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ACCU (Australian carbon credit unit) | A unit issued pursuant to the
Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011, equal to one (1) tonne of
carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. |
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ANREU (Australian National Registry of Emissions Units) | A secure electronic system designed to track the location and ownership of
Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) issued under the
Emissions Reduction Fund and units issued under the
Kyoto Protocol. |
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Baseline | The nominated year or years from which a company's emissions and electricity use is measured. In the
CERT report, a baseline may be used to measure a
participant's progress towards its
commitment/s. |
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Calendar year reporting | Calendar year reporting requires a company to provide
multipliers to estimate unreported calendar year emissions by scaling financial year data reported under the
National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) scheme. Calendar year
baseline information is calculated using averages of the relevant consecutive financial years. See section 7.2 of the
CERT report guidelines for how the
CERT report derives calendar year emissions and electricity use from NGER data. |
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Carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2-e) | Greenhouse gas emissions measured as kilotonnes of carbon dioxide emissions with equivalent global warming potential. For example, in 2015–16, one tonne of methane released into the atmosphere is estimated to contribute as much to climate change as 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide. One tonne of methane could therefore be expressed as 25 tonnes of CO2-e. |
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CERs (Certified Emission Reductions) | A unit issued for emissions reduction activities undertaken outside of Australia, pursuant to Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol and subsequent agreements under the United Framework Convention on Climate Change. |
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CERT (Corporate Emissions Reduction Transparency) report | A voluntary reporting framework to allow eligible
NGER scheme reporters to publish information about their commitments, progress, eligible unit surrenders, net emissions and renewable electricity consumption. A
CERT report will be prepared and published annually by the Clean Energy Regulator using data held by the Clean Energy Regulator and submitted voluntarily by
participants. |
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CERT report guidelines | The rules that govern participation in the
CERT report. |
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Commitment | A published statement by a corporation which identifies the steps it is taking to reduce emissions and/or consume renewable electricity. Commitment as a term includes, but is not limited to, the following terminology:
aim, ambition, aspiration, commitment, goal, projection, intention, target, trajectory. |
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Commitment (company assured) | A
commitment where the participant's emissions and energy data has not been calculated and verified by the Clean Energy Regulator. Company assured commitments may apply to a participant's Australian, regional or global operations. Company assured commitments are defined in section 3.5 of the
CERT report guidelines. |
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Commitment (emissions reduction) | A
commitment where the participant has committed to reduce their Scope 1 and/or Scope 2 emissions. Progress towards these types of commitments can be framed on a 'gross only', 'net only' or 'combined net and gross' basis. |
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Commitment (progress data verified) | A
commitment where the participant's emissions, energy and progress data has been calculated and verified by the Clean Energy Regulator for activities occurring in Australia. Progress data verified commitments are defined in sections 3.3 and 3.4 of the
CERT report guidelines. |
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Commitment (renewable electricity) | A
commitment where the
participant has committed to sourcing a certain percentage of their electricity consumption from renewable sources. This is demonstrated through the matching and
surrender of LGCs or the reporting of its metered consumption of eligible on-site renewable electricity. |
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Commitment (gross only) | A commitment where progress is calculated based on the participant's reporting year
gross emissions compared to their nominated
baseline. See section 8.2 of the
CERT report guidelines for how progress is calculated in the
CERT report. |
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Commitment (net only) | A commitment where progress is calculated based on the
participant's net emissions compared to either its reporting year
gross emissions, or its nominated baseline. See section 8.2 of the
CERT report guidelines for how progress is calculated in the
CERT report. |
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Commitment (combined net and gross) | A commitment where progress is calculated based on the participant's
gross emissions and
net emissions against its nominated
baseline. See section 8.2 of the
CERT report guidelines for how progress is calculated in the
CERT report. |
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Company assured commitment | See
Commitment (company assured). |
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EITE (Emissions-intensive trade-exposed) entity | A company that conducts emissions-intensive trade-exposed (EITE) activities that has been issued exemption certificates under the
Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000. EITE activities are prescribed in the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001. |
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Eligible units and certificates | Units and certificates eligible for inclusion in the
CERT report against a participants'
Scope 1 emissions or
Scope 2 emissions. See Section 4.1 of the
CERT report guidelines for further information. |
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Equity-based accounting | An accounting approach for emissions and energy that reflects a company's shared ownership in facilities that may or may not be under its
operational control. |
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Facility | For the purposes of the
CERT report, a facility is defined as an activity, or a series of activities, that: |
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Financial year reporting | Financial year reporting uses emissions and energy data for the July to June financial year when calculating progress. Calendar year-specific values, such as the
Renewable Power Percentage, are calculated using averages of the relevant consecutive calendar year values. Financial year reporting is used under the
NGER scheme. See section 7.2 of the
CERT report guidelines for more information. |
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Gross emissions | Sometimes referred to as ‘absolute' emissions, gross emissions are a participant's total reported
