‘The strength of the message is bound in the strength of the audit’
The process we follow is prescribed by the Department of Climate Change (Aust) which has released a document outlining the requirements needed to conduct an audit and the factors that need to be included in the calculations. This document is called the NGA Factors and Methods Workbook 2008.
The factors from this workbook are harmonised with the international reporting framework developed by the World Resources Institute & World Business Council for Sustainable Development known as The Greenhouse Gas Protocol: A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. The combination of these standards delivers to you current best practices for Australian emissions and international reporting.
Carbon Neutrality (Carbon Balanced)
A carbon neutral claim can mean a number of things to different people. Our definition is based on two different approaches:
- Business Operational Level
-
Product or Event
Business Operations: The emissions generated from the operational activities of the company have been calculated (Operational Footprint). Includes any third party inputs from those company that help with the total operations of the business (i.e 3rd party transportation of goods)
Product or Event : The emissions associated with the embedded energy in the product ( i.e raw materials and packaging etc) have been calculated and are included in the calculations. This is often referred to as an LCA ( Life Cycle Analysis)
Best practices carbon neutrality
- Carbon Strategy & motivation is understood
- Either Operational emissions and or LCA approach used
- NGA Factors and Methods 2008 (aust) used
- Transparent reporting using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol
- Emission reductions made or identified
- Accredited carbon offsets purchased
- Effective communication of status (avoid greenwashing)
For an organisation to claim Carbon Neutrality the audit must capture Scope 1 & 2, and ideally includes the significant Scope 3 emissions. It needs to be conducted using an approved methodology and must be transparent and available. The audit will reveal the total amount of CO2 emissions (CO2-e) created and this is your carbon ‘footprint’.
Once your footprint has been reduced and any remaining emissions offset, only then can your organisation claim Carbon Neutrality. We create a report outlining the approach and standards used which becomes your Carbon Balanced Statement and defines the standards and processes followed in achieving this.
This statement then becomes your explanation of how your company achieved carbon neutrality and can be viewed via your website or in annual reports.
Scopes
There are clearly defined boundaries or ‘Scopes’ as outlined in the GHG Protocol as developed by the World Resources Institute, who have created the definitions for conducting audits. The scopes are references that a business needs to consider in capturing their carbon footprint.
Our Emmissions Inventory Report indentifies the emmission source and defines what scope it belongs to;
Scope 1 covers direct emissions from sources within the boundary of an organisation such as fuel combustion and manufacturing processes.
Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the consumption of purchased electricity, steam or heat produced by another organisation. Scope 2 emissions result from the combustion of fuel to generate the electricity, steam or heat and do not include emissions associated with the production of fuel.
Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions that are a consequence of an organisation’s activities but are not from sources owned or controlled by the organisation. Whilst being optional Scope 3 offers the greatest transparency in its inventory and creates a larger scope of potential influence.
SCOPE 1 DIRECT EMISSIONS
- Combustion of fuel in boilers or furnaces that are owned by the reporting organization
- Generation of electricity, steam, or heat in equipment that is owned by the reporting organization
- Business travel in vehicles that are owned by the reporting company, such as company cars or corporate jets.
- Employee commuting in company-owned vehicles, such as a van pool or company car
SCOPE 2 INDIRECT EMISSIONS
- Generation of purchased electricity, steam, or heat
SCOPE 3 INDIRECT EMISSIONS
- Business travel in non-company-owned vehicles such as rental cars, employee cars, trains, and commercial planes
- Combustion of fuel in boilers or furnaces not owned by the reporting organization
- Employee commuting in vehicles not owned by the reporting organization, such as light rail, train, buses, and employee cars
- Production or manufacture of materials and resources used by an office organization, such as furniture, paper, equipment, toner cartridges, etc.
- Incineration of office waste or decomposition in a landfill when the facilities are not owned by the reporting organization*
- Any outsourced activities such as shipping, courier services, cleaning and printing services
