Carbon Trust Standard Rules v1 3

The Carbon Trust Standard Rules v1.3 June 2010 1

Carbon Trust Standard

Rules


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


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.


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.


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.


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


• 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.


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.


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


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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


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.


• 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


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


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


Average distance and

number of trips

Business Travel –

Taxis

Total km or miles travelled by

company staff on business


Total spend on taxis


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.


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


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


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


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


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%).

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