Hugh Salway, who exited Gold Standard after five years as a senior market-development executive, has launched Crofton Advisory, a consultancy advising clients on Article 6, compliance and voluntary carbon markets.

The launch lands in the same week Canada unveiled a policy framework intended to enable trading of internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement — a move governments are watching as a possible template for bilateral carbon trading.

Salway announced the venture on LinkedIn, his first public statement since leaving the standard-setter. "I'm spending my time building a stronger and more impactful carbon market," he wrote, describing the firm's objective.

Who is Hugh Salway?

His CV mixes public- and private-sector carbon-market experience. Salway spent eight years in the British government, including a post as head of international carbon markets, before joining Gold Standard in 2021. He ran market development, partnerships and integrity initiatives at the standard-setter.

The launch, Salway said, follows "the past few months" spent establishing the business after departing Gold Standard earlier this year.

What is Crofton Advisory selling?

Crofton Advisory's website describes the firm as offering strategic insight, policy expertise and practical support to public and private-sector clients. Its service lines break down into three categories:

• Helping organizations develop market strategies
• Navigating policy changes as Article 6 and CORSIA rules shift
• Implementing projects in an "increasingly complicated regulatory environment"

The firm joins a small bench of advisory shops that have formed around the same opportunity: helping clients move from pilot buying to operational carbon-market participation as CORSIA-eligible supply expands.

Why the timing matters

Three structural shifts are colliding:

• CORSIA-eligible credit supply has expanded sharply as the aviation sector's offsetting scheme absorbs new methodologies
• Carbon futures recently reached a five-month high, signalling that compliance buyers are returning to the market
• Article 6 implementation is moving from negotiation to operation, with Canada's ITMO framework unveiled this month

The combination of expanding demand, tighter rules and increasingly complex market structures creates a potential opening for specialist advisers — particularly those who can serve host-country governments on Article 6 authorization alongside project developers preparing for CORSIA supplier readiness.

Gold Standard has put a number on the underlying opportunity. The standard-setter recently estimated that $17 billion per year could flow to climate action if companies accounted for ongoing emissions through carbon markets — a pipeline of demand that advisory firms are now positioning to capture.

What to watch next

Three regulatory milestones will shape Crofton Advisory's first year:

• Operational rollout of Canada's Article 6.2 authorization regime, which requires designating national authorizing entities
• The next round of CORSIA methodology approvals, which determines which credit types airlines can purchase for compliance use
• Decisions at the next UNFCCC climate conference on outstanding Article 6 rule-making

The Canadian framework is the most immediate test. If ITMO authorizations move from paper to practice in the coming months, advisory demand from host-country governments will rise quickly. Crofton Advisory will then need to scale against established consultancies already staffed for that work — and against newer entrants positioning on the same Article 6 wedge.