Legal Context and Importance of Climate Action
To limit the increase in global temperatures to no more than 1.5°C and avoid the severe effects of climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommends achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
The European Green Deal, initiated by the European Commission, aims to transform the European Union into a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy. It also aims to make the EU carbon neutral by 2050 and decouple economic growth from resource use. An interim target is to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030.
However, it is difficult to achieve a long-term goal of net zero emissions without recognizing achievements along the way. In this respect, carbon neutrality can help. Organizations that have a clear plan and have started to make real greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions and GHG removal improvements can offset their remaining carbon footprint by using high-quality carbon credits to achieve carbon neutrality.
ISO 14068-1:2023 and its importance
ISO 14068-1:2023, a new international standard, sets requirements for organizations pursuing carbon neutrality for products, services or events.
This standard provides a framework for quantifying, reducing, removing and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, and is applicable to any organization, public or private.
The standard emphasizes the need for a hierarchy of actions - emission reductions, enhancing removals, then offsetting residual GHG emissions - and provides a framework for avoiding greenwashing, building on the experience of the previous standard, PAS 2060.
In recent years, there have been many claims of carbon neutrality that have not been backed up or have been backed up only by the purchase of a few carbon credits, leading to the risk of greenwashing.
Compliance with ISO 14068-1 means that organizations will be able to demonstrate that their carbon neutrality claim is backed up by real actions to reduce GHG emissions and includes a clear pathway to eliminate all possible GHG emissions and improve GHG removals, so that it is not just about purchasing carbon credits from the market. This significantly improves the credibility of a statement.
Benefits of verification of carbon neutrality claims
- Credibility and transparency: ISO 14068-1 implementation enhances the organization's credibility with stakeholders, including customers, investors and regulators;
- Alignment to global standards: Ensure compliance with the latest practices and requirements in the field of climate change;
- Risk mitigation: By verifying carbon neutrality claims, organizations identify and mitigate the risks associated with greenhouse gas emissions, including financial, operational and reputational risks;
- Access to new markets and funding opportunities: Organizations that demonstrate their commitment to sustainability through carbon neutrality have easier access to new markets and funding opportunities, especially in sectors where sustainability is a key factor;
- Improving corporate ESG / CSRD reporting: the Standard helps organizations to improve the quality and consistency of their sustainability and climate change reporting.
The role of SRAC in promoting sustainability
SRAC is distinguished by its deep commitment to sustainability, offering a full range of verification and validation services in the field of environmental protection, including ISO 14001 certification, Greenhouse Gas (GHG) verification according to Regulation (EU) 2018/2067, EMAS verification, ISCC certification, verification and validation of GHG statements according to ISO 14064-1 and ISO 14064-2, verification of the carbon footprint of products according to ISO 14067, SRAC ECOLABEL according to ISO 14024
SRAC's commitment to promoting environmentally responsible business practices is essential to supporting its clients' sustainability goals.
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