The world’s general consensus on the effects of climate change have led to a movement of effort in reducing the concentration of specific gases in the atmosphere, along with a cutback on the usage of nonrenewable resources. The majority acknowledge the personal responsibility in limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere, along with the regulations and initiatives put in line to do so. Part of the responsibility is in companies and organizations quantifying, monitoring, reporting, and verifying their own GHG emissions, in an effort to reduce the concentration. In the UK specifically, companies are required to report their annual greenhouse gas emissions in the director’s report. This regulation came about under the Companies Act 2006 Regulations 2013.
Guidelines on how to successfully report and monitor GHG, as well as specific company actions aimed at reducing emissions, can be found in ISO 14064-1:2018 – Greenhouse gases – Part 1: Specification with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals. This document details the principles and requirements for designing, developing, managing, and reporting organization or company-level GHG inventories. It also includes guidance on inventory quality management, reporting, internal auditing, and the organization’s responsibilities for verification activities. It aims to benefit organizations, governments, project proponents, and stakeholders worldwide.
The series’ second part, ISO 14064-2:2019 – Greenhouse gases – Part 2: Specification with guidance at the project level for quantification, monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emission reductions or removal enhancements, tells all about principles and guidelines for determining baseline scenarios of GHG projects or project-based activities designed to reduce GHG emissions. Its third part, ISO 14064-3:2019 – Greenhouse gases – Part 3: Specification with guidance for the validation and verification of greenhouse gas assertions, details the principles and requirements for verifying GHG inventories and validating GHG assertions and projects.
The document deals with specific issues that may hinder an organization’s workers, one of them being the organization being comprised of one or more facilities. ISO 14064-1:2018 advises the organization to “consolidate its facility-level GHG emissions and removals by either full control, in which the organization accounts for all quantified GHG emissions and removals from facilities over which it has financial or operational control, or equity share, in which the organization accounts for its portion of GHG emissions and/or removals from respective facilities.” The document then continues to detail different methodologies of reporting emissions and removal from differently organized facilities.
Tracking and Monitoring GHG Emissions
In the U.S., the EPA tracks GHG emissions from the country’s largest sources of carbon dioxide using the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP). The companies that are monitored using this program generally emit 25,000 metric tons or more of carbon dioxide annually. Although currently the guideline is meant for larger companies in the US and companies in the UK, the green direction we take in the near future will require reporting from all minor and major emitters of CO2 into the atmosphere. Parts 2 and 3 of ISO 14064 will be helpful in assisting the user in further detailing of GHG projects and activities.
GHG Validation and Verification Body Accreditation
The ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) accredits organizations that provide third-party validation/verification services for the reduction and removal of greenhouse gases (GHG). If you’d like to learn more about the ANAB Accreditation Program for Greenhouse Gas Validation/Verification Bodies, please refer to our past post on the subject: Adding Trust to Emissions Claims with ANAB Accreditation