Carbon Trust Standard Rules v1 3
Transcript of Carbon Trust Standard Rules v1 3
The Carbon Trust Standard Rules v1.3 June 2010 1
Carbon Trust Standard
Rules
The Carbon Trust Standard Rules v1.3 June 2010 2
Carbon Trust Standard Rules
1. Introduction .......................................................................3
2. Application & Certification Process.........................................3
2.1. Applicant Segmentation .................................................3
2.2. Certification Process and Period ......................................4
3. Carbon Footprint Measurement.............................................5
3.1. Organisational boundary ................................................5
3.2. Operational Boundary / Footprint ....................................6
3.3. Rules for Carbon Footprinting .........................................8
3.4. Footprint Presentation..................................................10
4. Reduction Target ..............................................................10
4.1. General Rules for Assessing Reduction ...........................10
4.2. Absolute Reduction Rules .............................................11
4.3. Relative Reduction Rules ..............................................11
4.4. Initial certification .......................................................13
4.5. Recertification.............................................................14
5. Qualitative Assessment......................................................15
6. References.......................................................................16
6.1. Normative references ..................................................16
6.2. Terms and definitions ..................................................17
Appendix A: Guidance on data quality.......................................19
Appendix B: Guidance on intensity indicators.............................20
Appendix C: Guidance on process & fugitive emissions................21
Appendix D: Guidance on leased assets ....................................23
Appendix E: Qualitative criteria ................................................25
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1. Introduction
This document provides a description of the rules of The Carbon Trust Standard.
The Scheme’s aims are to encourage and recognise good practice in carbon
measurement, management and reduction by businesses and public sector
organisations.
2. Application & Certification Process
Organisations wishing to receive certification against the rules of The Carbon
Trust Standard should apply to the Carbon Trust Standard Company (CTSC).
Organisations may apply for certification to cover all or part of their operations.
Where an organisation chooses to apply for certification to cover all of its
operations it should specify the full name of the organisation and all subsidiary
companies which are covered. Where the organisation chooses to apply for
certification covering part of their operations they may choose to specify the
coverage either:
• On a corporate structure basis (e.g. one, or more, subsidiaries or operating
divisions are applying); or
• On a physical location basis (e.g. offices x,y,z are applying)
The part of the organisation selected must make up a meaningful portion of the
total organisation’s carbon footprint.
The certification and logo are only valid for use in association with the part(s) of
the organisation certified.
For more details on organisational boundary see section 3.2.
2.1. Applicant Segmentation
The Carbon Trust Standard rules are segmented based on the energy
consumption on first application of the whole or part of the organisation applying
for certification:
• If the applicant organisation is a CRC participant or if the applicant has an
energy bill of more than £500k per annum then standard rules will apply
including a requirement for emission reductions over a three years
historical period.
• For applicants with an energy bill of more than £50k per annum and less
than or equal to £500k per annum then standard rules will apply. However,
the historical reduction requirement is reduced to two years.
• For applicant with an energy bill of less than or equal to £50k per annum
simplified footprinting rules will be applied for the first two years, with only
one year of historical data required.
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More details are contained in the relevant sections of this document.
2.2. Certification Process and Period
2.2.1. First certification
Applicants will be awarded certification if they meet three sets of criteria:
• Meet or exceed the carbon measurement criteria (including historical
measurement where applicable)
• Meet or exceed the carbon reduction criteria (including historical
performance where applicable)
• Score 60% or above against a series of qualitative criteria assessing the
organisation’s effectiveness at managing emissions.
The 12 month period to be used for qualitative assessment will be nominated by
the applicant (to be referred to as the ‘compliance period’); historical data prior to
this period will be required for larger organisations (see section 3). Assessment
must be completed within 9 months of the end of the compliance period.
On successful assessment the applicant will achieve certification valid for 2 years
from the end of the compliance period.
Certification will be awarded for use by the certified organisation (or the part of
the organisation which has achieved certification where only part of the
organisation applied).
2.2.2. Recertification Process
Applicants should apply for recertification within 9 months after the end of the
certification period.
Recertification will be assessed against the same organisational boundary (see
section 3.1) as the previous certification or recertification, unless otherwise
specified. Any changes to the organisation’s structure which affect the boundary
(e.g. divestments, acquisitions) must be noted at recertification.
Recertification will be assessed based on the performance over the 24 month
period from the end of the previous compliance period (to be referred to as the
‘recertification compliance period’).
On successful assessment the applicant will achieve recertification valid for 2
years from the end of the recertification compliance period. That is, the new
certificate will be valid for the 2-year period immediately following the previous
certification period.
