My top 5 tips for scope 2 dual reporting success  

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For global organisations, scope 2 dual reporting can be nothing short of a nightmare. The guidance is complicated, the terminology unfamiliar and the global availability of information hugely variable. Organisations risk material misstatement of their market-based emissions if they don’t get their approach right.

With all these challenges at play, it can be tempting for environmental reporting managers to request as much utilities billing / evidence as possible from regional reporting teams and attempt to co-ordinate market-based reporting from the centre. This is a common and costly mistake for a few reasons – the time consumed in trying to process high volumes of evidence, the challenge of translation, and lack of understanding of the local energy landscape.

So here are my top five tips for global organisations trying to source market-based conversion factors:

  1. Empower each market – your regional reporters can be your local experts; with the right training regarding the conversion factor hierarchy and acceptable quality criteria they can, and should be, responsible for retrieving the required market-based factors
  2. Provide context – invite regional reporting representatives to a training workshop – help them to understand what market-based reporting is, the benefits of getting it right, and your organisations’ wider strategic energy roadmap
  3. Start with the basics – some regional reporters may never have seen their utilities bills, or know where to find them. The first questions to ask are whether there is any evidence related to energy purchases available; or if it is even possible to purchase market differentiated energy in that region
  4. Leverage your procurement team – where reporters need to get in contact with their energy providers to source supplier specific conversion factors, they should go through their procurement team, raising the question with dedicated accounts managers – this will be far quicker than contacting a utility providers’ customer services
  5. Admit defeat (eventually) – where it’s not possible to source market factors specific to your purchases; remember, residual factors and location based factors can be used as a default- effort need to be proportionate to material gain

Scope 2 reporting is in its infancy – globally, utilities providers aren’t necessarily ready to respond to their customers’ requests for information; particularly where regulation hasn’t forced the issue (the UK has the Fuel Mix Disclosure Regulations that requires utilities companies to disclose information on standard tariffs for example). Over the coming years, the market will mature; but in the meantime, regular communication and engagement with regional teams is the best recipe for success.

“The scope 2 workshop was insightfully presented. The exercises included were particularly good, as they give you the occasion to ‘get your hands dirty’.”
-Neil Quayle, Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Analyst, Capgemini

Julie Craig regularly delivers Carbon Smarts’ scope 2 masterclass for organisations wishing to engage their global reporting teams. Get in touch to discuss your training needs: [email protected] or 020 7048 0450.

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Vered Karty

Got an ISO 14001 management system? Here’s what you need to know about the new version  

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This September saw the arrival of the new ISO 14001 environmental management system standard. Every five years, a revised version comes out to ensure it is still up to date, requiring companies to make a few changes to their processes to make sure they are in line with the new requirements.

What’s different?

The revised version seeks to ensure environmental management forms an integral part of the company’s business strategy and is not an isolated item. It looks at environmental challenges on a broader scale and sets requirements to help companies follow through on their commitments. The system has some new clauses and some restructured ones, including the following:

  • Clause 4: Context of the organisation – a new clause, it will reflect what affects the organisation’s way of managing environmental responsibilities (financial, regulatory, etc.).
  • Clause 5: Leadership – this clause has been developed to make sure the system gets support and commitment from top management.
  • Clause 6: Planning – this clause is there to ensure the right level of awareness and the right competencies are available to achieve certification.
  • Clause 7: Support – certain requirements are tougher, to ensure consistency within the organisation. Amongst them, the requirement for an improved communications strategy, both internal and external.
  • Clause 8: Operations – it now looks at the whole value chain to see how it impacts the management system, and how the organization affects it.
  • Clause 9: Performance evaluation – this one takes elements from currently existing clauses regarding monitoring and reviewing, so that companies gather the right information to show they are fulfilling their goals

An important change is that the system now has a common structure with other ISOs to make life easier for companies that have more than one management system in place.

How does that affect me?

Now that the new version has come out in September, you have to update your current ISO 14001:2004 to ISO 14001:2015 by reviewing your processes and making sure they’re in line with it. You should have three years to do so.

Call us to find out more about what you need to do to get up to date: 0207 048 0450.

 

Vered Karty

2015 conversion factors released – time to update your reporting  

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Carbon Smart has once again worked with Defra and DECC to put this year’s conversion factors online via their dedicated platform http://www.ukconversionfactorscarbonsmart.co.uk/. All organisations that report their greenhouse gas emissions should use them to calculate their carbon footprint for 2015.

So what’s new for 2015?

  • A 6.5% drop in the UK electricity generation factor compared to 2014
  • For the first time, the conversion factors are based on the UK greenhouse gas inventory (GHGI) in alignment with the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for national inventories including updated fourth assessment report global warming potentials. This has caused methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) to noticeably fluctuate compared to previous years’ factors
  • Alignment of CRC reporting to the annual UK conversion factors
  • Introduction of additional refrigerant factors

With many organisations busy collecting data and conducting energy audits to ensure ESOS compliance, it’s certainly worth putting a review of the updated conversion factors on your to-do list so that your end of end of year carbon reporting and CRC submissions don’t get forgotten about.

Call us if you have any questions regarding the conversion factors and how to use them: 020 7940 8285.

Vered Karty

CDP: another type of reporting you shouldn’t overlook  

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Whilst most annual reports are now done and dusted, it is time for another kind of reporting to take place.

If you are a large company that wants to be credible when it comes to environmental commitment and credentials,CDP is the key to access green leadership and you should be thinking about completing their climate change questionnaire before their deadline in June – if haven’t done so already.

CDP, the sustainability disclosure scheme covering areas such as climate change, water and forests, has become the most respected way for companies to measure their environmental impact year on year. Over 4,500 companies across more than 80 countries report to CDP every year, including 71% of FTSE 350 – and a large majority of those choose to make their responses publicly available. Through its climate change questionnaire, CDP assesses the transparency, accountability as well as the measurement and management of companies’ environmental impacts and gives them a score based on their level of disclosure and performance. Top companies are listed in the Climate Disclosure Leadership Index and Climate Performance Leadership Index.

But actually hitting those high scores can seem like a bit of a challenge. There are a few tricks to answer the questions right and provide CDP with the information they are looking for. Whether you have never replied to the questionnaire before or you are looking for ways to improve previous performances, boosting your score is possible, even for this year with the deadline fast approaching.

Here a few tips to find your way to a top score:

  • Engage your compliance, legal and/or financial teams when it comes to reviewing your company’s approach to risks and opportunities
  • Review score responses from top companies in your sector to draw a few lessons
  • Make sure you link emissions reductions you achieved to specific activities that contributed to these reductions
  • Focus your attention on sections that represent a high percentage of the total score
  • If it’s not your first time, get feedback – the CDP team can provide you with comments about your past responses.

Achieving a higher score is possible and within reach if you follow these tips alongside a few others.

If you have any further questions after reading our SmartPaper, get in touch with Miruna at [email protected].