Annual Verification Audit Instructions - Green-e · PDF fileThe Green‐e Climate Annual...

Copyright © 2015 Center for Resource Solutions. All Rights Reserved.

Annual Verification Audit Instructions Set 1: Project‐specific Sales (Sales by Project) Only

For Sellers Participating in Green‐e® Climate

Reporting Year 2014

Center for Resource Solutions 1012 Torney Ave

San Francisco, CA 94129 415‐561‐2100 | www.resource‐solutions.org

The Green‐e Climate Annual Verification Audit Instructions RY2014 – Set 1 Copyright © 2015 Center for Resource Solutions. All Rights Reserved.

Table of Contents

I. OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................ 1 A. Objectives of Verification Audit Instructions ...................................................................................... 2 B. Summary Requirements ...................................................................................................................... 2

II. GENERAL VERIFICATION AUDIT PROVISIONS .................................................................... 3 A. Scope of Verification Audit ................................................................................................................. 3 B. Form of Engagement and Report ........................................................................................................ 3 C. Scope of Testing .................................................................................................................................. 4 D. Period and Sales Covered by Reporting Requirements ...................................................................... 4 E. Verification of Donations of Offsets .................................................................................................... 5 F. In the Case that No Certified Sales Were Made During the Reporting Year ....................................... 5 G. Date the Annual Verification Submission Is Due to the Center for Resource Solutions ..................... 6 H. Other Materials to be Submitted to the Center for Resource Solutions with the Annual Verification

Submission .......................................................................................................................................... 6

III . DIRECTIONS FOR COMPLETING VERIFICATION WORKSHEETS ........................................... 6 A. Supply – Worksheet 1 ......................................................................................................................... 9 B. Sales by Project – Worksheet 2 ......................................................................................................... 10 C. Sales by Customer Location – Worksheet 3 ...................................................................................... 13 D. Balance of Supply and Sales – Worksheet 4 ..................................................................................... 14 E. Third‐party Distributor Sales – Worksheet 5 .................................................................................... 14

IV. AUDITOR’S QUALIFICATIONS .......................................................................................... 15

V. HOW TO GET HELP .......................................................................................................... 15

APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY OF TERMS ........................................................................................................................ 16

APPENDIX B: DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT TITLES AND OTHER INFORMATION NEEDED BY THE AUDITOR ............. 20

APPENDIX C: USING REGISTRIES IN GREEN‐E CLIMATE ANNUAL VERIFICATION ...................................................... 22

APPENDIX D: GREEN‐E® CLIMATE ATTESTATION FROM PROGRAM SELLER ............................................................. 28

The Green‐e Climate Annual Verification Audit Instructions RY2014 – Set 1 Page 1 of 28 Copyright © 2015 Center for Resource Solutions. All Rights Reserved.

I. OVERVIEW

This document, the Green‐e® Climate Annual Verification Audit Instructions (“Instructions”), provides instructions for fulfilling the requirements of the verification audit. The term Seller1 as used in this document refers to a seller of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions (“emissions reductions”) that has a contract to sell Green‐e Climate Certified emissions reductions (“Certified Offsets”). This document contains:

Directions for completing the Green‐e Climate Verification Worksheets Set 1: Project‐specific Sales (Sales by Project) Only2 (“Worksheets”);

Glossaries of terms and descriptions of the documents used in verification;

Instructions for using Registries to substantiate ownership of emissions reductions; and

The Green‐e Climate Attestation from Program Seller (“Seller Attestation”) to be completed by the Seller.

The Seller should complete all of the Worksheets in a Microsoft Excel™ compatible electronic format and supply these, all supporting documentation noted in the Instructions, and the Green‐e Climate Annual Verification Audit Overview and Provisions (“Audit Overview and Provisions”) Green‐e Climate Verification Audit Agreed‐upon Procedures (“Audit Procedures”) to an independent accountant3 (“Auditor”) for verification. The Auditor will conduct the verification audit according to Audit Procedures and develop an Agreed‐Upon Procedures Report, with the assistance of the Audit Overview and Provisions document, which provides general background and instructions for completing the Verification Audit. The Green‐e Climate Annual Verification Submission (“Annual Verification Submission”) shall include the Agreed‐Upon Procedures Report, completed copies of the Worksheets (1‐5), the Seller Attestation, the Auditor Attestation, and all documents requested in the Green‐e Climate Verification Checklist (“Checklist”). The Annual Verification Submission is due to the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) no later than the date listed on the Reporting Year 2014 Annual Verification Submission Timeline and Deadlines (“Verification Timeline”); for Reporting Year (RY) 2014, the Annual Verification Submission is due by June 1, 2015. There are two different certification types within Green‐e Climate that correspond to two different ways of selling Certified Offsets:

1. Sales by Project (also called “Project‐specific Sales”); and

2. Sales of Fixed and Customized Mix Products (at times abbreviated to “Mix Products”).

As such, there are three different sets of Verification Worksheets for reporting supply and sales and three different corresponding sets of Audit Procedures:

1 Terms defined in Appendix A are indicated in bold type the first time they appear. 2 Documents defined in Appendix B are indicated in bold italic type the first time they appear. 3 For information on the qualifications necessary for an accountant, see Sections II.B and IV.


1. Set 1 ‐ Project‐specific Sales (Sales by Project) Only;

2. Set 2 ‐ Sales of Fixed and/or Customized Mixes Only; and

3. Set 3 ‐ Sales of Fixed and/or Customized Mixes AND Project‐specific Sales.

Worksheets and Audit Procedures are clearly labeled as listed above. Sellers will use only one of these three sets and the Auditor will complete only one set of Audit Procedures that correspond to the Worksheets completed by the Seller. Sellers have been sent the set of Worksheets and Audit Procedures that apply to them, and each Seller’s certification type(s) is also clearly listed on the Checklist. If you are unsure which set of Worksheets and Audit Procedures to use, contact Green‐e Climate Staff.

A. Objectives of Verification Audit Instructions

Sellers must conduct an annual verification audit to substantiate emissions reduction retirements, transfers, and sales, as well as carbon offset claims. The primary objectives of the Instructions are:

To state the CRS assurance requirements relating to Green‐e Climate; and

To provide guidance to Sellers on how to satisfy and report on these assurance requirements.

B. Summary Requirements

Under Green‐e Climate, the Seller is required to reconcile emissions reduction sales with emissions reduction retirements and/or transfers of emissions reduction ownership in order to verify that they have retired/transferred enough emissions reductions in quantity and type to meet its customer demand for all Project‐specific Sales. Green‐e Climate requires that the Certified Offsets sold by Sellers meet a variety of criteria. These criteria address supply and sales, eligibility of emissions reductions, carbon offset marketing, and customer disclosure. Full Program eligibility criteria can be found in the Green‐e Climate Code of Conduct. All Certified sales made by the Seller must be audited. The purpose of this verification audit is to verify the criteria summarized in the list below. The specific information to be provided to the Auditor by the Seller, in order to demonstrate that the below criteria are met, is described in detail in Section III.

1. Supply – the Seller retired and/or transferred eligible emissions reductions as defined by the Green‐e Climate Program, and the retirement and/or transfer of eligible emissions reductions as reported by the Seller are accurate.4

2. Sales – sales of the Certified Offsets are reported accurately.

4 The process for the requirements of Sellers to substantiate ownership of emissions reductions through retirements and transfers in registries is included in Appendix C of this document, Using Registries in Green‐e Climate Annual Verification.


3. The Seller has accurately reported the number and type of customers purchasing the Certified Offsets, the volume of eligible emissions reductions sold to those customers, and the sales channels (“Transaction Type”) through which they were sold.

