Frequently Asked Questions - Net-Zero and Carbon Accounting

Net Zero Emissions is a target which has recently been identified as industry best practice in emissions reduction. By implementing energy efficiency improvements to reduce energy consumption, and then purchasing eligible offsets or sourcing renewable options for the remainder of your energy consumption, your business can be considered as having no carbon emissions. There are two notable frameworks for NZE which are PAS 2060, and Climate Active.

RE100 is another target for emissions reduction that has a focus on businesses committing to 100% renewable electricity. Rather than accounting for all emissions, RE100 only requires that electricity consumed by your site or organisation is generated by a renewable energy source. This is a less intensive process than NZE, and can be a good interim target for a company working to obtain NZE certification.

No, you do not need to engage a consultant to analyse your site and identify energy reduction opportunities, however most of our clients do not have the resources with capacity or capability to identify their most valuable opportunities. GECM has a wealth of experience across a number of industries, developing reduction pathways for clients seeking to reduce their energy consumption. We will work with you to identify opportunities best suited to your site.

An offset is a financial instrument awarded to eligible energy efficiency, renewable energy generation and carbon sequestration projects that result in a reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. There are many frameworks for generating these offsets across the world and each unit represents the abatement of one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2-e) GHG. These offsets have a financial value which the project owner can then either sell to reduce the size of their initial investment, or surrender for no financial gain to verify their emissions reduction. Another organisation can purchase these offsets from the original project owner and surrender them to be recognised for that carbon abatement.

To determine how many offsets a company needs to purchase and surrender in order to be considered carbon neutral, a business must first calculate what their emissions are. The process for this is called carbon accounting where all Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions are identified and calculated.

Scope 1 - direct emissions that occur from fuel consumption,

Scope 2 - indirect emissions that come from the generation of energy which is used by a business, and

Scope 3 - the remaining indirect emissions that occur as a result of purchasing raw goods and services and sale of product and services by a company.

This is an exhaustive process and can take a significant amount of resources to complete. The GHG Protocol is the most widely known process for carbon accounting.