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3. Carbon Footprint Measurement
Calculation of the carbon footprint should follow the principles of the GHG
Protocol and/or ISO14064, subject to additional requirements outlined in this
document. All carbon footprints should be calculated in tCO2e.
The GHG Protocol can be found at
http://www.ghgprotocol.org/standards/corporate-standard and provides
standards and guidance for organisations preparing their carbon footprint. A
Carbon Trust introduction to carbon footprinting can be found at
http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/publications. Organisations may wish to have their
footprint verified by a third party auditor; this is encouraged but not required by
The Carbon Trust Standard.
3.1. Organisational boundary
The organisational boundary defines which parts of the organisation will be
included in the emissions measurement and how to deal with the inclusion of
emissions from joint ventures and subsidiaries.
Ideally the organisational boundaries should include all operations and
subsidiaries owned and operated by the applicant organisation, but the boundary
may also be set at a subsidiary or site level as outlined in section 2.
The inclusion of jointly-owned facilities and operations may be determined either
on an equity share or control basis, as described in the GHG Protocol. The
organisational boundary should be a true and fair representation of the
organisation’s GHG emissions i.e., should include all emissions relating to core
operations.
Under the equity share approach, an organisation accounts for the GHG emissions
from an operation based on its equity share in that operation (i.e., ownership of
25% of a division leads to 25% of the emissions of the division being included in
the applicant’s footprint).
Under the control approach, an organisation accounts for 100% of an operation
over which it has control (which can either be defined as financial control, i.e.
ability to control financial or operating policies, or operational control, i.e.
authority to introduce and implement operating policies).
It is the view of The Carbon Trust Standard Company that in many cases, an
operational control approach will be a better reflection of the emissions relating to
an organisation.
For more detail see chapter 3 of the GHG protocol.
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3.2. Operational Boundary / Footprint
According to the GHG Protocol, defining the operational boundary involves
identifying which emission sources to include in the measurement. In order to
help define this, the GHG Protocol has established three “scopes” of emissions:
Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions occurring from sources owned or controlled by the
company e.g. onsite fuel combustion, emissions from chemical processes.
Scope 2: GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, heat or
steam (these are ‘indirect’ emissions as they are consequence of the
organisation’s activities but occur at sources owned or controlled by another
company).
Scope 3: Other indirect emissions i.e. all other emissions that are a consequence
of the organisation’s activities but occur from sources not owned or controlled by
the organisation e.g. business travel, waste disposal, production of purchased
material.
For more detail, see chapter 4 of the GHG Protocol.
There are two levels of footprints under The Carbon Trust Standard. Level 1 is a
stepping stone towards the more comprehensive level 2 footprint (defined below).
The footprint shall include all 6 GHG gases and be converted into CO2e.
For applicants with an energy bill above £500k per annum or above the UK
Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) threshold. A level 1 footprint can be used
to meet initial certification requirements but for recertification a level 2 footprint
must be measured.
For applicants with an energy bill of more than £50k per annum and less than or
equal to £500k per annum. A level 1 footprint can be used to meet initial
certification requirements but for recertification a level 2 footprint must be
measured.
For applicants with an energy bill of less than or equal to £50k per annum. A
level 1 footprint can be used to meet initial certification requirement and can be
used for the two years to the first recertification. Ongoing after the first
recertification, a level 2 footprint must be measured.
Summary of minimum footprint level requirements
Certification Recertification 1 Recertification 2
Yr -2 Yr -1 Yr 0 Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Yr 4
>£500k (or
CRC threshold)
1 1 1 2 2 2 2
£50-500k - 1 1 2 2 2 2
Segment
(Annual
Energy
Bill) <£50k - 1* 1 1 1 2 2
*Optional, see section 4.4
3.2.1. Level 1 footprint
The following emissions sources must be included (for all premises covered by the
organisational boundary):
• Electricity consumption
• Gas consumption
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• Other onsite fuel consumption (e.g. heating oil, diesel, etc.)
• Scope 1 fuel consumption in vehicles owned or leased by the organisation
which are within the organisational boundary and used for business
purposes. If the boundary is defined on a physical location basis, then fuel
consumption in vehicles based at the premises covered by the boundary
must be included. Private use of company cars may be excluded if
sufficient data exist to distinguish private and business use.
The following emissions sources are excluded (though may be included on an
optional basis):
• Process or Fugitive emissions
• All scope 3 emissions, including emissions from business travel
Guidance on the treatment of leased assets is provided in Appendix D.
