In the course of a participant providing information to the ecosystem credit accounting system’s Market Administrator or in verification of projects, there may be information that needs to be kept confidential. An essential goal of the accounting system is to promote transparency, but as the Market Administrator, the Willamette Partnership also respects the need for privacy. The Confidential Business Guideline documents which information might be considered confidential and the process for marking it as confidential. The guidance draws heavily from EPA's Regulations on the Confidentiality of Business Information (see 40 CFR Part 2). Determinations on confidential business information will be subject to the public disclosure rules of the lead agencies for each currency.

Restrictions on public disclosure are acceptable only where compelling reasons to protect confidential business information are provided and where these reasons clearly outweigh the public interest.