Voluntary Carbon Market

Thurstan has substantial experience working in the Voluntary Carbon Markets.

Since becoming independent in early 2025, Thurstan has worked on a range of carbon-related activities, including:

• Advising a major food services operator on procurement strategy for carbon removals

• Conducting a feasibility study into the potential for carbon credit development within the Macadamia sector in Malawi

• Authoring a paper on best practice for integrating carbon credits into Biodiversity Challenge Fund projects

• Leading a pre-feasibility assessment of an EV-based carbon project in South Asia

• Providing strategic advisory services in relation to Biodiversity Resilience Assets

Before this, between 2022 and 2025, Thurstan was a Senior Carbon Expert and Project Manager at SilviCarbon, which is a nature-based carbon removals project developer. He has experience working with a wide range of nature-based project types including: ARR, IFM, Avoided Planned Deforestation, Avoided Peatland Conversion, and Blue Carbon.

Thurstan’s work at SilviCarbon covered:

• Scoping, project managing and contributing to nature-based carbon removal offset projects in countries such as Laos, Paraguay and Australia.

• Managing Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) certification for nature-based carbon offset projects in Paraguay and Laos, demonstrating that the projects have a net positive impact on their surroundings.

• ARR Project Design Description (PDD) document development

• Leading VCU Project Assessments to determine whether carbon credits are suitable for purchase for SilviCarbon clients.

• Following the latest developments in nature-based carbon offset methodologies and co-benefits standards in the Voluntary Carbon Market and advising clients on which methodologies and standards to use.

• Undertaking research for a range of clients, including deep dives into carbon insetting for wood-based products, Ethereum blockchain GHG emissions, carbon offset labelling, EU carbon removals policy and carbon accounting frameworks for RNG for a range of clients including leading European Forestry companies, a climate and blockchain firm and a multinational private equity group.

• Responding to RFPs for the sale of carbon credits from SilviCarbon projects

• Assessing projects for SD VISta certification

Between 2012 and 2015, Thurstan also worked in the compliance carbon market, working as a Senior Analyst for a carbon trading advisory firm called IDEAcarbon.

Services offered

• PDD writing

• CCB PD writing

• Feasibility studies

• Pre-feasibility studies

• Project screening (offered via Asega Carbon Ltd.)

• Research

Thought Leadership on Voluntary Carbon Markets

• How can you plant a tree, cut it down, and still issue a carbon-offset credit? Legitimately—but it’s a little complicated!

• What drives the price of carbon credits in the Voluntary Carbon Market?

• Are carbon offsets really a good thing?

Image by Joe from Pixabay