CarbonIQ

The Carbonzero Certification program is a carbon neutral labeling program for businesses and organizations that have measured and offset at least their Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions, while evaluating Scope 3 emissions as well. Carbonzero Certified companies receive a unique Carbonzero Certified mark, which can be presented on digital and physical marketing collateral to demonstrate a company's climate change commitments.

In completing GHG Inventories, Carbonzero uses the quantification methodology outlined by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), namely The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (revised edition). This reporting standard provides guidance on carbon accounting with respect to the completion of GHG Inventories. The GHG Protocol is aligned to the following key principles associated with accounting and reporting of greenhouse gases: Relevance, Completeness, Consistency, Transparency, Accuracy.

Science-based targets provide a clearly-defined pathway for companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, helping prevent the worst impacts of climate change and future-proof business growth. Targets are considered ‘science-based’ if they are in line with what the latest climate science deemed necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – limiting global warming to well-below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C. Carbonzero can help your business align its GHG emissions reduction target with SBTI requirements.

While the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has defined what a Science Based Target is and coordinates their validation, the term Net-Zero is frequently less well-defined. It is important to note that the Net Zero Standard, published by the SBTI, has specific requirements for reducing emissions to zero by 2050, including limited provisions for carbon removals to address the final stages of a Net Zero target. Net Zero more commonly defines a target scenario to be achieved by 2050, while carbon neutrality refers to present-day efforts to mitigate climate change through GHG reductions and carbon offsetting.

Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions refer to different categories of GHG emissions, as defined by the GHG Protocol. Scope 1 emissions are GHGs directly released from an asset that a company owns or controls, such as a fleet vehicle or an owned building's natural gas use. Scope 2 emissions are indirect GHGs released from the energy purchased by a business, and is often limited to grid electricity purchases. Scope 3 emissions are also indirect GHG emissions, generated from sources that a company does not own or control, and cover a range of activities related to a company's supply chain, business travel, product use, and others.

Carbon offsets are created when projects are undertaken to permanently reduce, avoid, or remove GHG emissions. Carbon offsets are real and verified reductions of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that can help mitigate climate change by compensating an emissions-producing activity through investments into activities that improve efficiency, conserve energy and biodiversity, and protect nature.

Carbon offset projects are generated in units of tonnes of CO2-equivalent. Projects that generate carbon offsets are reliant on the financing related to the sale of carbon offsets, which allows for the emissions reducing project activities to be implemented. Individuals and organizations that purchase carbon offsets can claim their associated emissions reductions for their own emissionss generating activities, and support climate financing activities that help reduce global emissions.

Carbon offsetting is an important part of a company's climate strategy, but it is not a silver bullet and should be supported by other initiatives to reduce emissions in order to avoid greenwashing criticisms. The purchase of a carbon offset represents an investment into an emissions reduction project that would not have existed without revenue from the sale of the carbon offset unit. Carbon offset projects often have social co-benefits as well, for example, stimulating local economies through the creation of jobs, supporting ecosystem services, and other community-level benefits.

Carbon offsets are generally not able to be claimed as a tax deduction for individuals in Canada. However, if you are offsetting your organization's GHG emissions, carbon offsets are considered a business expense.

A Renewable Energy Credit (REC) is a market-based instrument that can be used to reduce a company's Scope 2 electricity GHG emissions. RECs are bought and sold in units of Megawatt Hours (MWh) and represent the environmental attributes of 1 MWh of carbon-free electricity, which can be claimed by a company in their GHG Inventory. The sale of RECs provides a financial incentive for developers to construct more renewable-energy projects and helps build the market for green power.

Climate Change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts can be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. The burning of fossil fuels and other emissions releasing activities generates greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide that negatively contribute to the effects of climate change.

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) have the same effect on the earth that glass on the outside of a greenhouse has on its interior. GHGs allow the sun’s rays to pass through, but they trap heat inside the atmosphere, in a process is known as the “greenhouse effect”. Without these gases (primarily water vapour, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide) the earth would be too cold for most creatures to survive. However, the increase in combustion of fossil fuels observed since the industrial revolution has caused GHGs to exist both naturally in the atmosphere, and as a result of human behaviour. The six GHGs measured in GHG Protocol GHG Inventory projects include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, and perfluorocarbons.

A tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) is a unit used to measure how much global warming a given type and amount of greenhouse gas may cause, using the functionally equivalent amount or concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) as the reference. It is calculated by multiplying the tonnes of a gas by its associated global warming potential (GWP).

Climate change has become a key focus area for companies all around for the world, given its links to business risk and opportunity. Companies that successfully manage their climate impacts can reduce their exposure to both physical, reputational and financial risks, while creating opportunities for the business through demonstrating climate positive performance. Strong performance on climate change has also become an important screening factor for private equity investors, institutional investment, and consumer purchasing preferences.

Canada has made commitments to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. Canada initially pledged to reduce its GHG emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. In April 2021, the Canadian government announced a more ambitious target of reducing GHG emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030.

Carbon offsets are created when projects are undertaken to permanently reduce, avoid, or remove GHG emissions. Carbon offsets are real and verified reductions of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that can help mitigate climate change by compensating an emissions-producing activity through investments into activities that improve efficiency, conserve energy and biodiversity, and protect nature.

Carbon offset projects are generated in units of tonnes of CO2-equivalent. Projects that generate carbon offsets are reliant on the financing related to the sale of carbon offsets, which allows for the emissions reducing project activities to be implemented. Individuals and organizations that purchase carbon offsets can claim their associated emissions reductions for their own emissionss generating activities, and support climate financing activities that help reduce global emissions.

Carbon offsetting is an important part of a company's climate strategy, but it is not a silver bullet and should be supported by other initiatives to reduce emissions in order to avoid greenwashing criticisms. The purchase of a carbon offset represents an investment into an emissions reduction project that would not have existed without revenue from the sale of the carbon offset unit. Carbon offset projects often have social co-benefits as well, for example, stimulating local economies through the creation of jobs, supporting ecosystem services, and other community-level benefits.

Carbon offsets are generally not able to be claimed as a tax deduction for individuals in Canada. However, if you are offsetting your organization's GHG emissions, carbon offsets are considered a business expense.

A Renewable Energy Credit (REC) is a market-based instrument that can be used to reduce a company's Scope 2 electricity GHG emissions. RECs are bought and sold in units of Megawatt Hours (MWh) and represent the environmental attributes of 1 MWh of carbon-free electricity, which can be claimed by a company in their GHG Inventory. The sale of RECs provides a financial incentive for developers to construct more renewable-energy projects and helps build the market for green power.