Reading Trust Cards
Understand the three Trust Card layers, the five scoring dimensions, and how the AAA to D grade scale works.
What you will learn
The Trust Card is the heart of CarbSet. It is how the platform tells you, at a glance and then in depth, how much confidence a credit deserves. This article explains the three layers of the card, what each of the five scoring dimensions means, and how to read the AAA to D grade scale.
All quality assessments on CarbSet are currently provisional. This means scores have not yet been independently verified by an external assessor. A Provisional badge is shown wherever a grade appears.
The three layers
The Trust Card presents the same underlying assessment at three levels of detail, so you can move from a quick scan to a full audit.
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Layer 1, compact. Shown on every listing card in the marketplace grid. It carries the grade badge (for example AA) and the composite score out of 100. This is enough to compare listings quickly.
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Layer 2, full. Shown on the listing detail page. It expands the single grade into the five scored dimensions, adds a defensibility summary written in plain language, shows evidence chips, a claim-suitability pill, and a freshness indicator telling you how recent the assessment is.
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Layer 3, evidence. The deepest layer, reached by expanding the evidence section. It lists the specific evidence links behind each dimension, so you can follow a claim back to its source rather than taking the score on trust.
The five dimensions
The composite score is built from five dimensions, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted equally.
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Additionality. Would the emissions reduction or removal have happened anyway without the credit revenue? High additionality means the project genuinely depends on carbon finance.
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Permanence. How durable is the outcome? A removal that could reverse (for example forest that might burn) scores lower than one that is locked away for the long term.
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Measurement. How accurately is the impact quantified? This covers the rigour of the monitoring, the data quality, and how conservative the estimates are.
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Co-benefits. What else does the project deliver, such as biodiversity, clean water, community income, gender equity, or education? Strong co-benefits raise the score.
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Verification. How independent and thorough was the third-party checking? This reflects the strength of the auditing behind the project's claims.
The AAA to D scale
The composite score is the equal-weighted average of the five dimensions, mapped to a letter grade. AAA is the best; D is the worst.
| Grade | Composite score |
|---|---|
| AAA | 90 to 100 |
| AA | 80 to 89 |
| A | 70 to 79 |
| BBB | 60 to 69 |
| BB | 50 to 59 |
| B | 40 to 49 |
| CCC | 30 to 39 |
| D | below 30 |
This is a financial-style scale, deliberately similar to a credit rating, because CarbSet treats quality as a serious signal rather than a marketing label. A BBB credit is not a failure; it may be exactly right for a lower-stakes voluntary offset. What matters is that the grade is honest about the evidence.
How to read a grade well
Do not stop at the letter. A grade is a summary, and CarbSet gives you the parts it summarises so you can judge for yourself. Open Layer 2, check which dimensions are strong and which drag the score down, then open Layer 3 to read the evidence. Because scores are provisional for now, this habit matters more, not less.