3.2.2. Level 2 footprint
Emissions covered by level 1 must be included plus (for all premises covered by
the organisational boundary):
• Process emissions (e.g. emissions associated with the manufacture of
chemical or metal products). A list of common process emissions sources
by industry is listed in Appendix C.
• Fugitive emissions (e.g. leakage of HFCs from refrigeration or air
conditioning systems, leakage of methane from landfill operated by the
organisation). A list of common fugitive emissions sources by industry is
listed in Appendix C.
• Emissions from business travel undertaken by employees, including public
transport, private cars (in vehicles not owned by the organisation) and
flights.
The following emissions sources are excluded (though may be included on an
optional basis):
• Remaining scope 3 emissions, including staff commuting, waste disposal,
transport of purchased material and outsourced activities.
While the inclusion of leased assets and outsourced activities is not always
required (see Appendix D for guidance on leased assets), the footprint should be
a true and fair representation of the organisation’s activities.
The diagram below shows how The Carbon Trust Standard maps to the GHG
Protocol ‘scopes’ of emissions, note that any organisation may opt to include
additional emission sources.
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Level 1 & 2 Footprints
Transport – business
Scope 2:Utilities - indirect
Scope 3:Other indirect
Purchased electricity, heat and steam
Fuels Combustion
Owned Transport
Process Emissions
Fugitive Emissions
Scope 1:Direct
Level 2 = direct emissions, electricity and business travel
Level 1 = energy & owned transport
Production of purchased materials
Transport – product
Use of products
Waste disposal
Transport - commuting
Leased assets, franchises, outsourcing
Other emission sources optional
3.3. Rules for Carbon Footprinting
3.3.1. Data
The Carbon Trust Standard ‘Footprint Calculation’ spreadsheet should be used to
provide a summary of the organisation’s emissions and notes on the data
sources. Data captured may by ‘primary’ or ‘secondary’:
Primary data: Process-specific data obtained by direct measurement of the
energy or business activities e.g. measured electricity consumption of a
warehouse, the measured diesel use of farm machinery.
Secondary data: Non-process specific data obtained from sources other than
direct measurement of the energy or business activities e.g. the use of distance
travelled instead of primary fuel data from vehicles.
Primary data sources are preferable to secondary data sources as the data will
reflect the specific nature/efficiency of the process, and the GHG emissions
associated with the process. Organisations are encouraged to develop more
accurate footprints over time by increasing the amount of primary data used.
Applicants should provide details of the energy consumption (where applicable)
and total CO2e emissions broken down by emissions source for the compliance
data period and the historical data period used for comparison of reduction
performance.
The calculated footprint, for all data periods, should be based as far as possible
on primary data, with secondary data to be used where primary data are
unavailable or impractical. Specific guidance is provided in Appendix A.
Any estimated data should be noted and the reason for the estimate and the
nature of the estimate made should be stated.
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3.3.2. De minimis threshold
The calculated footprint should include all emission sources estimated to be more
than 1% of the footprint within the defined scope. At least 95% of the
anticipated footprint must be included. Any exclusions and the reasons for the
exclusion should be noted.
3.3.3. Discrepancies and materiality
Any errors, omissions, or other discrepancies in the carbon footprint must be
shown to be immaterial to assessment of compliance with the carbon footprinting
and reduction criteria.
3.3.4. Emission Factors
All emissions should be calculated using emissions factors reported in national
(Government-produced) publications. Where a national publication is not
available, emissions factors should be agreed with the Carbon Trust Standard
Company, preferably based on international or industry guidelines.
For the UK, emission factors are available in “Defra’s Corporate Reporting
Guidelines”. Global figures are available through the GHG Protocol tools
http://www.ghgprotocol.org/calculation-tools (based on IEA data)
Where emissions factors have changed from those used for any previous
certification or recertification the latest footprint data should be presented using
the updated emissions factors but providing a footnote stating the emissions
factors used at previous certification/recertification. For the purposes of the
reduction rules the assessment of reduction performance should be made using
the updated emissions factors across the whole period.
3.3.5. Non-CO2 GHG gases
Conversions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases to CO2e should be undertaken using
the Global Warming Potential figures for the relevant gas published in the IPCC
Second Assessment Report or national (Government-produced) publications.
3.3.6. Renewable energy
Emissions from renewable electricity (“green tariffs” and onsite renewables)
should be calculated using the 5 year rolling average grid-emissions factor unless
there is evidence of additionality, and the end user can demonstrate that the
carbon benefit is claimed by their organisations exclusively – i.e. there is no
double counting.
