Digital Ledger Issuance & Settlement for UN SDG Projects
Challenge
Community biogas programmes across rural regions deliver clear climate and social benefits, yet they consistently struggle to access reliable carbon finance. Fragmented registries, manual processes, delayed settlement, and limited market access mean carbon revenues often fail to reach the communities maintaining the infrastructure. As a result, biogas digesters fall into disrepair, rural electrification remains unreliable, and critical co-benefits such as improved health, safety, water access, and economic resilience, are put at risk despite strong alignment with UN SDGs and IFC-backed development models.
Solution
Digitisation
We enable the digitisation of these credits by providing a blockchain ledger to UCR integrated into ZERO13.
Registry & Sale
ZERO13 ensures that project developers working with their partners such as carbon credits supply-side aggregation brokers are able to digitally trade and settle the credits into the market efficiently.
Transparency
Project developers get the best price with real-time delivery-versus-payment to confirm that buyers obtain the credits they paid for and the supplier secure the funds from the sale.
The partnership between UCR and ZERO13 provides the digital market infrastructure required to transform community biogas programmes into bankable, investable climate assets. By enabling blockchain-based issuance, registry integration, and real-time settlement of carbon credits, ZERO13 ensures that carbon finance flows efficiently, transparently, and securely from global buyers to on-the-ground projects. This creates sustainable funding mechanisms that support not only emissions reduction, but long-term community infrastructure such as biogas, rainwater harvesting, and off-grid solar systems.
Outcome
Project developers unlock previously inaccessible revenue streams and predictable, long-term cashflows for carbon reduction initiatives, underpinned by trusted, auditable digital infrastructure.
Buyers and investors gain access to high-integrity, fully traceable carbon credits, supported by immutable on-chain data and independent verification. Credits are measurable, auditable, tokenised and tradeable, with efficient access to both spot and forward markets.
Local communities benefit from protected, transparent socio-economic funding flows that support essential infrastructure, strengthen project resilience, and reduce political, operational, and reputational risk.
Collectively, this delivers improved market liquidity, stronger investor confidence, and a scalable, governance-led pathway to finance renewable energy and decarbonisation projects at scale.
How It Works
- Carbon credits generated by community biogas programmes are digitised on a secure blockchain ledger through ZERO13’s infrastructure, integrated with partner registries such as UCR.
- Project developers and aggregation partners can issue, trade, and settle credits digitally via ZERO13-enabled marketplaces.
- Delivery-versus-payment mechanisms ensure buyers receive verified credits while suppliers receive funds instantly.
- Real-time data and immutable records provide transparency, prevent double counting, and support compliance and auditability.
- The system ensures pricing efficiency and continuous cashflow, directly supporting project operation and community benefit delivery.
ZERO13’s 7Cs
Climate:
Verified emissions reductions are generated through community biogas systems that replace fossil fuels and traditional biomass, directly contributing to decarbonisation while improving local environmental conditions.
Carbon/Commodities:
Carbon credits from biogas programmes are digitally issued, registered, traded and settled on ZERO13-enabled infrastructure, ensuring integrity, traceability, and protection against double counting.
Capital:
Institutional and corporate climate capital is efficiently channelled into rural biogas projects through real-time delivery-versus-payment settlement, unlocking sustainable cashflows for long-term project viability.
Communities:
Carbon revenues directly support community infrastructure such as functioning biogas digesters, clean cooking, rainwater harvesting, and off-grid solar, improving health, safety, energy access, and household economic resilience.
Companies:
Project developers, aggregation partners, and buyers benefit from transparent pricing, efficient settlement, and trusted digital market access, reducing friction across the carbon value chain.
Countries:
The programmes align with national climate commitments and UN SDGs, supporting government objectives around rural electrification, public health, energy security, and sustainable development.
Connectivity:
Blockchain-led digital rails connect local community projects to global carbon markets, registries, and buyers, ensuring that verified climate action translates into real financial flows and measurable impact.
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