Third Issuance Marks Sustained Impact for the VEI Safe Water Project in Tanzania

Geert Eenhoorn

Director Carbon Projects Europe & Latin America

Netherlands

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Geert Eenhoorn

Geert leads carbon project development, using over 20 years’ experience in carbon finance and renewable energy to deliver climate-positive solutions and agricultural innovation.

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The VEI Safe Water Project in Tanzania is a Gold Standard‑certified initiative to expand access to safe, piped drinking water in low‑income communities, particularly in Arusha. The project focuses on building household water connections and improving distribution infrastructure so residents no longer need to boil unsafe water with firewood or charcoal. By providing reliable access to clean water, it reduces greenhouse gas emissions, improves public health, and delivers wider social benefits such as time savings and greater empowerment for women, while generating verified carbon credits to support further expansion.  

The issuance of carbon credits is never just a moment in time. It is the outcome of years of delivery, monitoring, verification and sustained community impact. With the third issuance of carbon credits now confirmed, the VEI Safe Water Project in Tanzania continues to demonstrate what high-integrity, development-led climate action looks like in practice.  

This latest issuance reinforces the project’s long-term performance – not only in reducing emissions, but in delivering durable social, health and environmental benefits for communities in Arusha. 

From one‑off intervention to lasting system change

At the heart of the VEI Safe Water Project is a simple but powerful shift: providing households with reliable access to safe drinking water through direct connections to the municipal network. In doing so, the project removes the need for households to boil water using firewood, charcoal or gas – practices that drive both deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions.  

What the third issuance confirms is that this intervention is not a short‑term fix. Emissions reductions continue to accrue because behaviour change is sustained, infrastructure remains in place, and access to safe water is becoming embedded in everyday life. For carbon markets increasingly focused on permanence and additionality, this matters. 

Why repeat issuances matter for carbon integrity

Each issuance under the Gold Standard requires rigorous monitoring, independent verification and methodological compliance. Achieving a third successful issuance demonstrates: 

• Operational durability – the project continues to function as designed, year after year 
• Credibility of emissions accounting – reductions are real, measurable and verified 
• Long‑term additionality – benefits would not occur at this scale without carbon finance 

In a voluntary carbon market under growing scrutiny, repeat issuances provide confidence that climate claims are anchored in ongoing performance, not projected impact.

Climate and development outcomes, delivered together

The VEI Safe Water Project is a reminder that the most powerful climate solutions often sit at the intersection of infrastructure, equity and wellbeing. 

Beyond avoided emissions, the project delivers measurable co‑benefits aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals: 

• Improved public health through reduced exposure to water‑borne disease 
• Gender benefits, as women and girls spend less time collecting firewood or boiling water 
• Pressure relief on local forests, supporting ecosystem integrity alongside climate mitigation 
• That these outcomes continue to be realised through to a third issuance reflects the strength of the project’s design and governance.

Our role: ensuring integrity from design to issuance 

Anthesis acts as the carbon project developer, working in close partnership with VEI to quantify and verify emissions reductions in line with Gold Standard methodologies. Our role spans the full lifecycle of the project – from methodology application and monitoring plans through to verification and issuance. 

This third issuance underlines the value of robust project development and transparent reporting, particularly as buyers increasingly look beyond volumes of credits towards evidence of quality, impact and governance.

A signal to the market 

As demand grows for carbon credits that align climate action with real‑world development outcomes, this third issuance sends a clear signal: high‑integrity projects scale through consistency, not shortcuts. 

The VEI Safe Water Project shows how climate finance, when carefully structured and independently verified, can support essential services while delivering credible emissions reductions over time. In doing so, it offers a compelling blueprint for how the voluntary carbon market can contribute to both climate goals and sustainable development.