4. Balance of supply and sales – retirements and/or transfers of eligible emissions reductions were sufficient in amount and type to meet Certified Project‐specific Sales.

5. Information provided to customers on the Project Information Disclosure accurately details the project from which the emissions reductions are sourced including the emissions reduction project type, the Endorsed Program used, project location, and exact vintage year(s) with respect to the aforementioned characteristics is accurate.

II. GENERAL VERIFICATION AUDIT PROVISIONS

A. Scope of Verification Audit

The verification audit addressed is for the annual verification reporting requirements of the Green‐e Climate Program. This guidance is to be used by Sellers participating in Green‐e Climate and their Auditors. CRS acknowledges that the procedures put forward in the Audit Procedures are sufficient when performed in their entirety.

B. Form of Engagement and Report

Seller must engage an independent certified public accountant to perform this verification audit engagement and report on agreed‐upon procedures. Alternatively, the Sellers may elect to have their internal audit department (or the internal audit department of an affiliated company) perform these procedures, provided that the individual accountant signing the report for the internal audit department is a Certified Internal Auditor in good standing with the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). The term “Auditor” in this document refers to an independent public accountant or certified internal auditor. The verification audit engagement and report on agreed‐upon procedures must be performed in accordance with the Green‐e Climate Annual Verification Audit Overview and Provisions document, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements, Section 600, “Agreed Upon Procedures Engagements,” or under Statements on Auditing Standards, Section 622, “Engagements to Apply Agreed‐Upon Procedures to Specified Elements, Accounts, or Items of a Financial Statement.” The form of the report should follow the instructions in Section III of the Audit Overview and Provisions and as such specify the procedures performed and findings in a manner similar to reporting under Section AT600 or AU622 of the AICPA’s attestation or auditing standards, respectively. The Auditor should make reasonable efforts to ensure that the report is prepared in accordance with these minimum standards. In accordance with paragraph .41 of AICPA Section AU622 (in which “accountant” is equivalent to “Auditor”):

“The accountant need not perform procedures beyond the agreed‐upon procedures. However, if, in connection with the application of agreed‐upon procedures, matters come to the accountant’s attention by other means that significantly contradict the basis


of accounting for the specified elements, accounts, or items of a financial statement referred to in the accountant’s report, the accountant should include this matter in his or her report. For example, if, in connection with the application of agreed‐upon procedures, the accountant becomes aware of a potentially material adjustment to that account by means other than performance of the agreed‐upon procedures, the accountant should include this matter in his or her report.”

The Seller may elect a higher level of assurance with regard to its reporting requirements conducted by an Auditor. CRS welcomes attestation or similar audit‐level assurance with regard to the information, forms and assertions described in the Audit Overview and Provisions document and the Audit Procedures. Such alternative reporting should also be discussed with Green‐e Climate staff prior to submission of the report. The Agreed‐Upon Procedures Report must contain an original signature of the Auditor performing the audit on his or her company letterhead. Photocopies or facsimile copies are not accepted. In addition, each Auditor must complete a copy of the Auditor Attestation to accompany each Agreed‐Upon Procedures Report submitted. The Auditor Attestation must also contain and original signature, and is included as Appendix D of the Audit Overview and Provisions document.

C. Scope of Testing

The management of the Seller will need to make certain decisions regarding the scope of testing. This is due to the guidance involving agreed‐upon procedures conducted in accordance with the AICPA, at Section AT600 or Section AU622, which results in an Auditor’s report that is in the form of procedures and findings and not in the form of an opinion or negative assurance. Additionally, the specified users of the Agreed‐upon Procedures Report are responsible for the sufficiency (nature, timing and extent) of the agreed‐upon procedures, and assume the risk that such procedures might be insufficient for their purpose or that they might misunderstand or inappropriately use findings properly reported by the Auditors. CRS has attempted to provide an Audit Procedures that requires limited decisions necessary from the management of the Seller or from the Auditor. However, in those situations where it is necessary, the Audit Procedures clearly indicates when scope decisions are necessary and who should make those decisions. If questions regarding the scope arise, please contact Green‐e Climate staff for guidance, and for approval of any changes that may be necessary to address scope issues.

D. Period and Sales Covered by Reporting Requirements

The Agreed‐Upon Procedures Report must be prepared for Green‐e Climate on a calendar year basis. For those companies that began participating in Green‐e Climate in the middle of a RY, the reports should be prepared for the period starting on the date the Seller signed their Green‐


e Climate contract and ending on December 31 of the RY, or alternatively for the full RY if given permission of Green‐e Climate staff. RY2014 verification should cover sales made between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014—that is, sales that originated in 2014 or deliveries to be made in 2014 under Multi‐year Purchase Agreements or contracts entered into in previous years. The time of delivery for sales that originated in 2014 may not line up exactly with the time of sale, and deliveries for 2014 sales may occur up until verification of RY2014 (which occurs in 2015). As long as the delivery is made in accordance with a 2014 sale or 2014 scheduled delivery under a multi‐year purchase agreement, then the sale falls under the verification audit for RY2014. The year of sale or scheduled delivery should be evident based on Internal Reporting Documents and Billing Statements, but if it is not, then Seller can simply confirm the time of sale with the Auditor. The time of sale and time of delivery are different from the vintage, which is when the reduction occurred. Sellers must report the vintage to customers on the Project Information Disclosure. The reduction must have occurred, been verified and credited by an Endorsed Program, and been delivered (fully retired/transferred) by the Seller by the time of the verification audit.

E. Verification of Donations of Offsets

Sellers may donate (as opposed to sell) quantities of Certified Offsets on occasion, in adherence with the Green‐e Climate Code of Conduct. Said donations must be verified along with paid sales for the reporting year. Donations are not broken out separately from paid sales during annual verification. Though we do not expect that there will be invoices, receipts or traditional billing statements associated with offset donations, delivery attestations or other evidence of delivery would qualify as “billing statements” in this case, and must be provided to the auditor during the verification audit. The verification process works the same for donations as it would for paid sales.

F. In the Case that No Certified Sales Were Made During the Reporting Year

If there were no sales of Certified Offsets in RY2014, send to Green‐e Climate staff (electronically via email) a signed letter on company letterhead in which Seller attests to the following:

No Green‐e Climate Certified sales were made in 2014;

No sales were represented as Green‐e Climate Certified; and

There was no authorization, such as to customers or re‐sellers, that any sales could be represented as Green‐e Climate Certified.

With the receipt of this letter, the RY2014 verification obligations of the Seller with no Certified sales will be considered fulfilled.


G. Date the Annual Verification Submission Is Due to the Center for Resource Solutions

The Agreed‐Upon Procedures Report, along with other materials listed below in Section II.I and on the Checklist, must be submitted to CRS and received no later than the date provided in the RY2014 Verification Submission Timeline and Deadlines. For RY2014, this due date is June 1, 2015. Materials must be submitted electronically by emailing them to climate@green‐e.org (Subject: RY2014 Green‐e Climate Verification Submission). Completed Verification Worksheets must be submitted in Microsoft Excel™ compatible electronic format. The Annual Verification Submission must be received no later than the date provided in the Verification Timeline for RY2014. Hard copies of materials may also be mailed to the following address.

Center for Resource Solutions 1012 Torney Avenue, 2nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94129 ATTN: Green‐e Climate Verification

H. Other Materials to be Submitted to the Center for Resource Solutions with the Annual Verification Submission

The following reports and information should accompany the Auditor’s Agreed‐Upon Procedures Report:

Copt of Project Information for each project used to supply Project‐specific Sales during RY2014; – Project Information Disclosures submitted should be those used in the RY2014, not necessarily the Project Information Disclosures that are current at the time of the audit (if different).

