PAS 2060 is a specification detailing how to demonstrate

carbon neutrality Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...

produced and published by the

British Standards Institution The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the national standards body of the United Kingdom. BSI produces technical standards on a wide range of products and services and also supplies certification and standards-related services to business ...

History

The

announced the development of the PAS 2060 Standard for Carbon Neutrality in October 2009 with the objective of increasing transparency of carbon neutrality claims by providing a common definition and recognized method of achieving carbon neutral status. The steering group was made up of a number of public and private organisations and associations, including the Association of British Certification Bodies,

Aviva Aviva plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It has about 18 million customers across its core markets of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. In the United Kingdom, Aviva is the largest general ...

, BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method), Carbon Clear,

The Carbon Neutral Company ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

, EcoAct,

The Carbon Trust The Carbon Trust was developed and launched in 1999-2001 as part of the development of the Climate Change Levy (CCL), a tax on business energy use that still operates today. The Carbon Trust was originally funded by around £50m of tax revenue ge ...

The Co-operative Group Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op, is a British consumer cooperative, consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses including food retail, wholesale, e-pharmacy, insurance and legal services, and funeral care. The Co-op ...

Department of Energy and Climate Change The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom created on 3 October 2008, by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the functions related to energy of the Department for Busin ...

Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...

, Future Conversations (Concrete Centre),

Good Energy Good Energy Group PLC is a British energy company based in Chippenham, Wiltshire that provides services in the electrification of transport and decentralised renewable energy generation such as domestic solar panels. The company is also an energy ...

Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) is the largest professional body for environmental practitioners in the United Kingdom and worldwide, with nearly 20,000 members. Members receive updates on current environmental law ...

Marks and Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...

and UPM-Kymmene. PAS 2060 Specification for the demonstration of carbon neutrality was launched in June 2010. Am updated version of the specification was published in 2014.

Compliance with PAS 2060

The specification defines a consistent set of measures and requirements for entities (e.g. organisations, governments, communities, families, individuals) to demonstrate carbon neutrality for a product, service, organisation, community, event or building.BSi. ''PAS 2060:2010 Specification for the demonstration of carbon neutrality''. , April 2010 The

carbon footprint A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbo ...

measurements should include 100% of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, plus all Scope 3 emissions that contribute more than 1% of the total footprint. The entity must develop a Carbon Management Plan which contains a public commitment to

and outlines the following major aspects of the reduction strategy: a time scale, specific targets for reductions, the planned means of achieving reductions and how residual emissions will be offset. PAS 2060 requires that the total amount of

carbon emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and larg ...

at the end of a reduction period be

offset Offset or Off-Set may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Off-Set", a song by T.I. and Young Thug from the '' Furious 7: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' * ''Offset'' (EP), a 2018 EP by singer Kim Chung-ha * ''Offset'' (film), a 200 ...

by high-quality, certified carbon credits which meet the following criteria: • From one of the PAS 2060 approved schemes (for example the

Clean Development Mechanism The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a United Nations-run carbon offset scheme allowing countries to fund greenhouse gas emissions-reducing projects in other countries and claim the saved emissions as part of their own efforts to meet internati ...

Joint Implementation Joint Implementation (JI) is one of three flexibility mechanisms set out in the Kyoto Protocol to help countries with binding greenhouse gas emissions targets (the Annex I countries) meet their treaty obligations. Under Article 6, any Annex I count ...

Verified Carbon Standard The Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), or Verra, formerly the Voluntary Carbon Standard, is a standard for certifying carbon emissions reductions. VCS is administered by Verra, a 501(c)(3) organization. History In 2005, carbon markets investment ...

) • Genuinely additional (i.e. reductions that would not have happened anyway) • Verified by an independent third party to ensure that emission reductions are permanent, avoid leakage (so that emissions are not increased in another area as a result of the project reductions) and are not double counted • Retired after a maximum of 12 months to a credible registry.

Documentation and verification

PAS 2060 requires a standard-compliant declaration of achievement of neutrality through a set of Qualifying Explanatory Statements and public disclosure of all the documentation that supports the carbon neutrality claim. The standard stipulates three types of validation of the achievement of neutrality: self validation, other party validation and third party independent validation. Other party validation occurs when the methodology and data has been audited and verified by an external organisation; third party independent validation occurs when it is verification is by an agent registered with

UKAS The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the sole national accreditation body recognised by the British government to assess the competence of organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services. It e ...

References

{{reflist

External links

PAS 2060 comparison chart

PAS 2060 White Paper
Carbon finance 02060