For the UK, currently all ‘green tariffs’ electricity will be calculated using a 5 year
rolling average grid emission factors. Onsite renewables will only be counted at
an emissions factor other than the grid average if the equivalent number of ROCs
are retired or not claimed.
3.3.7. Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
The emissions arising from CHP shall be allocated between heat and electricity if
either the heat or electricity are imported or exported, according to methodology
provided in either the GHG Protocol tool for Allocation of Emissions from a
Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Plant or Defra’s Corporate Reporting Guidelines.
3.3.8. Exported Electricity/Heat
Emissions from all electricity/heat produced onsite should be reported. However,
for organisations whose primary business is not power generation, the
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assessment of reduction performance should exclude emissions relating to
electricity/heat which has been exported. The applicant should provide evidence
that the exported electricity/heat has been used by another organisation e.g.
purchase agreement, sale to the grid.
3.3.9. Biofuels & biomass
All emissions relating to use of biofuels and biomass should be calculated using
emissions factors reported in national (Government-produced) publications or
default values in the GHG Protocol tools.
For the UK, emission factors for biofuels are available from Defra (see Section
6.1).
Note: This approach means emissions relating to the production of biofuels and
biomass are included but emissions relating to the production of fossil fuels are
not. This approach has been taken because the emissions relating to the
production of biofuels/biomass are a relatively high portion of their life cycle
emissions.
3.3.10. Offsetting
All footprint calculations should be made exclusive of any purchases of offsets.
Organisations may choose to offset their emissions in addition but, as The Carbon
Trust Standard is focused on emission reduction, offsets will not count towards
meeting the reduction rules.
3.4. Footprint Presentation
All organisations should provide a final figure for their annual absolute footprint
for the relevant boundary and scope in tCO2e.
4. Reduction Target
4.1. General Rules for Assessing Reduction
The applicant should demonstrate either an absolute or a relative reduction (or
both) across the scope of emissions required under Section 3 in order to achieve
certification.
Assessment must be made on a like-for-like basis factoring in structural changes
in the applicant organisation, (e.g. outsourcing, divestments or acquisitions)
where the structural change results in more than a 3% change in emissions.
Reduction should be judged based on comparison of the emissions of that part of
the organisation which was present in both compliance periods.
In all cases an explanation of the reduction should be provided in the qualitative
section (see Section 0) – and if the reduction is deemed not to have resulted from
the organisation’s own action then certification can be refused.
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4.2. Absolute Reduction Rules
Any absolute reduction in emissions compared to the footprint at the prior
compliance period should be considered to pass The Carbon Trust Standard
reduction rule criteria. See sections 4.4 & 4.5 for details.
4.3. Relative Reduction Rules
A relative reduction is a reduction in the carbon intensity of an organisation when
compared to the organisation’s revenue or output. In order to meet The Carbon
Trust Standard the relative reduction requirement is linked to the absolute
reduction requirement, see box below.
Determining the relative reduction rule equivalent to an absolute
reduction
The relative reduction allows an organisation to account for increases or
decreases in production over time. The Carbon Trust Standard has linked the
absolute and relative target by looking at what relative target would be required
by a country or region to ensure an absolute emission reduction occurred.
For example, if economic growth in a region is 2.5%, then the emissions of that
region will only stay flat if emissions per unit of real GDP shrink by approximately
2.5% per year. Therefore the relative requirement for organisations is that their
emissions per unit output or unit of revenue (adjusted for inflation) reduces by
the relevant economic growth rate for the region. This method provides an
approximation of the reduction in emissions intensity required to maintain stable
emissions, though reducing emissions intensity by the same percentage as the
growth in economic output will actually yield a slight absolute emissions
reduction.
Relationship between absolute and relative targets
Average GDP growth(+2.5%)
Index
Relative target tCO2e/GDP (-2.5%)
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
100 Absolute targettCO2e (0%)
In order for organisations to have a stable target to aim for, the Carbon Trust
Standard uses an economic growth figure based on a long-term historical trend
and available forecasts and this figure will not be adjusted retrospectively to
account for actual economic growth.
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OECD: Based on historical GDP growth and long-term expected GDP growth for
OECD countries, a 2.5% growth figure has been selected for OECD based
organisations.
Non-OECD: For organisations with significant operations outside the OECD a
weighted average of the regional historical and predicted growth figures should
be used unless otherwise agreed with the Carbon Trust Standard Company.
4.3.1. Revenue Indicators
Organisations should use revenue, or revenue expenditure for public sector
organisations, as the default indicator for establishing a relative reduction.
Revenue figures used for indicators must relate to the organisational boundary
assessed and must be adjusted to remove the effect of inflation.