Copies of Green‐e Climate Verification Worksheets 1‐5 in Microsoft Excel™ electronic format;

Registry Reports detailing the retirement and/or transfer of emissions reductions on behalf of Green‐e Climate sales (ensure that all reports are clearly legible);

Written explanation from the Seller for any exceptions in the Worksheets in the form of a Completed Green‐e Climate Explanation of Exceptions Form;

A completed Green‐e Climate Attestation from Program Seller for the Seller for whom this verification audit is being conducted;

An original copy of the Auditor Attestation completed by the Auditor that has signed the Agreed‐Upon Procedures Report; and the report must also contain an original signature of the Auditor performing the audit on his or her company letterhead.

III . DIRECTIONS FOR COMPLETING VERIFICATION WORKSHEETS

The requirements described below apply to Sellers in Green‐e Climate. The procedures are organized so as to first gather information about the acquisition and ownership of supply of


emissions reductions, and the retirement and/or transfer of emissions reductions that correspond to Project‐specific sales of Certified Offsets. Copies of the Worksheets are available on the Verification page of the Green‐e Climate website at: http://www.green‐e.org/climateverification. All Worksheets must be completed by the Seller in a Microsoft Excel™ compatible program and be submitted to CRS electronically with the Agreed‐upon Procedures Report. The Auditor, including a Certified Internal Auditor, cannot fill in the Worksheets. The Worksheets must be completed by an authorized representative of the Seller that is not performing the audit and is not a part of the Seller’s internal audit department. General Notes: 1. All Certified Offsets offered by the same Seller must be reported on one set of Worksheets.

There are three different sets of Worksheets, each with its own Audit Instructions and Audit Procedures. Sellers need only complete one of these three sets and the Auditor will complete only one set of Audit Procedures that correspond to the Worksheets completed by the Seller. This set of Worksheets (Worksheet Set 1: Project‐specific Sales Only) is for Sellers that made only Project‐specific Sales in RY2014. See Section I above for more information about the other Worksheet sets.

2. Where applicable within the Verification Worksheets, Sales by Project may be referred to as “Project‐specific Sales.” Sales of Fixed and Customized Mix Products may be referred to as “Mix Product Sales” or “Mix Sales.”

3. Please enter the “Reporting Year,” “Name of Company,” “Date” completed, and “Name” of the person filling out the worksheet at the top of each Worksheet.

4. Please note any directions provided on individual Worksheets.

5. Please fill in only the blank cells as instructed. Cells that have a gray fill do not require an entry and should not be changed.

6. Each column of each Table on each Worksheet has been given a distinct number‐letter combination header to make referencing data easier. This reference combination is written at the top of each column. For example, the first column in Worksheet 1 will be referred to as “1A;” the fifth column in Table 2.1 of Worksheet 2 is referred to as “2E.” Be aware that some Worksheets have multiple Tables and that the letters associated with each column increment between Tables. For example, the last column of Table 2.1 is referred to as “2F” and the first column of Table 2.2 is referred to as “2G.”

7. Seller may add rows and columns, where necessary. Please do not delete rows or columns. Where columns are added, please enter a unique header for the added columns that corresponds to the next letters in the alphabet following the last letters used on the Worksheet. For example, since the last column in Worksheet 2 is Column “2CC”, if an additional column is added in any table on Worksheet 2, the new column should be given a header of “2DD.”


8. Adopt a consistent rule for rounding where necessary for reporting of sales on Worksheets. We suggest that Sellers be conservative (for example, do not round down if a partial ton is sold) and report sales to the nearest hundredth. Inform the Auditor so that s/he can verify the quantities reported without discrepancy.

9. All sections and Worksheets apply to all Sellers unless otherwise noted.

Preparation of Internal Reporting Documents:

Before filling out the Worksheets, prepare Internal Reporting Documents that indicate sales or deliveries of Green‐e Climate certified carbon offsets made in RY2014. These documents should aggregate information from documents such as: Invoices, billing statements, purchase agreements, Seller internal sales records, and Third‐party Distributor internal sales records and billing statements.

Provide your auditor with access to all Internal Reporting Documents. Documents should be organized such that the auditor can easily find the information listed above for each sale and for all sales. Quantities of sales should be listed in units of “metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e),” rather than pounds or another unit of measurement.

Documents should include the following information:

Customer Name or Account Identification Number

Carbon Offset Project Name, Location, Project ID Number

Quantity of Emissions Reductions in metric tons of CO2e sold or to be delivered to each customer

Vintage year of emissions reductions sold

Customer Type (individual customer, commercial customer, or wholesale customer)

Customer Location (by U.S. state, or non‐U.S. country)

Transaction Type (online sales, offline sales, automatic recurring sales, multi‐year purchase agreements)

Whether or not the sale was made by a Third‐party Distributor (TPD)

Whether or not the sale was to a project seeking Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification (LEED Certification) points.

For Certified Project‐specific Sales, the Auditor will need to have the data sorted by customer type, transaction type, carbon offset project supplying the emissions reduction sold, vintage of emissions reductions, customer location (state), sales through Third‐Party Distributor, sales for LEED, and sales above 25,000 metric tons CO2e. See Examples Below.

Sellers must also provide the Auditor with a list of Third‐Party Distributors selling Certified Offsets from specific projects.

Example 1: Seller Internal Sales Records: Project‐Specific Sales


Customer Name

Customer Location

Customer Type

Transaction Type TPD?

Date of Sale

Project 1 (tons)

Project 1 Vintage

Project 2 (tons)

Project 2 Vintage

Customer Totals

Customer 1

Customer 2

Customer 3

Customer 4

Project Totals

Example 2: Third‐Party Distributor Internal Sales Records: Project‐Specific Sales

Customer Name Customer Location

Customer Type

Transaction Type

Date of Sale

Project 1 (tons)

Project 2 (tons)

Project 3 (tons)

Customer Totals

Customer 1

Customer 2

Customer 3

Customer 4

Project Totals

A. Supply – Worksheet 1

Table 1. All Supply

Report in Table 1 all emissions reductions used to supply all RY2014 Project‐specific Sales of Certified Offsets.

1. To demonstrate evidence of retirement and/or transfer of eligible emissions reductions from the American Carbon Registry (ACR), the Climate Action Reserve (CAR), Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), and the Gold Standard (GS), the Seller must have an account with an Approved Registry. Seller must follow the instructions found in Appendix C: Using Registries in Green‐e Climate Annual Verification to demonstrate the retirement or transfer of emissions reductions for Certified Offset sales in an Approved Registry.

Print out a Registry Report from an Approved Registry. Follow the instructions found in Appendix C. Include the Registry Report in the materials provided to the Auditor.

2. In Columns 1A through 1K of Table 1, record the Project Name, Project Type, Project Location (country), Project Start Date (year), Endorsed Program, Registry Name, Project ID, Vintage of emissions reductions (year), Quantity of emissions reductions (in metric tons CO2e), Registry Serial ID Number(s) (range), and name of wholesale supplier (where applicable) for all projects used to supply all Certified Project‐specific Sales. Order Project Names consistently throughout the Worksheets; it is recommended that projects are ordered in alphabetical or chronological order – the same order must be kept in Tables 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 4.1, and 5.1. Combine all retirements/transfers made for the same combination of Project Name and vintage year in a single row. Emissions reductions


generated in different vintage years must be recorded on separate rows; a range of years cannot be recorded in the same row.

Only record metric tons CO2e used to supply Certified Project‐specific Sales and not supply used for non‐certified sales. Also, only record the retirements used for Certified Sales (not necessarily the total available supply procured from projects). For example, if a Seller records sales of 95 tons, and retired blocks of 50, 45 and 25 tons respectively in three retirements from the same project to meet these sales, Seller should not report the retirement of the 25 ton block as supply for Certified Sales as this was not used. If, on the other hand, Seller retired 100 tons in a single retirement to meet these sales, Seller should report supply of 100 tons, and there will be a 5 ton positive difference in balance reported on Worksheet 4.

