SGS INTERVIEW: “We need to make sure that Africa is at the centre of the voluntary carbon markets development”

Exclusive interview with Francesca Cerchia, Industries & Environment, Global Head Climate Solutions, SGS, (Société Générale de Surveillance SA), a gold sponsor at the upcoming Carbon Markets Africa Summit in Johannesburg.

Francesca Cerchia, Global Head of Climate Solutions at SGS

Interview Summary: Francesca Cerchia, Global Head of Climate Solutions at SGS, explains that the company supports industries worldwide through its Impact Now sustainability initiative, focused on climate, nature, circularity, and ESG assurance.

She stresses that Africa must be at the centre of voluntary carbon markets, given its potential for carbon mitigation, innovation, and job creation. A standout example is SGS’s work verifying a biochar project in Uganda, which delivers climate, soil, and community benefits. She highlights challenges such as credibility, transparency, and market volatility globally, and in Africa specifically, limited access to finance, weaker institutions, and technical gaps.

Countries like South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe are making strides, with Ghana leading on international carbon agreements. At the Carbon Markets Africa Summit, SGS will focus on the importance of trust and high standards to ensure Africa’s role in shaping the future of carbon markets.

Thank you for joining us. Please can we start with some background about you and your role at SGS.

Hello everybody, I'm Francesca and I am the Global Head for Climate Solutions with SGS. SGS is a Swiss conglomerate, and I've been with the company for 13 years in November, always covering climate, environment, health and safety.

Tell us about SGS’s services and the industries that you work in.

As I mentioned, SGS is a Swiss company. We are the largest testing inspection and certification company in the world. We operate a network of roughly 2,500 labs and business facilities across 115 countries. And today we have 99,500 full-time employees.

We provide services across almost every industry, from agriculture to mining, industrial manufacturing, pharma, consumer product, you name it. We help organisations achieve the highest standards of quality, compliance and sustainability.

Talking about sustainability, Impact Now for Sustainability is an initiative that we launched in November 2024. It's a cross-business and global initiative that brings together and simplifies all of our services around four strategic pillars. The climate pillar, the nature pillar, the circularity pillar and the ESG assurance pillar. The goal is to help companies accelerate transition towards more sustainable, competitive and also internationally aligned business models. We really want to address the triple planetary crisis. So it's climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

What percentage of your work is in Africa?

While it's always tempting to give percentages when we answer these type of questions, I don't necessarily believe that these metrics are realistic, and sometimes they can be misleading, especially for a company like ours. We operate, as I mentioned, globally, and we work in regions that are also at different stages of development. If I give you a percentage, that may suggest that there's disparity or imbalance. Hence, it rarely reflects the truth of the engagement, but also the infrastructure or the impact that we have.

So let's emphasise the substance of our work rather than the numbers. And when we look at Africa, we can't think of Africa as a monolith. It's a continent and there's extraordinary diversity and opportunities but also lot of complexity. And our approach there, instead of giving you a number, is that of listening, learning but also adapting to the local context.

How important is the continent for the future of carbon markets?

I think we all know, and there's consensus there, that Africa is definitely poised to play a critical role in the future of carbon markets. And this is because it offers a high potential for mitigation, but also opportunities for climate action and innovation in particular sectors. So it's an opportunity to unlock climate finance that’s desperately needed, to create jobs and ensure that all of this happens in an equitable way.

Just to mention a few initiatives that resonate with Africa. We have the African Union Action Plan on the carbon markets, and this shows that there is policy momentum. That means that Africa wants to start leading rather than just be a player in the architecture of the voluntary carbon markets.

What are some of your favourite success stories in Africa that you can share?

I have one particular favourite story here and it is a standout success story. It's our work in the Navikale biochar facility in Uganda where we have provided and we continue to provide independent verification to ensure compliance with an approved biochar methodology. We also conduct rolling audits on a periodical basis to ensure that there's integrity and transparency. And I think this work has shown us really firsthand how biochar can be a game changer in Africa. We always hear about cookstoves, but biochar really is also one of the future sectors of incredible growth for Africa. It combines carbon removals, soil restoration but also a lot of job creation. And let's not forget these low tech or new tech solutions in the agricultural space. So it's a clear example for us on how integrity on carbon projects can deliver real impact on the ground.

You are working in a system that is constantly evolving and changing. What are the main challenges in your view?

Yes, you're absolutely right. Carbon markets are evolving constantly and sometimes it's really difficult to keep up with the changes. In terms of challenges, I'd like to talk about the global challenges first of all. So carbon markets face global challenges no matter what country or what continent. The biggest global challenge is certainly related to integrity and credibility. Several initiatives are addressing this, so I think we're on the right path. And just to mention one, there's ICVCM.

Then we've got issues with transparency, potentially, because we have a lot of fragmented standards, a lot of fragmented programmes and registries, and in some instances, even limited accredited third party verification. And the third one, again, as a global challenge is market volatility, and fluctuating demand and inconsistent prices are still there. So we need to find or strike a balance there as well, so that project developers and investors know exactly what is their return.

I think that to this then we can add some specific African challenges. For me, the main ones are, first of all, the limited access to upfront capital for project development. The second one is perhaps a weaker institutional framework and then potentially also insufficient technical expertise.

Which countries on the continent are doing the right things to prepare for carbon markets?

I think there are quite a few countries moving. I would like to start with the Carbon Markets Africa Summit host country; so let's talk about South Africa first. It has definitely been the first country taking the first step in the right direction with implementation of the Carbon Tax Act. However, and there's always a but, it's delayed, and I think we all need to ask ourselves, is it actually driving real impact? Now, I'm not going to provide an answer to this. Let's have a look at what happens in phase two and see whether or not it will actually be capable of driving a true decarbonisation.

Then I think we can mention Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Ghana in particular, as it is the most advanced today on Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, having already signed some bilateral agreements.

SGS is a gold sponsor of the inaugural Carbon Markets Africa Summit. You are sponsoring a session on “High integrity in practice – Standards, verification & market trust.” What will be SGS’s message at CMAS, and how important is such an event for the continent?

Yes, we are a gold sponsor and the decision on which events to sponsor throughout the years and throughout our businesses, goes through a process that we take very seriously. We've decided to sponsor because we believe that it is not just another conference, but it's rather a platform. And it's a platform where we see a lot of stakeholders come together, but important stakeholders. We have government representatives, investors and project developers, and it's the right place to get the conversation going and to exchange experiences but also challenges.

I also think it is uniquely positioned because it's got a perfect timing. It's just before COP30 and the G20, and it's got an ambition. So the ambition is to be a catalyst for change. I think Africa needs change because there are opportunities and these need to be taken.

Anything you would like to add?

Maybe just one closing thought. First of all, I will see you there. And the second one is: Let's get talking because Africa carbon markets will not thrive in silence and we need all the stakeholders to work together to make sure that Africa will be at the centre of the voluntary carbon markets development. Thank you.

Interview - SGS - CMAS2025