Where a revenue based indicator is used, for organisations based primarily in the
OECD, a carbon efficiency improvement equivalent to over 2.5% per year when
comparing to revenue adjusted for inflation demonstrates a relative reduction
under The Carbon Trust Standard. For organisations based primarily in non-
OECD countries, World Bank or national (Government produced) publications
should be used to determine an appropriate economic growth rate. Adjustments
for inflation should be made using actual historical data where possible from a
national (Government produced) publication.
For an OECD-based organisation where the inflation trend is roughly 2% per
annum, this equates to an annual reduction of ~4.5% on nominal revenue.
4.3.2. Output Indicators
Under most circumstances, organisations should use revenue, or revenue
expenditure for public sector organisations, as the default indicator for
establishing a relative reduction.
However, if there are exceptional circumstances such that the default indicator
does not reflect changes in the organisation’s output and may give a distorted
view of the applicant organisation’s emissions intensity performance, an
exception to the use of the default indicator may be made. Such exceptional
circumstances will be limited to those instances where revenue and the
organisation’s level of activity diverge significantly in a way that is transient and
not reflective of a long-term trend. In these instances a revenue indicator will be
inappropriate for assessing relative reduction, and assessment of reduction
against an industry specific output indicator should be undertaken:
1. The applicant organisation may put forward evidence that the default
indicator does not provide a fair reflection of the organisation’s emissions
intensity performance and that an alternate output indicator would be
more appropriate. The Carbon Trust Standard Company will review this
evidence and may grant an exception to the use of the default indicator in
favour of an output indicator. This output indicator must be agreed with
the Carbon Trust Standard Company.
2. The Carbon Trust Standard Company, if it believes there are exceptional
circumstances such that the default indicator distorts the representation of
the applicant organisation’s emissions intensity performance, may require
that the organisation use an output indicator in lieu of the default indicator
to establish a relative reduction.
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See the box below for examples of circumstances when an output indicator may
be used. For a non-exhaustive list of suggested output indicators by sector,
please see Appendix B.
Examples of ‘exceptional circumstances’ under which output
indicators may be used
Examples of circumstances where an exception to the use of the default
indicator could include:
• Where revenue diverges from activity due to highly volatile changes in the
prices of the organisation’s products, where those price changes are not
representative of long-term price trends.
• Where activity diverges from revenue because the timing of revenue
recognition is substantially different from the time the organisation’s
product is produced. This could include organisations for which inventory
turns over very slowly or organisations for which products remain as work
in progress for long periods of time.
Examples of circumstances where there would NOT be an exception to the use
of the default indicator include:
• Increasing or decreasing volumes of production or unit sales. In this case,
increases or decreases in the organisation’s activity are aligned with
changes in revenue.
• Increases or decreases in the organisation’s product prices that are not
out of line with recent price trends. In this case, the relationship between
revenue and the organisation’s activity may be changing, but those
changes are not transient or divergent from price trends.
• Changes in the mix of goods and services the organisation sells. In this
case, changes in the emissions intensity per unit revenue are reflective of
a change in activity—a shift to more or less carbon-intensive products.
The output data used must relate to the organisational boundary assessed.
Where a non-revenue output based indicator is used, for organisations based
primarily in the OECD, a carbon efficiency improvement of over 2.5% per year
relative to the output metric demonstrates a relative reduction under The Carbon
Trust Standard. For organisations with significant operations in non-OECD
countries, World Bank or national (Government produced) publications should be
used to determine an appropriate economic growth rate.
Examples of output indicators are provided in Appendix B.
4.4. Initial certification
Reduction requirements for initial certification depend on the applicant’s energy
bill segment.
For applicants with an energy bill above £500k per annum or above the CRC
threshold. Evidence of an absolute or equivalent relative reduction when
comparing the average of the first two years’ data (year -2 and year -1) with the
footprint of the most recent year (year 0). At a minimum this must be based on
a level 1 footprint but organisations may opt for a more extensive footprint.
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For applicants with an energy bill of more than £50k per annum and less than or
equal to £500k per annum. Evidence of an absolute or relative reduction over a
two year historical period (year -1 vs year 0). At a minimum this must be based
on a level 1 footprint but organisations may opt for a more extensive footprint.
For applicants with an energy bill of less than or equal to £50k per annum. Small
organisations may elect one of two approaches:
I. Take the same approach as applicants with an energy bill of more than
£50k per annum but less than or equal to £500k per annum, i.e., absolute
or relative reduction over two years (see above).