3. Sum the total Supply of Emissions Reductions in Column 1I, and record the Total in the last row of Column 1I.

4. Provide the Auditor with access to Seller’s Registry account(s) so that the Auditor can verify the information in the provided Registry Reports against the information in Seller’s account(s).

B. Sales by Project – Worksheet 2

Worksheet 2 is where the Seller reports all Project‐specific Sales of Certified Offsets. Table 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 must include all sales, including sales made to Large Customers (also reported in Table 2.4) and sales made to LEED Projects (also reported in Table 2.5) even though these will also be separately reported in tables below. There may be instances where the same Sale is reported in both Table 2.4 and Table 2.5 if quantities of 25,000 metric tons CO2e (or more) of emissions reductions are sold to LEED Projects. All Tables of Worksheet 2 must include Sales made through Third‐party Distributors, if any. For example, within Table 2.2 Sales by Customer Type, include Project‐specific Sales made through Third‐party Distributors under the appropriate customer type in Columns 2H‐2J.

1. Collect Internal Reporting Documents that indicate Project‐specific Sales (including deliveries in RY2014 under multi‐year purchase agreements, RY2014 sales made by Third‐party Distributors, and sales made to LEED projects), copies of Billing Statements, and/or any other necessary records supporting:

a. The amount of emissions reductions sold or to be delivered from each carbon offset project;

b. The number of customers by customer type (individual customer, commercial customer, or wholesale customer) buying from each project;

c. The transaction type for the Project‐specific Sales (online sales, offline sales, automatic recurring sales, multi‐year purchase agreements, or Third‐party Distributor sales); and

d. The emissions reductions (in metric tons CO2e) sold or to be delivered to these customers.


See Section III for direction on the preparation of Internal Reporting Documents.

2. Provide the Auditor with representative copies of Project Information Disclosure (containing project‐specific information, such as Project Name, Project Type, Project Location, Project Start Date, Vintage of emissions reductions sold from the project, etc.) given to customers at the time of sale.

3. Provide the Auditor with internal documents that detail Project‐specific Sales through Third‐party Distributors, including a list of Third‐party Distributors. There must be an auditable trail from end‐use consumer of a Certified Offset to the Seller.

4. Each Third‐party Distributor must provide Seller’s Auditor access to all records associated with Project‐specific Sales, such as billing statements, internal sales records, and any other documentation supporting:

a. The name of the carbon offset project;

b. The amount of emissions reductions; and

c. The number of sales made by the Third‐party Distributor(s);

Table 2.1. Sales by Project and Vintage

5. Table 2.1 is organized by Project Name and by Vintage (year). Record the Project Name for all RY2014 Certified Project‐specific sales in Column 2A. List Project Names in the same order as Column 1A of Table 1.

6. Record the Vintage (year) in Column 2E. Do not include a range of years. If more than one vintage year is sold by the same project, report sales of different vintage years in separate rows.

7. Record the Project Type, Project Location (country), and Endorsed Program in Columns 2B, 2C, and 2D, respectively. Each unique combination of Project Name, Project Type, Project Location, Endorsed Program, and Vintage listed in Table 2.1 should correspond to a unique combination included in the Project Information Disclosure provided to the customer by the Seller at the time of sale.

8. In Column 2F, report the quantity of emissions reductions (in metric tons CO2e) sold for each combination of Project Name, Project Type, Project Location, and Vintage.

9. Sum Column 2F and write the total in the last row of Column 2F.

Table 2.2. Sales by Customer Type

10. Table 2.2 is organized by Project Name, rather than by Vintage. Record in Column 2G the Project Name for all Certified Project‐specific Sales made in RY2014. List Project Names in the same order as Column 1A of Table 1.

11. Record all Sales of emissions reductions (in metric tons CO2e) by customer type (Commercial, Individual, and Wholesale) in Columns 2H‐2J. Include sales from all vintage years within the same row for each Project Name.


Sales to each customer type should be recorded separately in Columns 2H, 2I, and 2J. For example, sales to Wholesale customers reported in Column 2J should not be included in sales to Individual customers reported in Column 2I or sales to Commercial customers reported in Column 2H). If Seller does not have customer type information, record all sales as Individual sales and make a note at the bottom of the Worksheet that Seller does not have data on customer type.

12. Record in Column 2K the total sales for each project by adding the values in Columns 2H, 2I, and 2J for each row.

13. Sum each of the Columns 2H, 2I, 2J, and 2K in the last row of Table 2.2.

Table 2.3. Sales by Transaction Type

14. Table 2.3 is organized by Project Name, rather than by Vintage. Record in Table 2.3 the name of each project in Column 2L in the same order as Column 1A of Table 1.

15. Separately report sales of emissions reductions (in metric tons CO2e) by transaction type (Online Sales, Offline One‐time Sales, Multi‐year Purchase Agreement deliveries, and Automatic Recurring Purchases) in Columns 2M, 2N, 2O, and 2P. Sales recorded in Columns 2M‐2O should not include Automatic Recurring Sales. Sales recorded in Columns 2M, 2N, and 2P should not include sales or scheduled RY2014 deliveries under Multi‐year Purchase Agreements; all sales fulfilling Multi‐year Purchase Agreements must be recorded in 2O. If Seller does not have transaction type information, record all sales as Online sales and make a note at the bottom of the Worksheet that Seller does not have data on customer type.

16. Record in Column 2Q the total sales for each project by adding the values in Columns 2M, 2N, 2O, and 2P for each row.

17. Sum each of the Columns 2M, 2N, 2O, 2P, and 2Q and write the totals in the last row of Table 2.3.

Table 2.4. Large Sales (>25K Tons Total Sold) by Customer

Table 2.4 contains information about large customers (including customers of Third‐party Distributors) that purchased 25,000 metric tons CO2e or more in RY2014 from a combination of one or more projects. All sales recorded in Table 2.4 should have been recorded in Table 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, and 2.5 if purchased for a LEED project.

18. Record customer names in the cells identified with “[Enter Customer # Name]” in Columns 2T, 2U, 2V, 2W, and 2X, as needed.

19. Table 2.4 is organized by Project Name and Vintage (year). Record the Project Name in Column 2R; list Project Names in the same order as Column 1A of Table 1, as needed. Record each Vintage by year in Column 2S. Do not include a range of years. If more than one vintage year is sold by the same project, report sales of different vintage years in separate rows.

20. For each unique combination of Project Name and Vintage, list quantities of Sales (in metric tons CO2e) made to each customer in the same row of Columns 2T, 2U, 2V, 2W, 2X, as needed. Enter “0” if a customer did not purchase that combination.


21. Sum each of the Columns 2T, 2U, 2V, 2W, and 2X, and enter the totals in the last row of each column of Table 2.4.

Table 2.5. Sales to LEED Projects

22. In Column 2Y and 2Z, list the name and location (U.S. state or non‐U.S. country) of each LEED Project that purchased Certified Offsets in RY2014. In Column 2AA, list the carbon offset Project Name of the Certified Offsets sold. If a LEED Project purchased Certified Offsets from more than one carbon offset project, and/or of more than one vintage year, each unique combination of LEED Project Name, LEED Project Location, carbon offset Project Name, Sales quantity, and Vintage must be recorded in a separate row of Table 2.5. Table 2.5 should be organized according to carbon offset Project Name in the same order as Column 1A of Table 1 as needed, rather than by LEED Project Name.

