GHGemissions

The Carbon Effect

It might seem that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions should be of greater concern to a larger industrial entity than to a smaller office. But the reality is that even if they have not already taken action, all organizations need to understand their carbon risks – and opportunities.

Whatever your size, operations or emissions, consider that – beyond the regulators – your customers (whether consumers or other businesses), shareholders and the financial markets may demand action: specifically concrete steps to quantify, disclose and control your carbon footprint.

A “carbon footprint” is the quantity of GHG emissions resulting from a process/activity, as well as indirectly from an organization’s supply chain.

There are many things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint such as using renewable energy to promote energy conservation with your employees.

By managing your carbon footprint, you will be reducing risk, not to mention potentially saving money, increasing the efficiency of your operations and boosting your reputation as a more environmentally friendly organization

About GHG Carbon Registry

GHG Carbon Registry provides transparency and credibility for the listing and management of all environmental assets.. It lists and tracks forward sales of carbon and includes a Request for Information platform that connects potential buyers of environmental assets with potential sellers. All listings and issuances go through a rigourous process to ensure all the standards requirements are meet and the singularity of credits (i.e. carbon credits have not been previously issued or sold). Credits receive a unique reference number and are tracked through their entire life-cycle. Retired credits are held in a "lock box" by the registry, ensuring the same credits are not re-issued or sold at a later date. 

GHG Offsets Registry Program Overview

1.1 Introduction This document provides the general provisions governing the GHG Offsets Registry Program and the development of GHG Offset Project Protocols, Validation, Verification, Registration of Offset Projects, and issuance and transfers of Carbon Financial Instruments based on offset projects registered in the GHG Offsets Registry Program. Project specific protocol guidance can be found in the individual GHG Offset Project Protocols. The procedures used to assess these proposals as candidates for new offset project types are also described in this document.

1.2 General Qualifications Offset Projects can be registered at GHG Registry directly by the Project Owner (as Offset Provider) or through a registered Offset Aggregator. An Offset Provider is an owner of a registered Offset Project that retains authority to effect Offset transfers in the Registry. Offset Aggregators may serve as administrative agents for multiple small Project Owners in order to minimize transaction costs. Aggregators manage project documentation, arrange for independent verification by Approved Verifiers, effect Offset transfers on behalf of Project Owners, and distribute sales proceeds back to the Project Owners. Entities wishing to register eligible Offset Projects with the GHG Offsets Registry Program must first qualify as an approved Participant or must work through an Offset Aggregator.

1.3 Use of Offsets The quantity of mitigation achieved by each Offset Project shall be quantified on the basis of metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e). Each Offset represents one MtCO2e, and is identified by annual Vintage. Unless otherwise authorized by GHG in advance, the minimum quantity that can be registered or transferred one Carbon Financial Instrument contract.The GHG Offsets Registry Program may issue Offsets on the basis of annual emission mitigation. Offsets may also be issued for certain projects more frequently with the submission of the required project verification documentation to the Program Administrator.

1.4 Project Types The GHG Offsets Registry Program, in cooperation with experts from the academic, industrial, government and non-governmental sectors, has developed and continues to establish eligibility and technical criteria for a variety of Offset Project categories. Currently, the following mitigation activities have prescriptive eligibility, evaluation and verification requirements:

  • Landfill Methane Collection and Combustion
  • Avoided Emissions from Organic Waste Disposal
  • Agriculture Methane Collection and Combustion
  • Coal Mine Methane Collection and Combustion
  • Agricultural Best Management Practices
    • Continuous Conservation Tillage
    • Grassland Conversion Soil Carbon Sequestration
    • Sustainable Rangeland Soil Carbon Sequestration
  • Forest Carbon Sequestration o Afforestation and Reforestation
    • Sustainable Forest Management
  • Small-Scale Renewable Biogas • Renewable Energy Systems
  • Ozone-Depleting Substance Destruction Projects using eligibility criteria, evaluation and verification methodologies developed by the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) may also be considered by the Program Administrator for enrollment.

1.5 Principles of the GHG Offsets Registry Program The GHG Offsets Registry Program employs rules designed to provide easily understood performance criteria for potential Project Proponents. Such criteria allow Participants, the Program Administrator and Approved Verifiers to distinguish best-in-class projects from business-as-usual projects and to reduce the subjectivity of project-specific reviews. The rules weigh a variety of factors related to each potential project type such that eligibility would be based on whether or not a particular category of actions provides the following characteristics:

  • Rare (e.g. best-in-class actions)
  • Voluntary (e.g. not legally required)
  • Recent • Verifiable
  • Properly addresses permanence
  • Avoids the creation of perverse incentives that would result in increases in GHG emissions on or off the project site
  • Conservative GHG Offsets Registry Program rules ensure that all of the identified principles outlined in ISO 14064-2 Specification with guidance at the project level for quantification, monitoring, and reporting of Greenhouse Gas emission reductions or removal enhancements are adopted for projects to ensure that offsets are issued based upon industry accepted standards. The following summarizes the treatment of these issues in the GHG Offsets Program:
    1.5.1 Relevance Project Protocols are designed to balance requirements for adequate documentation and verification of environmental effectiveness with the goal of minimizing transaction costs while maintaining environmental integrity.
    1.5.2 Completeness Project Protocols are developed to ensure all emissions sources are appropriately included and quantified, project leakage is addressed, negative environmental and social impacts are avoided, and reporting requirements are well-defined.
    1.5.3 Consistency Project types obtain consistency through the development and use of standardized protocols and to ensure compatibility with emerging national and international standards.
    1.5.4 Accuracy Project Protocols are designed to generate unbiased estimates of emission reductions. Emission reduction estimates represent the best available scientific and technical information, as evidenced by peer-review published studies and high-quality research findings.
    1.5.5 Transparency Project Protocols and verification procedures are designed in a transparent fashion to evaluate and incorporate input from multiple stakeholders. Protocols are designed through a tiered Advisory Committee, peer review and public comment process.
    1.5.6 Conservativeness Conservative quantification methodologies are adopted to ensure that accurate estimates will, if any potential deviations occur, undercount the quantity of actual GHG mitigation through the application of discounts to parameters used to calculate offset values.

1.6 General Terms and Conditions By registering a Project with GHG, each Project Owner acknowledges and agrees to the GHG terms and conditions required by a particular project type, as well as the general terms and conditions provided below:

  1. The enrolled Offset Project meets all applicable eligibility rules of the GHG.
  2. GHG will issue to the appropriate GHG Registry Account of the Project Proponent a quantity of Offsets based on the entire recognized mitigation tonnage approved by GHG, rounded.
  3. Each sale of Offsets executed through GHG shall represent a complete transfer of all legal rights associated with the Offsets sold. The transferred legal rights are those corresponding to the quantity and Vintage of the Offsets issued in accordance with the terms and conditions provided in this section and other applicable provisions.
  4. The Project Proponent may sell or retain the Offsets earned under these provisions.
  5. The Project Proponent may elect to deregister the Offsets once registered with GHG. The Project Owner or its GHG Offset Aggregator must deregister Offsets prior to entering into an agreement to sell the associated emission reductions outside of GHG.
  6. GHG makes no warranty as to the marketability or market value of GHG Offsets.
  7. The Project Owner(s), and, when applicable, the GHG Offset Aggregator, is required to submit a signed Project Verification Report through a GHG-Approved Verifier that confirms conformance with the terms herein. Representatives of GHG may conduct onsite inspection of registered Projects and related documents. Each Project Owner agrees to provide access in such cases in a prompt and cooperative manner. All GHG Offset Projects, project reports and verification reports are subject to inspection and review by any provider of regulatory services designated by GHG, and by other independent experts as may be engaged by GHG.
  8. Failure to conform to the rules provided herein may result in termination of enrollment in GHG and prohibition from all further participation in GHG.

1.7 Role of Aggregators For-profit entities, cooperatives, governmental bodies and non-profit organizations may act as GHG Offset Aggregators. Eligible entities must apply to become a GHG Offset Aggregator by completing and submitting the applicable GHG forms. GHG Offset Aggregators may charge fees for services they provide to Project Owners. GHG Offset Aggregators shall have the discretion to refuse to represent individual Projects. GHG Offset Aggregators are assigned an account in the GHG Registry. A GHG Offset Aggregator shall undertake the following actions on behalf of GHG-registered Offset Projects it represents:

  1. Accept initial registration forms from owners of GHG-Eligible Offset Projects.
  2. Assemble Project Reports from Project Owners and retain copies of Offset Project verification records.
  3. Submit Offsets registration fees to GHG.
  4. Have sole authority to access the Registry Account(s) holding the Offsets issued to Projects it represents and to authorize transfers.
  5. Execute sales on behalf of Project Owners and distribute sales proceeds to Project Owners in accordance with the terms agreed between the Aggregator and Project Owners. The terms of the business and legal relationships between Offset Aggregators and Project Owners are left to the discretion of those parties.

In The Absence Of National And International Legislation, Standard Organizations Define A Set Of Rules And Criteria For Voluntary Emission Reductions
A fully fledged carbon offset standard would prescribe accounting standards, monitoring, verification and certification standards, and registration and enforcement systems. Generally, the following basic considerations apply in terms of offset quality: 

  • Additionality - the project must be additional to a business-as-usual scenario. The project developer must be able to demonstrate the ability to reduce emissions beyond the levels that would otherwise have occurred
  • Permanence - the project must be able to guarantee greenhouse gas mitigation over the stated time period
  • Leakage - the project must not transfer emissions to another locality
  • Double counting - no more than one organization can take credit for the offsets
  • Accounting - whether the credits can be sold before they are issued
  • Co-benefits - whether the project provides additional benefits
  • Validation and verification -the project must receive independent verification and the verifier must be an accredited and recognized independent third party
  • Transparency - carbon credits should be supported by publicly available project documentation on a registry