SBTi CNZS v2 is here: commodity EACs are now part of the Scope 3 implementation toolkit. See what changed

Verified Commodity EAC Infrastructure

From low-carbon production to audit-ready Scope 3 documentation.

S3 Markets provides the market infrastructure for verified commodity Environmental Attribute Certificates, helping producers monetize low-carbon production and helping buyers take credible action across hard-to-abate supply chains.

The platform connects verified production, serialized certificate issuance, controlled transfer, retirement, and documentation in one system of record.

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Scope 3 Category 1 Commodity EACs Book and Claim Standards-Aligned Audit-Ready Documentation
Certificate Lifecycle
01 Production
02 Issuance
03 Transfer
04 Retirement
05 Documentation
System of record

S3 Markets turns verified low-carbon production into usable market instruments.

In many industrial supply chains, the company that pays for decarbonization is not always the company that physically receives the lower-carbon material. S3 Markets solves this by creating a trusted certificate infrastructure for low-carbon commodity attributes. Each certificate is linked to verified production, issued with clear chain-of-custody controls, and retired with documentation that supports credible Scope 3 action.

S3 Markets does not replace physical procurement. It creates the market rails that allow environmental attributes from verified low-carbon production to be allocated, transferred, retired, and documented.

The S3 lifecycle

A clear path from producer data to buyer documentation.

01

Verify Production

Verify low-carbon production

A producer generates low-carbon output such as ammonia, fertilizer, cement, concrete, steel, copper, plastics, or freight services. S3 Markets works with the producer to capture the relevant production data, emissions data, allocation logic, and supporting documentation needed to establish the environmental attribute.

Inputs

  • Production volumes
  • Product or commodity type
  • Facility or project information
  • Carbon intensity data
  • Baseline or reference case information
  • Third-party verification or supporting documentation where available

Outputs

  • Eligible production record
  • Defined attribute quantity
  • Documentation package
  • Issuance-ready data set

For buyers: Gives buyers confidence that certificates are tied to real production activity.

For producers: Creates a structured path to turn low-carbon output into marketable environmental attributes.

02

Issue Certificates

Issue serialized commodity EACs

S3 Markets issues serialized Environmental Attribute Certificates that represent the verified environmental attributes associated with eligible low-carbon production. Each certificate is uniquely tracked, linked to its production record, and managed through the S3 Markets system of record.

Inputs

  • Verified production record
  • Eligible attribute quantity
  • Certificate issuance rules
  • Producer authorization

Outputs

  • Serialized EACs
  • Certificate metadata
  • Traceable issuance record
  • Digital audit trail

For buyers: Creates a clear instrument that can be purchased, transferred, and retired.

For producers: Provides an issuance pathway for low-carbon attributes without requiring the producer to build its own registry infrastructure.

03

Allocate Attributes

Allocate attributes with clear chain-of-custody controls

S3 Markets manages the allocation of environmental attributes so that certificates are not over-issued, double-sold, or double-retired. The system tracks which attributes are available, which have been transferred, and which have been retired.

Inputs

  • Issued certificates
  • Ownership or entitlement rules
  • Buyer allocation instructions
  • Market transaction details

Outputs

  • Controlled allocation record
  • Transfer eligibility status
  • Buyer-specific certificate inventory
  • Chain-of-custody evidence

For buyers: Supports credible ownership and use of purchased certificates.

For producers: Protects against confusion around which attributes have been sold, transferred, or retained.

04

Transfer

Transfer certificates through controlled market rails

Certificates can be transferred to approved buyers through controlled market infrastructure. S3 Markets supports direct producer-to-buyer transactions, buyer-led procurements, and structured market-making workflows where S3 helps connect supply and demand.

Inputs

  • Approved buyer account
  • Available certificates
  • Commercial agreement
  • Transfer authorization

Outputs

  • Completed certificate transfer
  • Updated ownership record
  • Transaction history
  • Buyer inventory record

For buyers: Makes it easier to access low-carbon commodity attributes even when physical supply chains are complex.

For producers: Creates a route to market for attributes that may otherwise be difficult to monetize.

05

Retire

Retire certificates for Scope 3 action

When a buyer is ready to use certificates, S3 Markets retires them in the buyer's name. Retirement removes the certificate from circulation and creates a permanent record of the buyer, certificate quantity, commodity category, production linkage, and supporting documentation.