23. Report the Vintage (year) for each combination of LEED Project Name, LEED Project Location, and carbon offset Project Name in Column 2CC. Do not list a range of vintage years; instead record each vintage year in a separate row.

24. For each unique combination of LEED Project, LEED Project Location, carbon offset Project Name, and Vintage (year), report the Sales (quantity of metric tons CO2e) in Column 2BB of the same row as the unique combination.

25. Sum the total Sales of Column 2BB and write the total in the last row of Column 2BB.

C. Sales by Customer Location – Worksheet 3 Table 3.1. Sales by Customer Location

1. Collect billing statements, internal records, and any other documentation supporting:

a. The amount of emissions reductions sold for all Certified Offsets;

b. The number of Project‐specific Sales and quantity sold by customer type (individual, commercial, wholesale, and customers of Third‐party Distributors); and

c. The number of Project‐specific Sales and quantity sold by customer location (U.S. state or country).

2. Provide the Auditor with internal documents that detail the amount and customer location of emissions reductions sold by project during RY2014.

3. All Project‐specific Sales must be reported in Table 3.1 (including sales to customers of Third‐party Distributors). For each location (U.S. state or country) listed in Column 3A, record in Column 3B the total sales of emissions reductions (in metric tons CO2e) to customers in RY2014. If detailed information regarding customer location is not available, record all sales as “Unknown” in the second to last row of the table and make a note at the bottom of the Worksheet that such data is not available.

4. For each location (U.S. state or country) listed in Column 3A, record in Column 3C the number of customers that purchased Certified Offsets in RY2014. Include the customers of Third‐party Distributors.


5. Sum Column 3B and write the total in the last row of Column 3B. The sum total of 3B should equal the sum total of Column 2F (which should also match the last row of Columns 2K and 2Q). Sum Column 3C and write the total in the last row of Column 3C.

D. Balance of Supply and Sales – Worksheet 4

Table 4.1. Project‐specific Sales Balance

1. Organize Table 4.1 according to Project Name; list projects in the same order as Column 1A of Table 1. In Columns 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E, list all of the unique combinations of Project Name, Project Type, Project Location, Endorsed Program, and Vintage (year) from the respective column in Table 1. For example, Vintage listed in Column 4E for each unique combination should match the Vintage listed Column 1H of Table 1. If a single project has Sales of more than one vintage year, list each vintage year in separate rows.

2. In Column 4F, record the supply of emissions reductions (in metric tons CO2e) for each unique combinations of Project Name, Project Type, Project Location, Endorsed Program, and Vintage from Table 1, now listed in Table 4.1.

3. For each unique combination, record in Column 4G the Sales from Column 2F of Table 2.1.

4. In Column 4H, calculate the difference between Supply and Sales in RY2014 for each unique combination of Project Name, Project Type, Project Location, Endorsed Program, and Vintage by subtracting Column 4G from Column 4F.

5. Sum each of the Columns 4F, 4G, and 4H, and enter the total for each column in the last row of Table 4.1.

E. Third‐party Distributor Sales – Worksheet 5

Worksheet 5 applies only to Sellers selling Certified Offsets through one or more Third‐party Distributors. If Seller did not sell any Certified Offsets through a Third‐party Distributor, fill out the top portion of Worksheet 5 and enter “Not Applicable” in the first blank row of Columns 5A and 5F.

Provide the Auditor with internal documents that detail Project‐specific Sales of Certified Offsets through Third‐party Distributors, including a list of Third‐party Distributors. There must be an auditable trail from end‐use consumer of a Certified Offset to the Seller.

In addition, each Third‐party Distributor must provide Seller’s Auditor access to all records associated with the Project‐specific Sales, such as billing statements, internal sales records, and any other documentation supporting the name of the project, the amount of emissions reductions and number of sales made by the Third‐party Distributor(s);

Table 5.1. Third‐party Distributor Project‐specific Sales

1. Organize Table 5.1 according to Project Name and Vintage (year); list projects in the same order as Column 1A of Table 1, as needed. Record the combination of Project Name and Vintage of Project‐specific sales made by Third‐party Distributors in RY2014 in Columns 5A and 5B, respectively. Record each vintage year in a separate row.


2. In Columns 5C through 5E, as needed, fill in the names of Third‐party Distributors making Project‐specific Sales in the cell(s) identified with “[Enter Third‐party Name].” List all Third‐party Distributors even if a Third‐party Distributor made no sales in RY2014.

3. If a Third‐party Distributor reported no sales for the RY, record sales as 0 in the column below the Third‐party Distributor name. Third‐party Distributor must provide a letter on company letterhead with a wet signature from the manager of emissions reduction sales attesting that in RY2014:

a. Made no Green‐e Climate Certified sales;

b. Did not represent any sales as Green‐e Climate Certified; and

c. Did not authorize any of their sales to be represented as Green‐e Climate Certified.

This letter must be submitted to the Auditor and included in the Annual Verification Submission to CRS.

4. In Columns 5C through 5E, as needed, record the Sales (in metric tons CO2e) for each combination of Project Name and Vintage made by each Third‐party Distributor.

5. Sum the sales of each combination of Project Name and Vintage in Column 5F, by adding values in Columns 5C through 5E for each row.

6. Sum the values of each Column 5C through 5F, as needed, in the last row of each respective column.

7. Provide the Auditor with access to all Third‐party Distributor’s internal sales records associated with Certified Project‐specific sales.

IV. AUDITOR’S QUALIFICATIONS

The Auditor shall be a member in good standing with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or a member in good standing and certified as an Internal Auditor with the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). For more information, see Section II.B above.

V. HOW TO GET HELP

Should assistance be required, Center for Resource Solutions staff are available to answer questions. Questions relating to the verification may be directed to: Todd Jones or Sarah Busch at 415‐561‐2100 or climate@green‐e.org. Electronic copies of this document, along with attestations and Worksheets, are available on the Green‐e Climate Web page at http://www.green‐e.org/climateverification.


APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Agreed‐Upon Procedures Report (Audit Procedures): The report supplied to CRS prepared by the Auditor detailing the results of the annual verification audit by performing the procedures stipulated within in accordance with the Green‐e Climate Annual Verification Audit Overview and Provisions.

American Carbon Registry (ACR): The American Carbon Registry, a nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International, was established in 1996 as the first voluntary GHG registry in the world. ACR develops offset methodologies for the voluntary market and provides oversight of offset project verification, registration, offset issuance and retirement reporting. ACR is an Endorsed Program under Green‐e Climate.

Approved Registry: A greenhouse gas emissions reduction registry deemed eligible by Green‐e Climate as an acceptable software database to document ownership and the retirement of emissions reductions for purposes of Green‐e Climate verification. A list of approved registries is included in the Checklist for each Seller.

Auditor: An independent public accountant or certified internal auditor that performs the Green‐e Climate Verification Audit and reports on agreed‐upon procedures. See Section II.B and V of the Instructions for Auditor qualifications.

Auditor Attestation: A short attestation to be completed by the Auditor signing the Agreed‐Upon Procedures Report, which states that the Auditor has followed certain practices when reviewing Participant’s verification materials and preparing the Agreed‐Upon Procedures Report. It is available as Appendix D of the Audit Overview and Provisions.

Automatic Recurring Sales: Sales of Certified Offsets continuously over time through automatic renewals of a purchasing agreement or sustained enrollment in a purchasing plan.

Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO2e): The universal unit of measurement used to indicate the global warming potential of GHGs and to trade ownership of GHG emissions reductions. Used to evaluate and compare the impacts of releasing (or avoiding the release of) different GHGs.

