Carbon Reduction Scheme™ rules and governance
Origin’s Governance Structure aims to ensure that the CRS adheres to the following overarching principles:
- Credibility
- Transparency
- Affordability
- Flexibility, and
- Effectiveness
All offsets in our CRS are independently audited by a reputable auditing firm. The auditor verifies that offsets have met our stringent standards, and that the offsets we’ve undertaken or purchased at least equal our commitments to customers (measured in tonnes of CO2-e). Refer to Ernst & Young’s full Assurance Report for June 2008.
Eligible projects that create offsets can include:
- Electricity generation from renewable sources
- More efficient energy use
- Biosequestration (tree planting)
- Substituting lower emissions fuel or energy sources for higher ones
- Directly reducing emissions from industrial processes
- Reducing “fugitive emissions”, like leaks.
- 1. Go beyond measures to meet legal or statutory requirements
- 2. Overcome a financial, investment, institutional or technological barrier
- 3. Go beyond common Practice, and
- 4. Have a vintage or be implemented on or after 1 January 2006.
- Transfer emissions
- Lead to degradation of a service or product
- Create significant adverse social or environmental outcomes
- Use electricity generated through native wood waste or nuclear power
As of July 2008, offsets sold through our Go Green calculator must meet the following additionality criteria that are consistent with Kyoto CDM criteria:
Offsets sold separate to the Go Green Calculator™ must meet the minimum Eligibility Criteria outlined in the CRS Governance Structure below.
Programs will not be eligible if abatement cannot be verified, or if they:
Download our CRS Governance Structure document for more information.
CRS 2007 Annual Retirement of offsets on behalf of customers
On an annual basis, We retire or acquit offsets on behalf of our CRS customers to ensure they are taken permanently out of circulation and not re-used or double counted, as per the CRS Administrator Compliance Statement for the period.
In June 2008 Ernst & Young performed assurance procedures and provided a reasonable assurance opinion on the Carbon Reduction Scheme Administrator Compliance Statement for the period from Scheme commencement to 31 December 2007 and concluded that in all material respects the required volume of VER’s for the period was acquitted.
This opinion should be read in conjunction with the full Assurance Report which includes details of the procedures performed and scope limitations.
Our Carbon Reduction Scheme™ projects are validated and verified to independent offset standards
In light of the development of independent offset standards in the voluntary carbon market and out of our commitment to ongoingly enhance the credibility of Origin’s Carbon Reduction Scheme™(CRS), the CRS Steering Committee made the decision that as of February 5 2008:
- All new projects accepted to supply offsets to our CRS must be validated and verified to an independent carbon offset standard, such as the Voluntary Carbon Standard or the Australian Government’s Greenhouse Friendly; and
- No new projects will be directly validated and verified to our CRS offset standard (‘Eligible Activity’ criteria)
The only allowable exception to this is a situation where our CRS Steering Committee considers that a particular project has a highly innovative value to offer the voluntary carbon market with no other reasonable option for accreditation.
All projects accepted to supply offsets to our CRS must continue to meet the minimum acceptable Eligible Activity criteria outlined in our CRS Governance Structure.