The MVEP organizational structure is based on the LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for New Construction Rating System. This structure provides a framework wherein a checklist tracks distinct and measurable improvement efforts. To populate the MVeP checklist information on existing maritime vessel environmental initiatives was gathered from conference proceedings, journal and magazine publications, current and proposed regulations, and classification society publications. This broad range of information was normalized into 34 distinct and measurable environmental impacts (also called "credits"). Each impact is assigned to one of four categories: energy efficiency, water emissions, air emissions, and general meaures.
These credit checklists were developed so that each credit is assessed on its own merit, and the compilation of all credit assessments makes clear the trade-offs of various measures giving a holistic view of the ship’s performance. The weighting of different credits is left to the party implementing the guidance.