Certified Carbon Offset (Certified Offset): A carbon offset sold as Green‐e Climate Certified. Green‐e Climate will certify carbon offsets sold by project (“Project‐specific Sales”) or in mixes (“Customized Mix” and “Fixed Mix”) of project type, location, and Endorsed Program. A Certified Offset is a GHG emission reduction that has been certified and issues by an eligible Endorsed Program under an eligible protocol or methodology, and the sale and marketing of which meets the requirements of the Green‐e Climate Code of Conduct, and the exclusive and correct delivery of which has been verified in accordance with the Code of Conduct and the Green‐e Climate Verification Audit.

Climate Action Reserve (CAR): The Climate Action Reserve is a national offsets program working to ensure integrity, transparency and financial value in the U.S. carbon market. It does this by establishing regulatory‐quality standards for the development, quantification and verification of greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects in North America; issuing carbon offset credits known as Climate Reserve Tonnes (CRT) generated from such projects; and tracking the transaction of credits over time in a transparent, publicly‐accessible system. CAR is an Endorsed Program under Green‐e Climate.


Commercial Customer: A business purchaser of Certified Offsets.

Customer: For the purposes of this Audit Procedures, the customer is identified as the party who has purchased a Certified Offset from the Seller. Customer types include commercial, individual, and wholesale.

Customized Mix: A Certified Offset in which a customer can choose a unique combination of different emissions reductions from project type(s), location(s) and Endorsed Program(s).

EcoLogo: Founded in 1988, EcoLogo a multi‐attribute criteria certification program for North America based in Canada and managed by TerraChoice, an environmental consultancy.

Eligible Emissions Reductions: Emissions reductions that are certified by an Endorsed Program, and therefore an eligible source of supply in a Certified Offset. This includes emissions reductions derived from offset projects according to certain protocols of the American Carbon Registry, the Climate Action Reserve, the Gold Standard, and the Verified Carbon Standard.

Endorsed Program: A greenhouse gas project certification program identified by Green‐e Climate Stakeholders and the Green‐e Governance Board as meeting the requirements set forth by the Green‐e Climate Standard. Certain project protocols of Endorsed Programs are eligible sources of supply for Certified Products. The Endorsed Programs include the American Carbon Registry, the Climate Action Reserve, the Gold Standard, and the Verified Carbon Standard.

Fixed Mix Product: A Certified Offset with the same combination and proportion of emissions reductions from project type(s), location(s) and Endorsed Program(s) sold to all customers.

Gold Standard (GS): The Gold Standard Foundation is a project certification program for Clean Development Mechanism and voluntary offset projects. The Gold Standard is a non‐profit foundation under Swiss law and funded by public and private donors. The Gold Standard is an Endorsed Program under Green‐e Climate.

Greenhouse Gas (GHG): Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere and are emitted through natural processes and human activities. Green‐e Climate addresses GHG emissions reductions that originate from any gas that has been determined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to have a radiative forcing effect on the atmosphere, including but not necessarily limited to six principle GHGs included in the Kyoto Protocol: carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride (CO2, N2O, CH4, HFCs, PFCs and SF6).

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions (emissions reductions): Reductions, removals or the permanent storage of greenhouse gases produced by projects or project activities that have been validated, verified and certified according to the program requirements of an Endorsed Program. GHG emissions reductions must originate from projects or parts of projects that meet the principles and criteria contained in the Green‐e Climate Standard. They must meet the requirement of being real, verifiable, permanent and enforceable. They may not be claimed or registered by more than one end‐user (quantified in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent).

Green‐e Climate Annual Verification Audit Instructions (Instructions): Provides instructions for Sellers in Green‐e Climate on how to fill in the Worksheets and what materials to assemble for the

Auditor to complete the Agreed‐Upon Procedures Report. There are three different sets of Verification Worksheets for reporting supply and sales and three different corresponding sets of Audit Procedures: Set 1 ‐ Project‐specific Sales (Sales by Project) Only; Set 2 ‐ Sales of Fixed


and/or Customized Mixes Only; and Set 3 ‐ Sales of Fixed and/or Customized Mixes AND Project‐specific Sales.

Green‐e Climate Annual Verification Audit Overview and Provisions (Audit Overview and Provisions): Addresses the verification reporting requirements for the Green‐e Climate Program and provides general background and instructions for completing the Green‐e Climate Verification Audit Agreed‐upon Procedures (“Audit Procedures”), which are included as a separate document.

Green‐e Climate Annual Verification Submission (Annual Verification Submission): The collected, completed and audited documents required to be submitted annually to the Center for Resource Solutions as part of the requirements of Green‐e Climate certification. These documents include: The Agreed‐Upon Procedures Report, all completed Worksheets and all documents required by the Checklist.

Green‐e Climate Code of Conduct: The Green‐e Climate Code of Conduct contains the Ethical Guidelines, Certification Categories, and Disclosure & Verification Requirements that apply to sellers of Green‐e Climate Certified Offsets.

Green‐e Climate Standard: The governing document for Green‐e Climate, the Green‐e Climate Standard details the principles for Green‐e Climate, as well as the criteria the Endorsed Programs must meet. It is available on the Green‐e Climate Web site at http://www.green‐e.org/getcert_ghg_standard.shtml.

Individual Customer: A residential purchaser of Certified Carbon Offsets.

LEED Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Certification): A green building standard administered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI): The Low Impact Hydropower Institute is a national non‐profit organization dedicated to reducing the impacts of hydropower generation through the certification of hydropower projects that have avoided or reduced their environmental impacts pursuant to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute’s criteria.

Multi‐year Purchase Agreement: A purchase agreement or contract for the purchase of Green‐e Climate Certified Offsets for more than a single year.

Offline Sales: One‐time sales of Green‐e Climate Certified offsets not transacted via a web‐based sales channel.

Online Sales: Sales of Green‐e Climate Certified Offsets transacted via a web‐based sales channel.

Offset Card: A pre‐printed, single‐denomination (uniform quantity and type of product) card (need not be in actual card form) used for in‐person, over‐the‐counter offset transactions.

Project Type: The type of resource used to create emissions reductions (including but not limited to renewable energy, energy efficiency, landfill gas methane destruction, forestry, etc). A list of eligible project types is available on the Green‐e Climate Web site at http://www.green‐e.org/getcert_ghg_endorsed.shtml. The project type for each Certified Offset is found on the Carbon Offset Content Label for fixed mix or customized mix offsets, or on the Project Information for offset sales by project.

Registry: An electronic system for issuance, tracking, trading, and retirement of GHG emissions reductions and emissions reduction credits.


Reporting Year (RY): The reporting year is the period beginning January 1 in the sales year being reported or the date the Seller began selling Certified Offsets and ending on December 31 of that year.

Reporting Year 2014 Annual Verification Submission Timeline and Deadlines (Verification Timeline): A document provided to Sellers that details the timeline, due dates and late fees associated with preparing and submitting all verification materials in Reporting Year 2014.

Retirement: The process for setting aside, designating or allocating specific emissions reductions in a registry to ensure that said emissions reductions can no longer be traded. Specific processes and terminology regarding retirement will vary by registry, and more specific instructions for what constitutes appropriate retirement in a given Approved Registry can be found in Appendix C.

Sales by Fixed and Customized Mix Products (Mix Sales or Sales of Mix Products): Carbon offsets sold in a combination of project type, location, and Endorsed Program. See Fixed Mix and Customized Mix.

Sales by Project (Project‐Specific Sales): Greenhouse gas emissions reductions from specific eligible projects that are sold to customers based on their preference.

Seller: An entity offering Green‐e Climate Certified carbon offsets to customers.

Third‐party Distributor: A company that sells Certified Offsets without any direct relation to procurement of supply of GHG emissions reductions, but rather through an arrangement with a Seller of a Certified Offset.

