BSI in the vanguard of Kyoto Protocol verifications

Press release: 16 February 2005

On the day the Kyoto Protocol comes into effect, BSI encourages businesses to fulfil their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

The BSI Group – a leading global developer of standards and provider of international certification and assessment services – is today urging industry and governments across the globe to realise the financial value of reducing emissions and environmental impacts through verifying their greenhouse gas emissions.

Verification of carbon emissions is a key factor in the success of the Kyoto ‘flexible mechanisms’ which assist in meeting reduction targets. The three mechanisms are Joint Implementation (JI) projects, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Emissions Trading.

BSI has been accredited to give Verification Opinions since 2002 and is now a truly global player in the emissions trading field, being accredited for all scopes in the UK and EU emissions trading schemes and through being an Applicant Entity to the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism.

Under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme alone BSI has verified 190 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, which has a market value when traded of around 120 billion Euros. BSI has also validated and verified emissions reductions from companies and projects in Japan and North America, with the notable success of conducting the first emissions verification work in Canada with BP.

The Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol was developed by the international community in 1997. The agreement commits signatories in the more industrialised nations to reduce their cumulative amount of emissions by 5.2% based on 1990 levels. 141 countries, which account for around 55% of greenhouse gas emissions, have signed the Protocol including Canada and the European Union.

Nick Marshall from BSI Management Systems says: “BSI has an experienced global team to deal expertly with global emissions trading and climate change. Through this established expertise, BSI is able to help clients truly unlock the value of their GHG emissions in the global market place.”

The skills BSI brings to verifications include industry and sector knowledge, process knowledge, IT environment skills, multi-dimensional risk management and knowledge of future financial risk. Verification involves a trained team of individuals conducting an independent assessment of three aspects of the data reporting system. These key areas are the management control of the system, the plant monitoring processes and the accuracy of data sets. Verification provides the operators with an independent opinion of the accuracy of reported emissions data.

Please note that this service is no longer available from BSI.