboratory tests, input records and farmer declarations.	An independent assessor verifies adoption and results; the agriculture department or programme authority attests the scheme outcome.
05Biodiversity and ecosystem-condition accounting	A restoration or conservation programme produced a measurable improvement in habitat condition, extent or species diversity.	Habitat maps, field plots, species observations, camera traps, acoustic sensors, eDNA, remote sensing and restoration records.	An independent ecological expert verifies the assessment; the biodiversity board, forest department or environmental authority attests the result.

One protocol pattern

For every profile, register establishes the subject, actors, systems and methodology; monitor captures evidence; report makes the claim; verify independently tests it; and attest records the authorised outcome.

Discussion draft

The first public release is coming soon.

The white paper and first protocol version will formalise the actor identities, five action messages, minimum evidence references, signatures and conformance rules.

Watch the repository

01Actor and role model

02Five action schemas

03Evidence and signature rules

04Agriculture reference flow