Transaction Type (Sales Channel): Certified Offsets can be sold online, offline, through multi‐year purchase agreements, and through automatically recurring purchases.

Transfer: The process by which an account holder in a registry delivers specific emissions reductions from its registry account to the separate registry account of another party. The specific processes for transfers, the terminology and the documentation required for Green‐e Climate verification with respect to such transfers may vary by registry, and more registry‐specific instructions on this topic can be found in Appendix C.

Using Registries in Green‐e Climate Annual Verification: This document details the requirements for using registries to substantiate ownership of emissions reductions. It is available on the Green‐e Web site at http://www.green‐e.org/climateverification and is included with the verification materials sent to Sellers each year. It is also included as Appendix C of this document.

Verified Carbon Standard (VCS): The VCS is a standard for voluntary GHG emissions reduction and removal projects and their validation and verification. The VCS program is managed by the VCS Association which is an independent, non‐profit organization. The VCS is an Endorsed Program under Green‐e Climate.

Vintage: The date or time period that the emissions reduction was generated or created.

Wholesale Customer: A company that buys emissions reductions from a Seller with the intension of reselling them to another wholesale or retail customer.

Wholesale Supplier: A company that sells emissions reductions to a Seller of emissions reductions that intends to resell them.


APPENDIX B: DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT TITLES AND OTHER INFORMATION NEEDED BY THE AUDITOR

The following is a list of information that Sellers need to provide to their Auditor and should be tailored to each particular engagement as reports and information will vary.

a. Internal Reporting Documents that Indicate Sales (“internal reporting documents”), which is any report from the Seller that contains the detail of sales per customer for Certified Sales and that was used to complete the Worksheets. These documents will indicate sales made in RY2014, and could include amounts of Certified Offsets delivered in RY2014 under multi‐year agreements that were entered into in previous RYs. The Auditor will need to have the data sorted by customer type, Sales by Project and Sales by Mix, and by customer location (state). See Section III of the Audit Instructions for direction on the Preparation of Internal Reporting Documents.

b. Billing Statements and/or any other necessary records of individual sales (e.g. contracts, purchase agreements, invoices, receipts of purchase, etc.), and also records of delivery for offset donations; should contain the Certified Offset sales of emissions reductions by customer. These should be provided to the Auditor upon request to substantiate Internal Reporting Documents, where different.

c. Registry Report: Reports generated from Sellers’ Approved Registry accounts to substantiate the retirement of eligible emissions reductions. All Sellers must follow the rules in Appendix C: Using Registries in Green‐e Climate Annual Verification.

d. Green‐e Climate Verification Audit Agreed‐upon Procedures (“Audit Procedures”): Provides instructions for the Auditor on the procedures to perform in order to verify a Seller’s annual sales and supply of eligible emissions reductions.

e. Green‐e Climate Annual Verification Audit Overview and Provisions (“Audit Overview and Provisions”): Addresses the verification reporting requirements for the Green‐e Climate Program and provides general background and instructions for completing the Audit Procedures, which are included as a separate document.

f. Green‐e Climate Attestation from Program Seller signed by the Seller company for which the Audit Procedures is being conducted. It is included as Appendix D of the Instructions.

g. Green‐e Climate Verification Checklist (“Checklist”): This document is provided by CRS to the Seller. It contains information regarding the Certified Offsets that are subject to this verification audit, the projects that are used to supply Certified Project‐specific Sales and Mix Sales, and any additional reporting requirements for the Seller. Seller should provide a copy to the Auditor.

h. Green‐e Climate Explanation of Exceptions Form: A written explanation of exceptions found in the Worksheets.

i. Green‐e Climate Verification Worksheets: A series of Worksheets to be filled in by the Seller with data from the supply for and sales of Certified Offsets that are verified


by the Auditor. The Worksheets exist in three versions: For Sellers that made only project‐specific sales of certified carbon offsets, use Worksheet Set 1: Project‐specific Only. For Sellers that made only fixed mix and/or customized mix sales of certified carbon offsets, use Worksheet Set 2: Sales of Fixed and/or Customized Mix Only. For Sellers that made both project‐specific sales and mix sales, use Worksheet Set 3: Sales of Fixed and/or Customized Mix AND Project‐specific Sales.

j. Carbon Offset Content Label (“COCL”): For sales of Fixed Mix and Customized Mix offsets, the disclosure to customers of the mix of resources used to supply a Certified Mix Product for RY2014. COCLs submitted to the auditor should be those used in RY2014, not necessarily the COCLs that are current at the time of the audit (if different). If the Certified Mix Product(s) was changed during the RY, all COCLs used in the RY should be submitted.

k. Project Information Disclosure: For sales of Certified Offsets by project (“Project‐specific Sales”), Seller must disclosure to customers specific information on the individual project(s) used to supply the specific quantity of Certified Offsets including, but not limited to, the project name, project type, project location, and vintage year of reductions purchased.

l. Offset Card(s): A copy of each card active in RY2014, where applicable; one copy for each unique combination of organization type and Certified Mix Product.

m. Project List: For sales of Fixed Mix and Customized Mix offsets, the list disclosed to customers of the emissions reductions projects used to supply a Certified Mix Product. The Project List should include the project name, project type, project location, project start date, vintage of GHG emissions reductions (year or range of years), Endorsed Program, and the Registry in which the project is registered. Include all projects that supplied Certified Mix Products in RY2014.


APPENDIX C: USING REGISTRIES IN GREEN‐E CLIMATE ANNUAL VERIFICATION

These requirements govern the use of Registries toward the annual verification requirements for participants in Green‐e Climate. This document is referenced specifically in the Green‐e Climate Annual Verification Audit Overview and Provisions. This and other verification documents are available on the Green‐e web site, at http://www.green‐e.org/climateverification. The first section describes the procedures for using a Registry to verify sales made to a customer without a Registry account. The second section describes the procedures for using a Registry to verify sales made to a customer with a Registry account.

I. Procedures for Sellers Using Individual Approved Registries for Sales Made to a Customer Outside of a Registry

This section applies to sales of emissions reductions from the Seller’s Registry account to a customer that does not have their own Registry account. For instructions on emissions reductions sold to a customer that does have their own Registry account, see Section II. A. Retirements in the American Carbon Registry

This section applies to sellers making Certified Sales of eligible emissions reductions from projects certified by the American Carbon Registry.

i. APX

Activate ERTs by clicking on the volume of “Inactive ERTs” in your account. On the next screen, tick the box next to the vintage(s) you want to activate and fill in an amount (if different than the total inactive). If you are retiring on behalf of a customer outside the registry, you can select “activate + retire” and a single invoice will be generated. Once paid, those ERTs will be active in your primary account and ready for retirement.

Transfer emissions reductions to a retirement sub‐account, indicating the “Retirement Reason” as “Other” and in the “Retirement Reason Details” field, type “Green‐e Climate RY2014”.

Access the “My ERTs” report, select the Retirement Sub‐Accounts Tab and generate a report of all retirements that correspond to Green‐e Climate sales made in RY2014. In the absence of a mechanism to filter only these sales within the registry itself, Seller may download their report as a CSV file and manually perform this filter. This report will serve as an eligible Registry Report for the verification audit.

The Auditor will compare this report with Seller’s actual APX ACR registry account.


B. Retirements in a Verified Carbon Standard Registry5 This section applies to sellers making Certified Sales of eligible emissions reductions from projects certified by the Verified Carbon Standard.

i. APX


Access the “My VCUs” report, select the Retirement Sub‐Accounts Tab and generate a report of all retirements that correspond to Green‐e Climate sales made in RY2014. In the absence of a mechanism to filter only these sales within the registry itself, Seller may download their report as a CSV file and manually perform this filter. This report will serve as an eligible Registry Report for the verification audit.