Inputs

  • Buyer retirement instruction
  • Certificate inventory
  • Claim period or reporting context
  • Retirement purpose

Outputs

  • Retirement record
  • Buyer-specific retirement statement
  • Audit-ready documentation
  • Permanent removal from circulation

For buyers: Creates the documentation needed to support Scope 3 implementation and external reporting.

For producers: Demonstrates that low-carbon attributes were used by a real downstream buyer.

06

Document

Generate documentation for reporting, assurance, and claims

S3 Markets provides documentation packages that help buyers, producers, and auditors understand what was issued, transferred, retired, and claimed. The goal is to make the certificate lifecycle transparent, traceable, and ready for review.

Inputs

  • Production records
  • Issuance records
  • Transfer records
  • Retirement records
  • Supporting verification documentation

Outputs

  • Audit package
  • Certificate history
  • Retirement confirmation
  • Claim support materials
  • Data export where needed

For buyers: Supports internal governance, external reporting, and assurance review.

For producers: Provides a clean record of how issued attributes moved through the market.

For buyers

For buyers: act beyond your direct suppliers.

S3 Markets helps companies support decarbonization in the upstream industrial systems that drive Scope 3 emissions.

Many companies have Scope 3 targets but limited ability to directly influence every tier of their supply chain. Commodity EACs give buyers a way to support verified low-carbon production in sectors such as fertilizer, cement, steel, copper, plastics, and freight, even when physical procurement pathways are constrained.

Scope 3 Category 1 action

Support verified low-carbon commodity production connected to purchased goods and services.

Supplier engagement support

Complement direct supplier engagement with market-based tools that can reach deeper into tier 2 through tier N supply chains.

Procurement-linked decarbonization

Use certificates to support industrial decarbonization even when a direct physical supply contract is not available.

Audit-ready documentation

Receive retirement records and supporting documentation that can be reviewed by internal teams, reporting stakeholders, and assurance providers.

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For producers

For producers: turn low-carbon production into marketable attributes.

S3 Markets gives producers the infrastructure to issue, manage, and sell environmental attributes without building a registry from scratch.

Low-carbon producers often have valuable environmental attributes but lack a trusted, scalable way to issue certificates, manage ownership, and transact with buyers. S3 Markets provides the system of record for certificate issuance, allocation, transfer, retirement, and documentation.

Monetize low-carbon output

Create a new revenue pathway tied to verified low-carbon production.

Support strategic customers

Give downstream buyers a credible mechanism to support and document Scope 3 action.

Avoid double counting

Use controlled issuance, transfer, and retirement records to reduce the risk of duplicate claims.

Launch faster

Use S3 Markets as the certificate infrastructure layer instead of building internal tooling or a standalone registry.

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Flexible market models

S3 Markets supports both producer-led and buyer-led pathways.

Producer-led issuance

A producer uses S3 Markets to issue certificates for eligible low-carbon production, then allocates or sells those certificates to buyers.

Buyer-led procurement

A buyer works with S3 Markets to identify relevant commodity categories, available supply, and certificate opportunities aligned with its Scope 3 priorities.

S3-supported market making

S3 Markets helps connect buyers and producers where there is a strong match between available low-carbon supply and buyer demand.

System-of-record support

S3 Markets can support producers, buyers, and partners as the infrastructure layer for issuance, transfer, retirement, and documentation.

Built for standards-aligned implementation.

S3 Markets is designed to support high-integrity use of commodity EACs by combining verified production data, proportional attribute allocation, serialized issuance, controlled transfer, retirement, and claims documentation.

Verified production

Certificates should be tied to real low-carbon production activity and supported by appropriate data and documentation.

Clear attribute ownership

The system should make it clear who owns the environmental attribute at each stage of the lifecycle.

No double issuance or double retirement

Certificates should not be issued, sold, transferred, or retired more than once.

Transparent chain of custody

The movement of certificates should be traceable from issuance through retirement.

Claims controls

Buyers should receive documentation that helps them make careful, supportable claims.

Auditability

The system should preserve records that can be reviewed by customers, auditors, assurance providers, and reporting stakeholders.

Reference points
  • SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard v2
  • GHG Protocol market-based approaches and AMI discussions
  • AIM Platform guidance
  • ISO 22095 chain-of-custody principles
  • Commodity-specific verification frameworks where applicable

S3 Markets provides infrastructure and documentation to support standards-aligned implementation. Final accounting, reporting, and claims decisions remain the responsibility of the buyer and its advisors.

