Greenhouse Gas Assurance Services
GREENHOUSE GAS ASSURANCE SERVICES
Conestoga Rovers & Associates' (CRA's) Greenhouse Gas Assurances Services Group manages and conducts verification and validation audits and reviews of greenhouse gas emission quantifications and greenhouse gas emission reduction projects. CRA has been active in the validation/verification services field since the field's inception and has assisted clients with the quantification of their greenhouse gas emissions for over 20 years.
CRA's clients include regulators, regulated emitter facilities, and carbon emission reduction offset project developers.
CRA is accredited, certified, or recognized, as applicable, by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), California Air Resources Board (CARB), the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), Sustainable Development Technologies Canada (SDTC), Alberta Environment, Verified Carbon Standard (VCS, formerly the Voluntary Carbon Standard), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for providing verification and validation services in each respective regime.
CRA is accredited as a Designated Operational Entity (DOE) to perform validation and verification auditing activities under the UNFCCC Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Find out more about CRA's accreditation as a DOE.
CRA is accredited under ISO 14065 by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). The ANSI accreditation allows CRA to complete verifications of GHG inventories in accordance with ISO 14064-Part 3 within GHG programs and registries that require independent certification (e.g. Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia).
CRA is in the process of achieving accreditation through ANSI for the validation/verification of greenhouse gas offset projects under ISO 14065. ANSI has completed the initial steps in the accreditation process and CRA must now complete a witness audit in the Project-Level Sectors in question to achieve full accreditation.
Find out more about CRA's accreditation status for ISO 14064 Part 3 through ANSI.
In plain language
Right now, CRA is able to do verifications under the regulatory inventory reporting mechanisms in California, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta, and for greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects under the UNFCCC CDM. We are also able to conduct work under the Carbon Registry (TCR), VCS, and CCX voluntary programs. We can verify offsets in Alberta under the Alberta offset regulation.
ANSI accreditation to ISO 14065 for offset project validation/verification, once attained, will allow us to undertake validation and verification projects in British Columbia and other jurisdictions requiring ISO 14065.
Here are some details of what we can and can't do.
International
CCX - Chicago Climate Exchange
CRA is an approved Offset Project Verifier for landfill methane capture and combustion projects with the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX).
UNFCCC - Clean Development Mechanism
Validation and verification activities under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Sectoral Scopes 1 (Energy Industries), 4 (Manufacturing Industries), 5 (Chemical Industry), 10 (Fugitive Emissions from Fuels), 12 (Solvents Use), and 13 (Waste Handling and Disposal). CRA was accredited as a Designated Operational Entity (DOE) on May 28, 2010, for the above sectoral scopes. View publicly available documents.
VCS - Verified Carbon Standard
As an accredited DOE under UNFCCC CDM, CRA is able to conduct validation and verification activities under the following Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Sectoral Scopes: 1 - Energy Industries, 4 - Manufacturing Industries, 5 - Chemical Industry, 10 - Fugitive Emissions from Fuels, 12 - Solvents Use, and 13 - Waste Handling and Disposal.
Following completion of the witness audits required for final accreditation for project validation/verification under ISO 14065, CRA will be able to complete validation/verification activities under the following additional VCS Sectoral Scopes: 2 - Energy Distribution, 6 - Construction, 7 - Transportation, 8 - Mining/Mineral Production, 9 - Metal Production, and 11 -Fugitive Emissions from Industrial Gases.
United States
California
California Air Resource Board (CARB). Verification bodies under CARB can complete verifications for large emitter reports under the regulation: typically, a 25,000 tonne CO2e threshold for verification of the GHG report. CARB is expected to wrap up in 2011 and be replaced by a Western Climate Initiative (WCI) reporting and cap and trade system to be adopted by all WCI participants for 2012. Verifications under the WCI 2012+ system are expected to require accreditation to ISO 14065 by a member of the IAF. CRA's ANSI accreditation will allow us to continue to complete verifications under CARB and its likely successor regulations.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Mandatory GHG Reporting Regulation, 310 CMR 7.71. Verification is required by a MassDEP-approved body accredited under ISO 14065 by a member of the IAF. CRA's ANSI accreditation will allow us to complete verifications under the Massachusetts Mandatory GHG Reporting Regulation.
