"Member" for the purposes of this section means any employee or subcontractor
of the verification body or related entities of the verification body. "Member"
also includes any individual with majority equity share in the verification
body or its related entities. "Related entity" for the purposes of this section
means any direct parent company, direct subsidiary, or sister company.
"Non-offset verification services" for purposes of this section do not include
independent, third-party certification or verification services which have been
provided for ARB or any other voluntary or mandatory program; such
certification and verification services may be counted as offset verification
services for the purposes of this section. The potential for a conflict of
interest must be deemed to be high where:
(2) Within the previous five years, any staff
member of the verification body or any related entity or any member of the
offset verification team has provided to the Offset Project Operator,
Authorized Project Designee, if applicable, and their technical consultant(s)
any of the following non-offset verification services:
(A) Designing, developing, implementing,
reviewing, or maintaining an inventory or offset project information or data
management system for air emissions or development of a forest management plan,
or timber harvest plan, unless the review was part of providing GHG offset
verification services;
(B)
Developing GHG emission factors or other GHG-related engineering analysis,
including developing or reviewing a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
GHG analysis that includes offset project specific information;
(C) Designing energy efficiency, renewable
power, or other projects which explicitly identify GHG reductions and GHG
removal enhancements as a benefit;
(D) Designing, developing, implementing,
internally auditing, consulting, or maintaining an offset project resulting in
GHG emission reductions and GHG removal enhancements;
(E) Owning, buying, selling, trading, or
retiring shares, stocks, or ARB offset credits or registry offset credits from
the offset project;
(F) Dealing in
or being a promoter of ARB offset credits or registry offset credits on behalf
of an Offset Project Operator, Authorized Project Designee, if applicable, and
their technical consultant(s);
(G)
Preparing or producing GHG-related manuals, handbooks, or procedures
specifically for the Offset Project Operator, Authorized Project Designee, if
applicable, and their technical consultant(s);
(H) Appraisal services of carbon or GHG
liabilities or assets;
(I)
Brokering in, advising on, or assisting in any way in carbon or GHG-related
markets;
(J) Directly responsible
for developing any health, environment or safety policies for the Offset
Project Operator, Authorized Project Designee, if applicable, and their
technical consultant(s);
(K)
Bookkeeping or other services related to the accounting records or financial
statements;
(L) Any service related
to information systems, including International Organization for
Standardization 14001 Certification for Environmental Management (ISO 14001
Certification), unless those systems will not be reviewed as part of the offset
verification process;
(M) Appraisal
and valuation services, both tangible and intangible;
(N) Fairness opinions and
contribution-in-kind reports in which the verification body has provided its
opinion on the adequacy of consideration in a transaction, unless the
information reviewed in formulating the Offset Verification Statement will not
be reviewed as part of the offset verification services;
(O) Any actuarially oriented advisory service
involving the determination of amounts recorded in financial statements and
related accounts;
(P) Any internal
audit service that has been outsourced by the Offset Project Operator,
Authorized Project Designee, if applicable, and their technical consultant(s)
that relates to the Offset Project Operator's, Authorized Project Designee's,
if applicable, and their technical consultant(s) internal accounting controls,
financial systems, or financial statements, unless the systems and data
reviewed during those services, as well as the result of those services will
not be part of the offset verification process;
(Q) Acting as a broker-dealer (registered or
unregistered), promoter, or underwriter on behalf of the Offset Project
Operator, Authorized Project Designee, if applicable, and their technical
consultant(s);
(R) Any legal
services; and
(S) Expert services
to the Offset Project Operator, Authorized Project Designee, if applicable, and
their technical consultant(s) or a legal representative for the purpose of
advocating the Offset Project Operator's, Authorized Project Designee's, if
applicable, and their technical consultant(s) interests in litigation or in a
regulatory or administrative proceeding or investigation, unless providing
factual testimony.