The Gold Standard is a certification scheme for voluntary and compliance carbon credits, accepting only renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that actively promote sustainable development.

The Gold Standard Version 2 consists of the following documents.

• “The Requirements” present the fundamental principles and the rules of Gold Standard certification in a concise way.
  
•  “The Toolkit” describes the project cycle and provides examples and detailed instructions on the use of the Gold Standard.
  
•  ”The Upgrade” explains the differences between the Gold Standard Version 1 and 2.

http://www.cdmgoldstandard.org/index.php