RENEWABLE ENERGY CERTIFICATES
Renewable energy certificates are environmental and social attributes of energy generated from renewable energy sources. There are different kinds of certificate, depending on the purpose, the obtaining processand the countries in which the company operates. They are divided into:
- I-REC
- REC
- G.O. (origin warranties)
Renewable energies and climate change
Renewable energies play a fundamental role in tackling problems such as climate change, environmental degradation and security of energy supplies. The use of "clean" energy for many companies has become a necessity.
Although the production of renewable energy has doubled in the last decade, the offer on the market has slightly grown as the energy requirement has increased more considerably. International bodies have therefore decided to encourage energy produced from renewable sources by creating some market tools, capable of ensuring complete traceability of energy.
Accounting for Scope 2 emissions
In 2015, the WRI introduced new guidelines for the accounting of Scope 2 emissions by companies. A market-based accounting mechanism that offers companies the opportunity to reduce their Scope 2 emissions through the purchase of renewable energy certificates and other contractual instruments.
Official guidelines provide a transparent, unified, internationally coherent basis for all those companies that need to take electricity purchases into account in their GHGs inventory.
CONTACT US
Carbonsink guides companies in Scope 2 emissions accounting by proposing a number of renewable energy certificates useful to cover all the consumption of a company, with the net-zero emissions objective.Dual Reporting
Companies operating on liberalized markets must for Scope 2 emissions through two methods (dual reporting):
LOCATION BASED
The first method is based on the location of the company: it is the result of the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions deriving from the production of electricity in the area where consumption takes place.
MARKET BASED
The second method must be based on the market area in which the company operates: it includes the possibility of using renewable energy certificates to reduce Scope 2 emissions (REC, GO, I-REC). Companies can obtain this data by calculating the emissions caused by energy production plants from which they obtain their supplies. The origin of electricity must be certified by the so-called "contractual instruments that meet the minimum quality criteria".
The I-REC Standard
The I-REC Standard is a global voluntary standard launched in 2014 and introduced in an increasing number of countries to allow the use of internationally recognized, negotiable and reliable renewable energy certificates.
Our support
After careful market analysis, in order to facilitate the reduction of Scope 2 emissions of the factories (outside the US and EU) of an Italian company, Carbonsink proposes I-RECs deriving directly from the countries where the company's consumption took place.
TARGET
Proposal ofa number of renewable energy certificates useful to cover all consumptions of a company to eliminate its Scope 2 emissions (market-based).
CO2 ACCOUNTING AND REDUCTION
We bring the company through a path of accounting and reduction of CO2 emissions and in the related reporting regarding industrial plants outside the EU.I-RECMARKET ANALYSIS
We carry out market analysis on renewable certificates and prepare an 'ad hoc' I-REC proposal.I-REC PURCHASE
We provide support for the I-REC purchase to remove the company's Scope 2 emissions and support the company on the path towards climate neutrality.RE100 INITIATIVE
We provide support for joining the RE100 * initiative.IN DEPTH
* RE100 INITIATIVE
A collaborative and global initiative launched by The Climate Group in collaboration with CDP in 2014. RE100 companies set a public goal of obtaining 100% of their global consumption of electricity from renewable sources within a specific year. If they do not produce their own renewable electricity, they undertake to purchase it from producers and suppliers on the market and this includes the purchase of renewable energy certificates. The latter have been referenced as compliant with RE100 and CDP requirements and have provided key quality references for the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guide. Working towards an increase in corporate demand and, in turn, in the supply of renewable energy, the initiativeallows to accelerate the transition to Carbon Neutrality.