The Value Change Initiative (VCI) is launching a chemicals cohort within its Market-Based Instruments Program, supporting companies to integrate MBIs into their Scope 3 strategies through expert-led sessions, case studies, and peer collaboration.

Why chemicals, and why now

Decarbonizing the chemicals sector is particularly challenging: emissions are high, value chains are complex, and many impactful value chain interventions cannot be captured under current corporate GHG inventories due to physical traceability constraints.

Market-based instruments are emerging as a scalable alternative to let companies account for their Scope 3 action and scale climate impact across the sector.

MBIs are emerging to scale value chain decarbonization in the sector, but their application remains unclear. Companies face open questions around definitions, co-investment models, and a consistent approach for how to account for and report MBI-based action.

The MBI Program is designed to help address this gap.

What the chemicals cohort will do

Participants will work together to:

– Map the MBI landscape across direct and indirect emissions, and build a library of real-world use cases across sectors

– Define credibility criteria to ensure robust and verifiable approaches greenwashing risks

– Contribute to emerging standards such as the SBTi’s Corporate Net Zero Standard and the GHG Protocol’s Actions and Market Instruments program

The chemicals cohort is part of the broader MBI Program, an ongoing multi-sector initiative to build shared understanding of how MBIs can support credible Scope 3 action. The program kicked off with the Food & Agriculture cohort in fall 2025, with further cohort expansions expected as the program evolves. Participants from each sector will contribute insights that inform shared, cross-sector guidance, with new cohorts being welcomed with dedicated catchup sessions.

Why join

Shape how MBIs are used in your sector
Influence how MBIs are defined, governed and recognized in Scope 3 reporting.

Move faster on implementation
Develop approaches you can begin applying now, without waiting for standards to finalize.

Learn from real use cases, not theory
Test design choices, data needs, and accounting approaches with peers.

Join a network that understands your challenges
Collaborate with companies facing similar Scope 3 challenges in emissions-intensive, infrastructure-heavy supply chains.

Focus areas for the chemical sector

The program’s first output, the Definition and Taxonomy of Market-Based Instruments, establishes a common foundation for how MBIs are defined and categorized. The chemicals cohort takes this foundation and applies it to the specific realities of an emissions-intensive sector with complex value chains.

Explored topics include:

– Feedstock transition: Applying MBIs to support shifts to bio-based, circular, and e-fuel feedstocks

– Decarbonization of shared assets: Exploring how to allocate emissions reductions from shared infrastructure such as steam crackers

– Integration with supplier data: Linking supplier product carbon footprints (PCFs) with MBI approaches

– Co-investment and allocation models: Designing book-and-claim and other mechanisms to enable value chain participation

– Alignment with emerging standards: Testing how MBI approaches fit within evolving frameworks such as the GHG Protocol and SBTi

Already working with MBIs? Participants may bring their application into the program as a case study to test it against emerging credibility criteria and get structured peer feedback.

Join the chemicals cohort

Work with peers to apply market-based instruments in practice and shape their role in Scope 3.