II. Provide only 12 months of footprint data together with evidence of
quantified project reductions equating to at least 2% of the applicant’s
footprint e.g., for an organisation with a footprint of 100t CO2e, the
project(s) must have quantified reductions of at least 2t CO2e compared to
a business as usual case.
4.5. Recertification
Reduction is assessed by taking the average absolute footprint or relative
indicator for the two-year recertification period and comparing to the average
absolute footprint or relative indicator in the preceding compliance period.
For the first recertification, the two-year recertification compliance period will be
compared to the absolute footprint or relative indicator in the initial one-year
compliance period. For subsequent recertification, the most recent two-year
recertification compliance period will be compared to the average absolute
footprint or relative indicator in the preceding two-year compliance period.
The reduction rules apply to the level of footprint measurement which applied at
the previous assessment period, see example below.
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Example for companies with an energy bill over £50k per annum
At Recertification 1, reduction rules apply over the same level of footprint as
measured during initial certification (a level 1 footprint in the diagram below).
However medium and large organisations should start measuring the more
extensive level two footprint (including process/fugitive emissions and business
travel) after first certification.
At Recertification 2 and ongoing, reduction rules will apply over the level 2
footprint
At recertification, organisations should generally demonstrate compliance with the
reduction rules on the same assessment basis (absolute reduction or relative
reduction) as the previous certification. Where a relative reduction was used as
the assessment basis for the previous certification, the same indicator should
generally be used for recertification.
If an organisation is unable to demonstrate compliance on the same reduction
basis used for the previous certification, it may switch to a different assessment
basis or indicator. However, in addition to demonstrating a reduction in the
current compliance period from the previous compliance period, an additional
requirement applies. The organisation must further demonstrate compliance with
the reduction rules on the new assessment basis relative to a Reference Period.
This Reference Period is the baseline period from the previous certification.
Year 3 Year 5
110tCO2e
Year 2 Year 4
Recertification 1 Recertification 2
Level 1 footprint
120tCO2e
Level 2 footprint
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Examples of switching assessment basis on recertification
There are three possible ways in which an organisation might change the
basis on which it is establishing an emissions reduction. In each of these three
instances, the organisation must show a reduction relative to the selected
Reference Period using the same boundary.
• If switching from establishing reductions on a relative to an absolute basis,
the organisation would need to show that absolute emissions have fallen
relative to the Reference Period.
• If switching from establishing reductions on an absolute to a relative basis,
the organisation would need to show that emissions intensity has
decreased at least 2.5% per annum relative to the Reference Period.
• If the organisation is changing the indicator it uses for establishing a
relative reduction, emissions intensity using the new indicator must have
decreased at least 2.5% per annum relative to the Reference Period.
5. Qualitative Assessment
The applicant should provide evidence that it is acting effectively to respond to
climate change through action in the following areas:
• Governance
• Carbon Accounting
• Carbon Management
A demonstration of compliance with other schemes that require similar evidence
will be sufficient to achieve compliance with the Carbon Trust Standard. The
specific questions and weightings are detailed in Appendix E. Assessment will be
made based on the strength of evidence and site visit(s) if required. Assessment
will take into account the size of the organisation and length of time the
organisation has been certified against the Standard.
6. References
6.1. Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this
specification:
• Greenhouse gas protocol, 2004: Corporate accounting and reporting
standard, WRI and World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
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• BS ISO 14064-1:2006, Greenhouse gases — Part 1: Specification with
guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of
greenhouse gas emissions and removals.
Other global references:
• IPCC Second Assessment Report (1995)
Other UK specific references:
• Guidelines to Defra / DECC’s GHG conversion factors for company
reporting, 2010
• RTFO Carbon and Sustainability Technical Guidance Part 1 & 2
• The Building Regulations 2000 Part L
• Draft Code of Best Practice for Carbon Offset Providers Defra February
2008
6.2. Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this specification the following terms and definitions apply.
6.2.1. applicant
the organisation or part of the organisation applying for certification
6.2.2. carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)
measure of the amount of global warming arising from different GHGs, expressed
in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide that would have an equivalent global
warming potential (GWP)
6.2.3. combined heat and power (CHP)
type of power generator that delivers both electricity and useful heat (e.g. for
heating or processes) as a normal part of its operation
6.2.4. control approach
ownership of GHG emissions based on whether the applicant has financial or
operational control of the operation
6.2.5. emissions factors
GHG emissions associated with use of a unit of energy or mass
6.2.6. equity share approach
ownership of GHG emissions based on the economic interest in the activity;
typically, the equity share in an operation is aligned with the applicant's
percentage ownership of that operation
6.2.7. fugitive emissions
emissions that are not physically controlled but result from the intentional or
unintentional releases of GHGs
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Note. Fugitive emissions commonly arise from the production, processing, storage and use
of fuels and other chemicals, often through joints, seals, packing, gaskets, etc., e.g.
hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) emissions during the use of refrigeration and air conditioning
equipment
6.2.8. greenhouse gases (GHGs)
six major anthropogenic greenhouse gases identified by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous
oxide (N2O),hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur
hexafluoride (SF6)
6.2.9. global warming potential (GWP)
measure of the relative importance of different gases in contributing to global
warming
Note. Carbon dioxide is assigned a GWP of 1, and the GWP of other gases is expressed
relative to carbon dioxide.
6.2.10. offsetting
reduction in net emissions associated with a process or product through the
purchase (or otherwise acquiring or causing) of a reduction in GHG emissions
from another location
6.2.11. organisational boundary
the boundaries that determine the operations and subsidiaries owned or
controlled by the applicant, depending on the consolidation approach taken
(equity or control approach)
6.2.12. primary data
process-specific data obtained by direct measurement of the energy or business
activities
6.2.13. process emissions
emissions generated from manufacturing processes
Note. Examples of process emissions include manufacture of cement, aluminum, ammonia
and waste processing
6.2.14. renewable obligation certificate (ROC)
tradable emissions certificate demonstrating that renewable electricity has been
generated in accordance with the Renewable Obligation Order, 2006
6.2.15. secondary data
non-process specific data obtained from sources other than direct measurement
of the energy or business activities
The Carbon Trust Standard Rules v1.3 June 2010 19
Appendix A: Guidance on data quality
To ensure accurate reporting a minimum level of data quality is required for initial
certification. Over time, all organisations should develop the systems to track the
preferred reporting units for all key emissions and, as part of the qualitative
criteria, the appropriateness of the level of data used will be assessed. For each
footprint level and activity the minimum and preferred reporting units are defined
as follows:
Activity Preferred Reporting Units Minimum Reporting
Units
Level 1
Fuel Combustion Quantity of fuel consumed in
reporting period (e.g. tonnes,
litres, therms, kWh) from
metered data
Quantity of fuel purchased
in reporting period (e.g.
tonnes, litres, therms,
kWh)
Purchased
electricity, heat
and steam
Quantity of energy consumed
on site in reporting period
from metered data (e.g. kWh)
Quantity of energy
purchased (e.g. kWh) –
where bills are based on
regular meter readings
Owned transport Quantity of fuel consumed in
reporting period (e.g. litres,
kg)
Quantity of fuel purchased
in reporting period.
Total spend on vehicle fuel
purchased.
Distance travelled and
breakdown of vehicle types
Level 2
Process/fugitive
emissions
Quantity of process emission
produced and type of gas
Emissions inferred from
production levels
Business Travel –
Air Sum of the emissions from
each journey based on no of
passenger km/miles
Number of domestic, short
and long haul flights
Business Travel –
Hire Car
Total miles travelled in hire car
by company staff on business
purpose (non-commuting)
Average distance and
number of trips
Business Travel –
Rail
Total passenger km or
passenger miles travelled by
company staff on business
purpose (non-commuting)
Average distance and
number of trips
Business Travel –
Taxis
Total km or miles travelled by
company staff on business
purpose (non-commuting)
Total spend on taxis
The Carbon Trust Standard Rules v1.3 June 2010 20
Appendix B: Guidance on intensity indicators
Principles
• The indicator must account for the output of the core business activity of
the applicant and must relate to the organisational boundary assessed.
The core business activity of the applicant must not have changed
significantly during the assessment period.
• For ease of communication and transparency, organisations should chose
a single intensity indicator
• Additional indicators may be used for day-to-day carbon monitoring and
management and will be reviewed as part of the qualitative criteria
Examples of output indicators
Sector Indicator
Industrial and manufacturing
Tonne, Litre, m3 of product
unit numbers of product (eg. vehicles)
Basic materials Tonne product
Services FTE
Property company m2 of property let
Central or local government
FTE
Transport Passenger-km or journeys, tonne of
product
Utilities MWh (energy utilities), m3 (water utilities)
Insurance Annual premium equivalent
Cultural attractions Visitors
Diversified company Revenue
Further examples of appropriate industry indicators for energy intensive sectors
can be taken from the UK Climate Change Agreements.
The Carbon Trust Standard Rules v1.3 June 2010 21
Appendix C: Guidance on process & fugitive
emissions
Process emissions are emissions generated from manufacturing processes. The
table below provides a UK example of the types of emissions typically produced
by UK industry processes. For international guidance see Appendix D of the GHG
Protocol.
