In this article we will explore a little the framework of standards that guide the GHG Protocol and the GHG Project, giving a panel on ISO standards and how they create a regulatory ecosystem that helps and guides Inventory Organizations, Verification and Accreditation Bodies.
What is ABNT ISO
A ISO (International Organization for Standardization), Where International Organization for Standardization, is a global entity dedicated to standardization and regulation. Founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1947, ISO's main objective is to approve international standards in various technical fields, including technical standards, country rankings, procedures and processes.
The choice of the acronym “ISO” has a curious origin: originally, the acronym should be IOS, but the founders decided to adopt a single acronym for all countries. They chose “ISO” because, in Greek, “isos” means “equal”, which reflects the organization's purpose of promoting equality and quality at global standards.
ISO standards cover a variety of areas, including Quality management (like the ISO series 9000 and ISO 9001), environmental management (like the ISO series 14000 and ISO 14064) and many others. No brazil, ISO is represented by ABNT (Brazilian Association of Technical Standards).
In short, ISO plays a fundamental role in continuous improvement, senior researcher at quality by you safety of products and services on a global scale. 🌐📊
No brazil, ISO is represented by ABNT (Brazilian Association of Technical Standards)
The Role of the ABNT NBR ISO Standard 14064-2
The influence of climate change caused by human activity is quite significant. The dangers of these changes for the world will continue to have effects on companies and consumers for decades to come. Climate change has effects on both humans and the natural world and can lead to significant changes in the availability of resources, in economic development and social prosperity. As an answer, international initiatives are being undertaken, national, regional, and locations, developed and implemented by public and private entities to reduce concentrations of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere, as well as to help society adapt to climate change.
An effective and progressive response to the immediate danger of climate change is needed. As a result of the latest scientific research, to ISO 14064 creates documents that endorse the conversion of scientific knowledge into instruments that facilitate changes necessary to mitigate climate change. Initiatives aimed at reducing GHGs are based on measurement, monitoring and communication. and verification of GHG emissions and/or removals.
The ABNT NBR ISO Series 14060
There is a family of standards that support initiatives aimed at reducing, manage and quantify GHGs, and are related to each other in a complementary way, its objectives are described in a reduced form below:
The ABNT NBR ISO series 14060 provides clarity and consistency to quantify, to monitor, report and validate or verify GHG emissions and removals to support sustainable development through a low-carbon economy and benefit organizations, project proponents and stakeholders around the world. Specifically, the use of the ABNT NBR ISO family 14060
- increases the environmental integrity of GHG quantification;
- increases credibility, the consistency and transparency of quantification, monitoring, issuing reports, GHG verification and validation;
- facilitates the development and implementation of GHG management strategies and plans; facilitates the development and implementation of mitigation actions through emissions reductions or removal improvements;
- facilitates the ability to track performance and progress in reducing GHG emissions and/or increasing GHG removals.
ABNT NBR ISO series applications 14060 include:
- corporate decisions, how to identify opportunities to reduce emissions and increase profitability by reducing energy consumption;
- carbon risk management, such as identifying and managing risks and opportunities;
- voluntary initiatives, such as participation in voluntary initiatives to prepare sustainability reports or GHG records;
- GEE markets, such as buying and selling GHG permits or credits
- regulatory/government GHG programs, as credit for advance shares, national and local reporting agreements or initiatives.
ABNT NBR ISO 14064-1 details principles and requirements for designing, to develop, manage and report GHG inventories in organizations. Includes requirements for determining GHG emission and removal limits, quantify an organization's GHG emissions and removals and identify company-specific actions or activities aimed at improving GHG management.
Also includes requirements and guidance on inventory quality management, reports, internal audit and organization responsibilities for verification activities. This document details principles and requirements for determining baselines and monitoring them., quantify and report projects. It focuses on GHG projects or related activities, specifically designed to reduce emissions and/or improve GHG removals. It provides the basis for GHG projects to be verified and validated.
ABNT NBR ISO 14064-3 details requirements for verifying GHG claims related to GHG inventories and projects, as well as carbon footprints of products. It describes the validation or verification process, including validation or verification planning, assessment procedures and assessment of organizational GHG claims, of projects and products.
ABNT NBR ISO 14065 defines requirements for bodies that validate and verify GHG declarations. Your requirements cover impartiality processes, competence, communication, validation and verification, means, complaints and the management system of validation and verification bodies. Can be used as a basis for accreditation and other forms of recognition regarding impartiality, competence and consistency of validation and verification bodies.
ABNT NBR ISO 14066 specifies competency requirements for validation teams and verification teams. Includes principles and specifies competency requirements based on the tasks that validation teams or verification teams must be able to perform. ABNT NBR ISO 14067 defines the principles, the requirements and guidelines for quantifying the carbon footprint of products. The objective of ABNT NBR ISO 14067 is to quantify GHG emissions associated with the stages of a product’s life cycle, starting with resource extraction and raw material acquisition and extending through the production phases, use and end of product life. ABNT ISO/TR 14069 assists users in applying ABNT NBR ISO 14064-1, providing guidance and examples to improve transparency in quantifying emissions and reporting. It does not provide additional guidance for ABNT NBR ISO 14064-1.
The Project for GHG Reduction and Control
This document requires the project proponent to identify and select sources, sinks and reservoirs (FSR) GHG emissions pertinent to the GHG project and to determine the GHG benchmark. GHG project emissions/removals and baseline scenario emissions/removals are quantified separately, and emissions reductions and/or removal improvements are calculated by comparing project GHG emissions/removals to baseline scenario emissions/removals. It is important to demonstrate that the GHG benchmark is consistent with the principles of this document, including conservatism and precision, in order to increase the level of confidence that GHG emissions reductions and/or removal improvements are credible and not overestimated. Generally, GHG benchmark could be determined based on historical information or definition of alternative scenarios according to intended user/program requirements. For both project emissions and the baseline scenario, the quantification, monitoring and reporting of GHG emissions and removals are based on procedures developed by the project proponent or adopted from a GHG program.
The GHG project cycle is generally characterized by two main phases: a planning phase and an implementation phase. The steps of the GHG project cycle vary depending on the scale and specific circumstances of the project, including applicable legislation, methods, GHG programs or standards.
Reducing emissions and improving GHG removal
Being the main objective of a GHG Project Here are some observations to make when carrying out the GHG Control and the recommended practices of this set of ABNT NBR ISO cited in this article.
The first step in quantifying the improvement in reduction and/or removal of GHG emissions is the identification of the relevant GHGs for each FSR. Essas FSR, normally, would have been identified in the planning phase of the GHG project, as part of GHG baseline identification and project emissions/removals estimation.
Once the relevant FSRs have been identified, The next step for the project is to identify parameters related to the respective FSRs that will be estimated or quantified based on real measurements, in order to calculate the GHG baseline and project emissions. Data collected in the planning phase will help quantify GHG baseline data, and data collected after project implementation will help quantify project emissions.
For projects that have a dynamic GHG baseline, for example, based on actual production numbers, It is good practice for the GHG baseline to be calculated using some data measured after the implementation of the GHG project.
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