New Mexico
New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) 20.2.300 - Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Verification is required under the NMAC 20.2.300. The verification bodies must be accredited either to ISO 14065 by a member of the IAF or by CARB prior to January 1, 2013. As a CARB- and IAF-accredited body, CRA is able to complete verification activities in New Mexico.
TCR
The Climate Registry (TCR) is an organization that evolved from the California Climate Action Reserve (CCAR), but is North America-wide rather than specific to California. Voluntary reports for calendar year 2010 and beyond must undergo verifications. Verifications of inventories under TCR can only be completed by ANSI-accredited verification bodies. CRA's ANSI accreditation will allow us to complete verifications for organizational inventories submitted to TCR.
Canada
Alberta
Specified Gas Emitter Regulation (SGER) Regulation 139/2007. Verifications for inventories (baseline intensity reporting) and offsets can be done by a chartered accountant or professional engineer. CRA has completed verification of baseline reports, annual reports, and offset projects, and has been retained for the third straight year to complete independent verification audits of verified inventories and projects on behalf of Alberta Environment.
British Columbia
Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Cap and Trade) Act - Bill 18 -2008 (Offset Regulation). Validation/verification of offsets must be done by a V/V body accredited to ISO 14065 by a member of the IAF or by a V/V body that has been accepted for application for accreditation by ANSI, provided that the accreditation is attained within one year of their earliest assigned assurance statement in the applicable sectoral scope. As an applicant for accreditation to ISO 14065 for validation/verification of greenhouse gas offset projects, CRA is able to complete validation and verification activities under the BC Offset Regulation until January 2012. To complete the ISO 14065 accreditation process, CRA requires that ANSI witness one validation/verification project in each sector or group of sectors.
Mandatory Reporting Regulation 272/2009. Verification is required by CARB-accredited V/V body to 2012. After 2012, the V/V body must be accredited to ISO 14065 by a member of the IAF. As a CARB- and ISO 14065-accredited V/V body, CRA is able to conduct and has completed verification activities under the BC Mandatory Reporting Regulation.
Ontario
Greenhouse Gas Reporting Regulation 452/09. Verification is required by an ISO 14065 accredited to ISO 14065 by a member of the IAF. CRA's ANSI accreditation allows us to complete verifications under the Ontario Greenhouse Gas Reporting Regulation.
Québec
Français
Règlement sur la déclaration obligatoire de certaines émissions de contaminants dans l'atmosphère, RRQ, c Q-2, r 15. Les vérifications doivent être complétées par un organisme accrédité ISO 14065 par un membre de l'International Accreditation Forum. L'accréditation ANSI de CRA nous permet d'effectuer des vérifications pour rencontrer les exigences du Règlement sur la déclaration obligatoire de certaines émissions de contaminants dans l'atmosphère. CRA a plusieurs bureaux au Québec et notre personnel francophone et bilingue peuvent offrir des services de vérification au Québec.
English
Regulation respecting mandatory reporting of certain emissions of contaminants into the atmosphere, RRQ, c. Q-2, r.15. Verifications must be completed by an ISO 14065 accredited body. CRA's ANSI accreditation allows us to complete verifications to meet the requirements of the Quebec Regulation respecting mandatory reporting of certain emissions of contaminants into the atmosphere. CRA has offices throughout Quebec and our francophone and bilingual staff are able to provide verification services in both of Canada's official languages.
Read more about CRA's role as a DOE and CRA's role as a validation/verification body under ISO 14065.
CRA's Commitment to Impartial and Transparent Operations
CRA is committed to conducting its validation and verification services in an impartial and transparent manner, free of conflicts of interest. To this end, CRA conducts internal reviews to prevent acceptance of any engagement that may create a threat to impartiality or a potential or actual conflict of interest. CRA encourages feedback from any party, client, stakeholder, or members of the public regarding any matter that may be construed as threat to CRA's impartiality in provision of its services. Read CRA's Code of Ethics.
Please contact the GHG Manager (Non-CDM)/Technical Resources Manager (CDM) with any questions or comments.
