{{Use New Zealand English, date=August 2014
The carboNZero programme and CEMARS programme are the world’s first internationally accredited
greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor (), carbon dioxide (), met ...
(GHG)
certification
Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
schemes under ISO 14065. They provide tools for organisations, products, services and events to measure and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (otherwise known as carbon footprint), and optionally offset it. The programmes are owned and operated by Toitū Envirocare - Enviro-Mark Solutions Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Landcare Research Landcare may refer to:
*Australian Landcare Council, a now superseded Australian government body
*Landcare in Australia
Landcare Australia is the name for a community not-for-profit organisation which involves local groups of volunteers repairi ...
(100% NZ government-owned).
Programmes
There are two certification offerings for
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 carb ...
ing:
* CEMARS (Certified Emissions Management And Reduction Scheme) certification is for organisations, products or services to make a measurement and reduction claim. Clients get to use a specific CEMARS certification logo and are certified against ISO 14064-1 for organisation or PAS 2050 for product or service
* carboNZero certification is for organisations, products, services or events to make a
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 ...
claim. Clients get to use a specific carboNZero certification logo and are certified against ISO 14064-1 for organisation or PAS 2050 for product or service.
Both certifications require participants to follow the below key steps (CEMARS certification does not require offsetting):
* Measure - to establish a carbon footprint or GHG
emission inventory An emission inventory (or emissions inventory) is an accounting of the amount of pollutants discharged into the atmosphere. An emission inventory usually contains the total emissions for one or more specific greenhouse gases or air pollutants, orig ...
* Manage - to reduce GHG emissions
* Verify - to independently verify market claims
* Mitigate - to neutralise remaining unavoidable emissions by purchasing high quality and verified carbon credits
* Market - to report or disclose achievements in reducing GHG emissions
The programme website also has simple calculators for households, travel, and schools to calculate their carbon footprint and purchase offsets.
History
The carboNZero programme was created as part of a project called EBEX21 or Emissions Biodiversity Exchange in the 21st century.EBEX21 - carbon farming made easy . Landcare Research. EBEX21 was established to assist landowners to retire or set aside marginally productive land and allow it to regenerate to create new areas of native forest. In order to compensate the landowners for lost production, EBEX21 applies strict rules based on the
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (par ...
to allocate voluntary carbon credits that are pooled and sold through the carboNZero programme.
In 2006, the carboNZero programme was made into a separate business unit of Landcare Research. In 2008, the CEMARS sister brand was created and a UK license partner, Achilles Group, began offering CEMARS to its customers in the UK. In 2011, the programmes became a wholly owned subsidiary of Landcare Research known as carboNZero Holdings. In 2013 carboNZero Holdings acquired the Enviro-Mark programme from Landcare Research and changed its name to Enviro-Mark Solutions Limited to reflect the company’s wider vision for environmental performance improvement services. The programme now operates in the United Kingdom, Australia, Chile, United Arab Emirates as well as New Zealand.
Companies that have achieved CEMARS or carboNZero certification include Antarctic NZ, Department of Internal Affairs (NZ), Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (NZ), Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA, UK) including Kew Gardens, Environment Agency (UK), Scottish Parliament, INIA (Department of Agriculture, Chile), Eurostar, High Speed Rail, Auckland International Airport, NZ Post, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare as well as universities, councils, district health boards including hospitals, and over 30 of the largest construction and utilities companies in the UK.
See also
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Climate change in New Zealand
Climate change in New Zealand involves historical, current and future changes in the climate of New Zealand; and New Zealand's contribution and response to global climate change. Summers are becoming longer and hotter, and some glaciers have m ...
*
Climate change mitigation
Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases or removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caused by emissions from fossil fuels bu ...
*
New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme
The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) is an all-gases partial-coverage uncapped domestic emissions trading scheme that features price floors, forestry offsetting, free allocation and auctioning of emissions units.
The NZ ETS was fir ...