Source: Defra’s GHG conversion factors for company reporting
The Carbon Trust Standard Rules v1.3 June 2010 22
Fugitive emissions are emissions which are not physically controlled but result
from the intentional or unintentional releases of GHGs
CO2 CH4 N2O PFC SF6 HCF
Energy generation From
transmission
and storage
facilities
From
transmission
and
distribution
From LPG
storage
facilities
Coal Mining Coal mines and
coal piles
Aluminum Fuel line Fuel line Cover gas Fuel line
Iron and Steel
Landfills, Waste,
Water
Waste and
animal product
decomposition
Waste and
animal product
decomposition
Pulp & Paper Waste Waste
Semiconductor
production
Process gas
storage leaks
Process gas
storage leaks
Process gas
storage leaks
Office based Refrigeration
and air-
conditioning
Source: "The GHG Protocol: A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard" 2004
The Carbon Trust Standard Rules v1.3 June 2010 23
Appendix D: Guidance on leased assets
The following summary is based on Appendix F to the GHG Protocol Corporate
Accounting and Reporting Standard June 2006 v1.0
Whether a leased asset, like a building or vehicle, must be included in an
organisation’s footprint depends on:
1. The selected organisational boundary approach (see section 3.1)
i. Equity share: an organisation accounts for the emissions from
an operation based on its equity share in that operation;
ii. Financial control: an organisation accounts for 100% of an
operation over which is has financial control; or
iii. Operational control: an organisation accounts for 100% of an
operation over which is has operational control.
2. The type of lease
i. Finance/capital lease: This type of lease enables the lessee to
operate an asset and also gives the lessee all the risks and
rewards of owning the asset. Assets leased under a capital or
finance lease are considered wholly owned assets in financial
accounting; or
ii. Operating lease: This type of lease enables the lessee to
operate an asset but does not give the lessee any of the risks or
rewards of owning the asset. Any lease that is not a finance or
capital lease is an operating lease.
For a Lessee
Under a financial/capital lease, the lessee is considered to have ownership and
both financial and operational control of the leased asset. Therefore the
emissions are always counted as part of the scope 1/2 emissions and should be
included in an organisation’s footprint, a typical example is leased office space.
Under an operating lease, the lessee has operational control but not ownership or
financial control. Therefore the emissions must be included if an operational
control approach is used but is optional if equity share or financial control
approach is used.
Type of lease
Finance/capital Operating
Equity share Must be included Optional
Financial control Must be included Optional
Organisational
boundary approach
Operational control Must be included Must be included
The Carbon Trust Standard Rules v1.3 June 2010 24
For a Lessor
For companies who lease assets to other companies e.g. real estate companies,
vehicle fleet companies, the inclusion of emissions is summarised as follows
Type of lease
Finance/capital Operating
Equity share Optional Must be included
Financial control Optional Must be included
Organisational boundary approach
Operational control Optional Optional
The Carbon Trust Standard Rules v1.3 June 2010 25
Appendix E: Qualitative criteria
Topic Question Weight
Governance Policy: Does your organisation have a low-carbon/energy policy? 5
Responsibility: Which Board Committee or other executive body
has overall responsibility for climate change matters? Who has day-
to-day responsibility for carbon/energy management?
5
Reporting: How are emissions and reduction performance
communicated to relevant stakeholders?
5
Carbon
Accounting
Accounting process: Are there procedures for preparing, quality checking and documenting an accurate carbon footprint?
10
Carbon
Management
Monitoring: Does the organisation have systematic procedures for
actively monitoring and controlling energy and fuel consumption
throughout the year?
10
Targets: Does the organisation have a carbon/energy reduction target(s)?
5
Reduction programmes: What programmes or quality control
mechanisms does the organisation have in place to ensure that the
operating procedures of all sites, vehicles and equipment minimises
the carbon impact?
10
Investments: What capital investments to reduce the carbon
impact have been made over the last 4 years? What plans are there
for further investment?
10
Training: Are there awareness programmes for all staff and
appropriate training for those with responsibility for carbon
emissions?
5
Products & services: What programs are in place to reduce the
lifecycle carbon impacts of the organisation’s products and services
and/or influence other organisations?
5
Site visit: Based on the site visits, does the organisation display good overall carbon management practices? For reaccreditations,
has the organisation responded appropriately to previous
recommendations?
10
For organisations with an energy bill below £50k the site visit question may be
excluded, leading to a total available score of 70 points and a pass mark of 42
points (60%).