The trust layer for commodity EACs.

S3 Markets is designed to give all parties a shared source of truth. Producers need confidence that their attributes are issued and monetized correctly. Buyers need confidence that certificates are traceable, retired, and documented. Auditors need records that are clear enough to review.

Serialized certificates

Each certificate has a unique record and lifecycle.

Controlled transfers

Certificates move through defined transfer pathways rather than informal spreadsheet tracking.

Retirement records

Retired certificates are removed from circulation and linked to a buyer-specific retirement record.

Documentation packages

Relevant production, issuance, transfer, and retirement information is assembled for review.

Digital audit trail

The platform preserves a record of certificate activity across the lifecycle.

Example flow

Example: low-carbon fertilizer EACs

A producer generates low-carbon ammonia or fertilizer. S3 Markets verifies the eligible production record and issues serialized certificates representing the associated environmental attributes. A food, beverage, or agriculture buyer purchases and retires those certificates to support Scope 3 action connected to agricultural supply chains.

The same infrastructure can apply across other hard-to-abate commodity markets, including cement, concrete, steel, copper, plastics, and freight.

  1. Producer generates eligible low-carbon fertilizer output.
  2. S3 Markets reviews production and emissions documentation.
  3. Certificates are issued and linked to the verified production record.
  4. A buyer purchases certificates associated with the relevant commodity category.
  5. Certificates are transferred into the buyer's account.
  6. The buyer retires the certificates for a specific reporting or claims purpose.
  7. S3 Markets provides retirement documentation and an audit-ready certificate history.

Why this is different from traditional offsets or generic supplier engagement.

Traditional offsets

Often finance emissions reductions outside a company's value chain and may not be tied to the industrial commodities driving Scope 3 emissions.

Supplier engagement alone

Important but often limited by direct supplier boundaries, long procurement cycles, fragmented data, and lack of influence over tier 2 through tier N suppliers.

S3 commodity EACs

Designed to connect buyer capital to verified low-carbon production in the industrial commodity markets that sit inside or adjacent to Scope 3 supply chains.

S3 Markets creates a practical bridge between corporate Scope 3 demand and low-carbon industrial supply.

Looking to buy commodity EACs?

Tell us which Scope 3 categories, commodities, or supply chains matter most to your organization. We can help you understand available pathways.

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Producing low-carbon materials?

S3 Markets can help you evaluate whether your production is eligible for certificate issuance and connect you with potential buyers.

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Common questions

What is a commodity EAC?

A commodity Environmental Attribute Certificate is a tracked instrument representing the environmental attributes associated with eligible low-carbon commodity production. It allows those attributes to be issued, transferred, retired, and documented separately from the physical commodity where appropriate.

Is this the same as an offset?

No. S3 Markets is focused on commodity-linked environmental attributes tied to low-carbon industrial production. The goal is to help buyers support decarbonization in the supply chains and commodity systems connected to their Scope 3 inventory.

Does the buyer need to physically receive the low-carbon product?

Not always. Some use cases may involve physical supply, while others may use book-and-claim or certificate-based approaches where the environmental attribute is separated from the physical commodity. The appropriate structure depends on the commodity, standard, claim, and buyer context.

How does S3 Markets reduce double counting risk?

S3 Markets uses serialized issuance, controlled transfer, retirement records, and documentation to track certificate ownership and usage across the lifecycle.

Who can issue certificates?

Eligible low-carbon commodity producers can work with S3 Markets to evaluate production data, documentation, and issuance requirements.

Who can buy certificates?

Corporate buyers, procurement teams, sustainability teams, and supply chain leaders can use S3 Markets to explore certificates connected to relevant commodity categories.

What happens when a certificate is retired?

Retirement removes the certificate from circulation and creates a permanent record showing that the certificate has been used by a specific buyer for a specific purpose.

What documentation does S3 provide?

S3 Markets can provide production linkage, issuance records, transfer history, retirement confirmation, certificate metadata, and supporting documentation depending on the transaction and commodity.

Ready to build the market for industrial decarbonization?

S3 Markets connects verified low-carbon commodity supply with Scope 3 demand through trusted certificate infrastructure.

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