Draft Criteria
Draft AIM Platform Criteria
The first draft of the AIM Platform Criteria was released on May 22, 2024, for stakeholder input. These criteria were written to guide organizations seeking to address emissions in their value chain through “value chain interventions.” They focused on clarifying the AIM Platform’s perspective on what needed to be in place for an intervention to be considered sufficiently associated with an organization’s value chain, as well as the conditions required to ensure sound GHG accounting, environmental integrity, and appropriate claiming of impacts toward a climate target. To support stakeholder engagement, the draft included a set of targeted questions from the AIM Platform Governing Committee, intended to inform further deliberation and the eventual adoption of the Criteria.
During the comment period, the AIM Platform received valuable feedback from 31 entities, including 12 non-profits and 19 corporations across a wide range of sectors. This feedback was thoroughly reviewed by the Governing Committee and directly informed revisions to the Criteria.
A key outcome of the feedback process was the decision to divide the draft Criteria into two separate publications: the Association Test and the Intervention Quality, Accounting, and Reporting (QAR) Standard and Guidance. This restructuring allows each component to undergo focused pilot testing and dedicated stakeholder feedback periods. While the two documents are being developed and refined independently, the AIM Platform intends to ultimately combine them into the finalized AIM Platform Standard and Guidance, set for release in early 2026.
Association Test
The Association Test provides requirements and guidance that allows companies to confidently determine if a decarbonization investment (“intervention”) they want to pursue is associated with the company’s value chain. Assessing if an intervention is associated with a company’s value chain is a critical step to determining if the investment can count towards a company’s climate target.
The Intervention Quality, Accounting, and Reporting (QAR) Standard and Guidance
Building on the intervention quality criteria outlined in Criteria 2–11 of the draft AIM Platform Criteria, the QAR Standard guides companies on how to account for and report on interventions that are deemed “associated with the value chain,” as defined by the Association Test.