Quality Scoring

Every asset submitted to NCRB receives a programmatic quality score computed off-chain by the Oracle API and then stored on-chain via QualityAssessment. The score drives the asset's rating band, which in turn informs pricing on the marketplace.

Overview

The scoring system is designed to be:

Consistent — same framework across all 10 asset types
Aligned with industry standards — benchmarked against Sylvera, BeZero, ICVCM, and equivalent methodologies per asset class
Transparent — all dimension weights and band thresholds are readable on-chain via GET /api/quality-profiles/:assetType
Institutional-grade — mapping directly to rating conventions (AAA → Not Eligible) familiar to ESG procurement teams

Scoring Dimensions

Every asset type uses the same six dimensions, though the specific criteria within each dimension vary by asset class:

Dimension	Weight	What It Measures
Technical Quality	25%	Asset-specific quality bands (Sylvera ratings, USDA land classes, ore grades, FSC certification, distinctiveness level)
Additionality	20%	Evidence that the environmental benefit would not have occurred without the project (financial additionality, regulatory surplus)
Permanence	20%	Long-term durability of the environmental benefit — reversibility risk, guarantee mechanisms, covenant length (100+ years preferred)
Certification Level	15%	Rigour of the issuing registry and whether the asset has CCP-Approved or equivalent status
Social Impact	12%	Co-benefit certifications: CCB Gold, SDG alignment, Indigenous engagement, community employment
Vintage / Condition	8%	Asset age and data freshness — older vintages and stale monitoring data attract discounts

Total: 100%

Composite Score Calculation

Score = (TechnicalQuality × 0.25)
      + (Additionality    × 0.20)
      + (Permanence       × 0.20)
      + (CertificationLvl × 0.15)
      + (SocialImpact     × 0.12)
      + (VintageCondition × 0.08)

Each dimension is scored 0–100 by the Oracle API based on the parameters submitted with the certificate. The composite score is also 0–100.

Rating Bands

The composite score maps to one of five rating bands:

Band	Score Range	Description
AAA	85–100	Highest integrity — premium pricing
AA	75–84	High quality
A	65–74	Good quality
BBB	50–64	Minimum eligible — compliance-grade pricing
Not Eligible	< 50	Below threshold — cannot be tokenized on NCRB

The minimum score for tokenization is 50 (BBB).

The Social Impact dimension (12%) reflects co-benefits that command price premiums from institutional buyers. Corporate buyers including Microsoft, Google, and Meta explicitly require social impact verification in procurement criteria.

Co-benefit	Typical Price Premium
CCB Gold certification	+30–50%
SDG alignment (3+ goals)	+20–40%
Indigenous community engagement	+40–100%
Community employment > 50 FTE	+20–30%

These premiums are applied on top of the base band price range.

Asset-Specific Technical Quality Criteria

The Technical Quality dimension (25%) is the most asset-specific. Here is how it is applied per asset class:

Asset Class	Technical Quality Criteria
Carbon Credits	Sylvera / BeZero rating (minimum BBB); vintage within 5 years; third-party verification
Plastic Credits	Collection type (ocean-bound > landfill > recycling); geographic provenance tracking
Nitrogen Credits	Delivery ratio (0–1.0) — fraction of upstream reduction reaching the regulated water body
Phosphorus Credits	Delivery ratio (0–1.0) — phosphorus binds to sediment, transport dynamics differ from nitrogen
Agricultural Land	USDA Land Capability Classification: Class I (prime) → Class IV (limited); LESA score
Mining Rights	Reserve classification (NI 43-101 / JORC / S-K 1300); ore grade (g/t or equivalent)
Water Rights	Priority date seniority (senior > intermediate > junior); use type (municipal > industrial > agricultural)
Renewable Energy Credits	Source type; registry tier (APX, WREGIS, M-RETS); state compliance class (Class I > voluntary)
Forestry Rights	NHLA timber grade (FAS > No. 1 Common); FSC/SFI/ATFS certification level
Biodiversity Credits	UK Biodiversity Metric 4.0 distinctiveness (D6 Very High → D3 Medium minimum); NatureQuant index

On-Chain Storage

After the Oracle API computes the score, it writes it to the QualityAssessment contract:

Oracle API computes score
    │
    ▼
Oracle API calls QualityAssessment.recordAssessment(serialNumber, score, dimensions)
    │
    ▼
Score stored on-chain — immutable and auditable
    │
    ▼
ncrb-indexer reads QualityAssessment events
    │
    ▼
Score available via GET /api/quality-profiles/score/:serialNumber

Reading the Methodology

The current dimension weights and band thresholds for any asset type can be queried at runtime:

# Quality profile (dimensions + weights)
GET /api/quality-profiles/0       # assetType 0 = Carbon Credits

# Rating bands (score ranges + price multipliers)
GET /api/quality-profiles/0/bands

# Full methodology rules
GET /api/quality/methodology

The weights stored on-chain in QualityAssessment are the authoritative source. The database-side registry standards (/api/registry-standards/quality-parameters/:registryId/:assetTypeId) provide the registry-specific parameter definitions used as inputs.

Example: Assessing a Carbon Credit

POST /api/quality/assess

{
  "serialNumber": "VCS-2024-001-001",
  "assetType": 0,
  "network": "fuji",
  "parameters": {
    "vintage": 2022,
    "methodology": "VM0015",
    "registry": "verra",
    "sylveraRating": "A",
    "additionality": "financial",
    "permanenceGuarantee": "buffer_pool",
    "certificationLevel": "CCP_approved",
    "cobenefits": ["CCB_GOLD", "SDG_13", "SDG_15"],
    "indigenousEngagement": true
  }
}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "serialNumber": "VCS-2024-001-001",
    "score": 84,
    "band": "AA",
    "dimensions": {
      "technicalQuality": 85,
      "additionality": 80,
      "permanence": 88,
      "certificationLevel": 90,
      "socialImpact": 95,
      "vintageCondition": 60
    },
    "priceRange": {
      "min": 10,
      "max": 20,
      "unit": "USD/tCO2e",
      "premiumApplied": true,
      "premiumReason": "CCB Gold + Indigenous engagement"
    }
  }
}

Overview​

Scoring Dimensions​

Composite Score Calculation​

Rating Bands​

Social Impact Premium​

Asset-Specific Technical Quality Criteria​

On-Chain Storage​

Reading the Methodology​

Example: Assessing a Carbon Credit​