To make an organisation or company or building carbon neutral (or even impact positive) the same process can be applied, namely:
MEASURE: Calculate emissions
REDUCE: Develop and implement an emissions reduction strategy
OFFSET: Purchase offsets to compensate for remaining emissions
VALIDATE: Arrange independent validation
REPORT: Publish a public statement of your carbon neutral claim
You can do this yourself and make Carbon Neutral (CN) claims but the ACCC may query your claims if they are cannot be verified. For more on this see the Australia Consumer Law and Green marketing guide.
Several organisations are starting to use the Government’s Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard. Using this standard and a Registered Consultant to verify the data and offsets used means they can use of the Climate Active carbon neutral certification trademark, which can be used to demonstrate carbon neutral status and sustainability leadership.
The process to achieve and claim Carbon Neutrality for organisations and buildings differs. Certification for:
- organisations, products and services, events and precincts can be sought through the Australian Government’s Department of the Environment and Energy.
- buildings – available through NABERS or the Green Building Council of Australia.
You can try and do much of the preparation and data collection work internally however, you might find it much easier to use consultants who specialise in this and maybe use carbon emission accounting tools that enable repeat tracking and reporting of your carbon emissions.
For most organizations though, this is not easily achievable so certification is recommended. For business that go down the Carbon Neutral certification path, the advantages include:
- seeing where improvements can be made to improve efficiency, for example installing more energy efficient air conditioning, installing solar power, reducing high emission food catering (preferencing local food) etc,
- any only then, going out any purchasing approved offsets for the remaining emissions. Skipping the first step would merely encourage inefficiency and increase the quantity of offsets required. Indeed the first step can reduce operational costs significantly (typically 5% to 20%).
Examples of large companies becoming carbon neutral include Bank Australia and Lendlease https://www.lendlease.com/au/better-places/lendlease-building-australia-is-now-carbon-neutral/
If you need advice on where to start, feel free to give contact us using our contact form. Interestingly, Ben has previously managed multiple carbon offset projects himself in NSW and QLD. He also has a network of trusted professionals that can make your journey to Carbon Neutrality smooth, more rewarding and enlightening.