The Auditor will compare this report with Seller’s actual APX VCS registry account.

ii. Markit Environmental Registry

When performing a retirement of VCUs in the registry that correspond to Green‐e Climate Certified sales, in the Remark Field enter: “Green‐e Climate RY2014.”

Generate a report of all retirements that correspond to all Green‐e Climate sales made in RY2014 by creating a report with only retirements made with “Green‐e Climate RY2014” listed in the Remark Field. This report will serve as an eligible Registry Report for the verification audit.

The Auditor will compare this report with Seller’s actual Markit VCS registry account.

C. Retirements in a Climate Action Reserve Registry This section applies to sellers making Certified Sales of eligible emissions reductions from projects certified by the Climate Action Reserve.

i. APX


Access the “My CRTs” report, select the Retirement Sub‐Accounts Tab and generate a report of all retirements that correspond to Green‐e Climate sales made in RY2014. In the absence of a mechanism to filter only these sales within the registry itself, Seller may download their report as a CSV file and manually

5 If Seller is interested in using another VCS Registry, such as the Bank of New York Mellon or Caisse des Depots, please contact Green‐e Climate staff.


perform this filter. This report will serve as an eligible Registry Report for the verification audit.

The Auditor will compare this report with Seller’s actual APX CAR registry account.

D. Retirements in a Gold Standard Registry This section applies to sellers making Certified Sales of eligible emissions reductions from projects certified by the Gold Standard.

i. Markit Environmental Registry

When performing a retirement of VERs in the registry that correspond to Green‐e Climate Certified sales, in the Remark Field enter: “Green‐e Climate RY2014.”

Generate a report of all retirements that correspond to all Green‐e Climate sales made in RY2014 by creating a report with only retirements made with “Green‐e Climate RY2014” listed in the Remark Field. This report will serve as an eligible Registry Report for the verification audit.

The Auditor will compare this report with Seller’s actual Markit Gold Standard registry account.

II. Procedures for Sellers Using Individual Approved Registries for Sales Made to a Customer with a Registry Account

For Green‐e Climate certified transactions made within a Registry between a Green‐e Climate Seller’s Registry account and the Registry account of the Seller’s customer, the following procedures should be followed. A. Retirements in the American Carbon Registry This section applies to sellers making Certified Sales of eligible emissions reductions from projects certified by the American Carbon Registry.

i. APX

Activate ERTs by clicking on the volume of “Inactive ERTs” in your account. On the next screen, tick the box next to the vintage(s) you want to activate and fill in an amount (if different than the total inactive). Select “activate” and an invoice will be generated. Once paid, those ERTs will be active in your primary account and ready for transfer to the transferee.

Transfer the emissions reductions to the customers’ registry accounts. Access the My ERTs Transfer History report and select the Inter‐Account Transfer

History Tab. This will provide a report detailing the transfers. Using the filter


button, select only Green‐e Climate Certified sales listed with RY2014.6 This report will serve as an eligible Registry Report for the verification audit. At a minimum, such reports should include the following information for each transfer:

o Project Name o ERT Serial Numbers (range) o Transfer date o Name of customer or transferee o Quantity of ERTs o Vintage

The Auditor will compare this report with Seller’s actual APX ACR registry account.

B. Retirements in a Verified Carbon Standard Registry This section applies to sellers making Certified Sales of eligible emissions reductions from projects certified by the Verified Carbon Standard.

i. APX

Transfer the emissions reductions to the customers’ registry accounts.

Access the My VCUs Transfer History report and select the Inter‐Account Transfer History Tab. This will provide a report detailing the transfers. Using the filter button, select only Green‐e Climate Certified sales listed with RY2014.7 This report will serve as an eligible Registry Report for the verification audit. At a minimum, such reports should include the following information for each transfer:

o Project Name o VCU Serial Numbers (range) o Transfer date o Name of customer or transferee o Quantity of VCUs o Vintage

The Auditor will compare this report with Seller’s actual APX VCS registry account.

ii. Markit Environmental Registry

Transfer the emissions reductions to the customers’ registry account.

6 If it is not possible to generate one individual report that documents all Green‐e Climate Certified sales, multiple reports may be submitted. 7 If it is not possible to generate one individual report that documents all Green‐e Climate Certified sales, multiple reports may be submitted.


Generate a report detailing the transfers made that correspond to Green‐e Climate Certified sales in RY2014.8 This report will serve as an eligible Registry Report for the verification audit. At a minimum, such reports should include the following information for each transfer:

o Project Name o VCU Serial Numbers (range) o Transfer date o Name of customer or transferee o Quantity of VCUs o Vintage

The Auditor will compare this report with Seller’s actual Markit VCS registry account.

C. Retirements in a Climate Action Reserve Registry This section applies to sellers making Certified Sales of eligible emissions reductions from projects certified by the Climate Action Reserve.

i. APX

Transfer the emissions reductions to the customers’ registry accounts.

Access the My CRTs Transfer History report and select the Inter‐Account Transfer History Tab. This will provide a report detailing the transfers. Using the filter button, select only Green‐e Climate Certified sales listed with RY2014.9 This report will serve as an eligible Registry Report for the verification audit. At a minimum, such reports should include the following information for each transfer:

o Project Name o CRT Serial Numbers (range) o Transfer date o Name of customer or transferee o Quantity of CRTs o Vintage

The Auditor will compare this report with Seller’s actual APX CAR registry account.

D. Retirements in a Gold Standard Registry This section applies to sellers making Certified Sales of eligible emissions reductions from projects certified by the Gold Standard.

8 Ibid. 9 If it is not possible to generate one individual report that documents all Green‐e Climate Certified sales, multiple reports may be submitted.


i. Markit Environmental Registry

Transfer the emissions reductions to the customers’ registry account.

Generate a report detailing the transfers made that correspond to Green‐e Climate Certified sales in RY2014.10 This report will serve as an eligible Registry Report for the verification audit. At a minimum, such reports should include the following information for each transfer:

o Project Name o VER Serial Numbers (range) o Transfer date o Name of customer or transferee o Quantity of VERs o Vintage

The Auditor will compare this report with Seller’s actual Markit Gold Standard registry account.

10 If it is not possible to generate one individual report that documents all Green‐e Climate Certified sales, multiple reports may be submitted.


APPENDIX D: GREEN‐E® CLIMATE ATTESTATION FROM PROGRAM SELLER Reporting Year: _______ I, __________________, declare on behalf of ___________________________ (“Seller”), that:

1. All of the greenhouse (GHG) emissions reductions sold through and represented to be Green‐e Climate certified carbon offsets (“Certified Offsets”) were supplied with eligible emissions reductions that were sourced from projects certified by Endorsed Programs defined by the Green‐e Climate program;

2. All of the emissions reductions contained in the Certified Offset sales and reported in the Green‐e Climate Worksheets of the Green‐e Climate Annual Verification Submission were transferred to customers or retired on their behalf;

3. All sales of Certified Offsets made by Seller were reported in the Green‐e Climate Worksheets;

4. The emissions reductions claimed for sales of Certified Offsets were sold once by Seller as part of a Certified Offsets; and

5. Seller made no specific sales which contradict any advertising claims made regarding the emissions reductions in the Certified Offsets below.

I further declare that statements contained in Green‐e Climate Verification Worksheets for the Certified Products listed above are true and correct. As an authorized agent of the aforementioned Seller, I have authority to submit this report on the company’s behalf.

Signature Date Signed

Printed Name Title

Place of Execution

This form is used by the Center for Resource Solutions to verify the accuracy of claims made by Sellers in Green‐e Climate. The information on this form is held strictly confidential and will not be shared with any other party except in aggregate form.

Date post:	06-Mar-2018
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