Scope 1 emissions or
Scope 2 emissions before any
eligible units and certificates have been accounted for. |
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LGCs (large-scale generation certificates) | A certificate issued pursuant to the
Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 and is equal to one (1)
megawatt hour of renewable electricity generated. |
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Location-based accounting | An emissions accounting approach that calculates electricity emissions based on the average emissions intensity of the electricity grid in the location (state) in which the electricity consumption occurs. Location-based accounting therefore does not recognise the
surrender of
LGCs as evidence of renewable electricity use. This is the approach used in the
NGER scheme. For the pilot,
participants can elect to publish their data using the location-based method only. |
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Market-based accounting | An emissions accounting approach that allows total electricity consumption to be reduced by the megawatt hours of renewable electricity consumed by the company before applying an emissions factor to grid-imported electricity. Market-based accounting therefore recognises the
surrender of
LGCs as evidence of renewable electricity use. |
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Multipliers (for calendar year adjustments) | Multipliers are scaling values provided by
participants to estimate calendar year emissions and electricity consumption information for
calendar year reporting. Multipliers are applied to relevant NGER-reported data. |
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MWh (Megawatt hour) | A unit of energy equal to the work done by a power of a million watts in one hour. |
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National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) scheme | An Australian Government scheme, established under the
National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007, for reporting and disseminating company information about greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. |
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National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme (NGER) reporter | A corporation required to report under the
National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007. |
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Net emissions | The emissions of a company (Scope 1 emissions or
Scope 2 emissions) after all
eligible units and certificates have been deducted from their
gross emissions. |
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Operational Control reporting | An accounting approach for emissions and energy based on who has operational control of a
facility, as defined by section 11 of the
National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007. |
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Participant | An eligible
NGER scheme reporter that opts-in to CERT. |
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Progress data verified commitment | See
Commitment (progress data verified). |
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NGER Reporting year | One of the years for which a person must provide a report under Part 3, 3E, 3F or 3G of the
National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 |
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Renewable Energy Target | An Australian Government scheme, established under the
Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000, designed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in the electricity sector. The scheme allows large-scale power stations and the owners of small-scale systems to create tradeable certificates for every
megawatt hour of energy they generate. |
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Reporting boundary | A
participant's nominated company boundary for which its emissions and electricity use is calculated.
CERT report participants may choose to use either
operational control reporting or
equity-based accounting. |
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Reporting period | A participant's nominated period over which its emissions and electricity use is calculated.
CERT report participants may choose to use either
financial year reporting or
calendar year reporting. |
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Residual emissions | The emissions of all electricity not demonstrated as renewable through the surrender of
LGCs. |
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Renewable electricity commitment | See
Commitment (renewable electricity). |
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RE100 | An internationally recognised reporting framework to recognise companies committed to sourcing 100% of their electricity needs from renewable energy sources. |
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RPP (Renewable Power Percentage) | The percentage used to determine the number of
LGCs required to be surrendered by
liable entities to meet obligations under the
Renewable Energy Target. |
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Science-based Targets initiative (SBTi) | An internationally recognised reporting framework to define and promote best-practice emissions reductions and net-zero targets aimed at limiting global warming to 1.5⁰C above pre-industrial levels. |
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Scope 1 emissions | Emissions released into the atmosphere as a direct result of an activity, or series of activities, at a
facility. Scope 1 emissions are sometimes referred to as direct emissions. |
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Scope 2 emissions | Emissions released into the atmosphere from the indirect consumption of an energy commodity. For example, emissions from the use of electricity produced by the burning of coal in another
facility. Scope 2 emissions are sometimes referred to as indirect emissions. |
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Scope 3 emissions | Emissions, excluding
Scope 2 emissions, that occur as a consequence of an organisation's activities, but from sources not owned or controlled by the organisation. For example, emissions from the transportation of purchased fuels or from the use of sold products and services. |
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Surrender | For the purposes of the
CERT report guidelines, surrender is taken to mean any of the following actions in the
ANREU or another unit registry: the surrender, retire, cancellation or transfer of units to a permanent holding account. |
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Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) | An internationally recognised reporting framework for corporations to disclose climate-related financial information. |
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VCU (Verified Carbon Unit) | An emissions unit verified by
Verra and equal to one (1) tonne of
carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. |
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VERs (Verified Emission Reduction units) | An emissions unit verified by the
Gold Standard and equal to one tonne of
carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. |