Challenge Registry: Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]

Questions and Answer


1) Q: Why should I register a comprehensive Action Plan when my organization is reporting emissions under a mandatory program?
A: Mandatory reporting systems have a limited point of view, documenting only historical direct emissions from certain facilities. A comprehensive Action Plan allows you to document your entity’s entire emissions footprint, and illustrate your GHG emissions reduction best practices on a broader scale. It includes a contextual setting: rather than just reporting static, historical numbers, you can explain how the emissions have changed over time, how you think your actions will affect future emissions and how you got to where you are today through innovation and perseverance. A registered Action Plan is a more insightful and valued document for public edification.


2) Q: Mandatory reporting schemes do not include indirect GHG emissions. Why is reporting indirect GHG emissions encouraged in a registered Action Plan?
A: Mandatory reporting schemes are focused on direct emissions from specific facilities and do not describe your entity’s entire emissions profile. A registered Action Plan is much more comprehensive, including all facilities and both direct and indirect emissions. By including indirect emissions, you can pinpoint opportunities for reducing all sources of emissions. A registered Action Plan documents a more meaningful corporate emissions profile.


3) Q: How will posting an Action Plan help focus efforts within my organization to encourage actions to reduce GHG emissions?
A: A registered Action Plan encourages you to identify your business as usual emissions, set targets, and to devise actions to achieve your goals. GHG management is primarily energy management which provides the opportunity to reduce your bottom line costs. An Action Plan helps the organization to focus on a plan to reduce costs internally while providing a public motive for doing so. It engages all of your employees in a win-win scenario.


4) Q: How can a publicly held company benefit from registering an Action Plan in addition to mandatory reporting?
A: A publicly held company can exhibit good corporate citizenship by reporting to their current and prospective shareholders that they not only meet the current mandatory GHG emission reporting requirements but ALSO that they have submitted a champion-level action plan for posting in the Canadian GHG Challenge Registry©.


5) Q: What do we get for our $600 registration fee?
A: The registration fee covers the administration and processing for the evaluation and registration of your action plan submission. The advantages include: -> Entities that have a registered champion-level GHG action plan in their Canadian GHG Challenge Registry© online profile receive positive market recognition and exposure, -> The evaluation process means that the submission undergoes a thorough and accurate review of your quantification methodology. We are leading experts in managing, reporting, and measuring greenhouse gas emissions, -> The development of the GHG Action Plan requires you to track and monitor energy and emission and also provides you with the opportunity to help focus corporate efforts on savings, and -> Allows for the comparison and publishing of best practices in a publicly accessible forum.


6) Q: Do I have to use 1990 as my base year?
A: No, you can use any year that is convenient for your entity or facility. 1990 is recommended because it coincides with the baseline used in the Kyoto Protocol. The choice of your base year will depend on many factors, including: -> Whether you have the energy consumption and other data for that period -> Whether that year included unusual activity such as a labour stoppage, acquisition or divestiture of businesses, disruption in schedules, etc. Since this becomes the base year for your comparison you would likely choose a year that represents ‘normal’ operation in a year prior to having undertaken significant activities designed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.


7) Q: Do my base year and reporting periods need to be calendar years?
A: No, many organizations collect information based on a fiscal period (April to March, for example). If you find this a more convenient reporting period, then by all means use that in your report. However, since mandatory reporting is on a calendar year basis, it may be more cost effective to gather the necessary emissions data for both purposes at the same time.


8) Q: Are emission factors available?
A: Yes, please refer to http://www.ghgregistries.ca/emission_estimation_resources_e.cfm.


9) Q: Where can I find standard reporting spreadsheets or tables for reporting?
A: Software applications such as spreadsheets may make data gathering and reporting easier. Some are proprietary and not available free to the general public. You may also see how others in your sector are reporting data by viewing their Action Plans on our website. As well, sector-specific spreadsheets may be shared through trade associations or government departments. The website link http://www.ghgregistries.ca/emission_estimation_resources_e.cfm provides different resource links which are freely available for use.


10) Q: Do registrants have to adopt the national target of 6% emissions reduction by 2008-2012?
A: No, we do not define specific targets for Challenge Registry participants. We are not directly linked to the Kyoto protocol, the proposed national target, the Large Final Emitter (LFE) covenants, or the official Canadian GHG emissions inventory. Each registrant should set and document targets based on their own best judgement.


11) Q: What is the best way to use the electricity emission factors?
A: Electricity emission factors (http://www.ghgregistries.ca/emission_estimation_resources_e.cfm) change each year based on the actual generation mix of each region. To most accurately describe your total GHG inventory, you should use the factor for each year and apply it to the electricity consumption for that year. However, when plotting historical trend lines the factor may overstate or understate your success, depending on the difference between the emission factors for your base year compared to the year that you are reporting. If you want to select a single factor to document trends, we recommend that the factor for the most current reporting year be applied to all of the years plotted in your trend line.


12) Q: What is the difference between N2O, NO, NO2, and NOx?
A: When fuels are burned in air, the nitrogen and oxygen are combined together. The products are commonly referred to as oxides of nitrogen - NO, NO2 and are generally known as NOx. These are pollutants that contribute to acid rain and smog, but are not considered greenhouse gases. Nitrous oxide, N2O, also known as laughing gas, is a combustion by-product and is considered a greenhouse gas. Although produced in small quantities, it has a global warming potential about 310 times greater than CO2.


13) Q: How accurately should I measure GHGs?
We do not prescribe a specific accuracy level, either in the total amount of your organization’s GHGs (e.g. 95% of all emissions from company operations) nor in the accuracy of the individual values (e.g. 250 tonnes ±10 tonnes). However, you may want to perform two calculations: -> A materiality test to estimate the amount of GHG emissions from each activity in comparison with the total. This will give you an idea of the size of some of the smaller emission sources you may want to exclude. -> Uncertainty calculations to estimate the variation in the emissions numbers that you are reporting.


14) Q: How can I measure GHGs from company vehicles for distance traveled?
A: Distance Traveled: If you don't have all the fuel invoices, but do know the amount of distance traveled, then add up the distance traveled for each vehicle (or vehicle type), apply a vehicle fuel consumption factor (litres per 100 km) and then multiply by the emission factor from the applicable table accessible from http://oee1.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/statistics/neud/dpa/handbook_tran_ca.cfm?attr=0 .


15) Q: How can I measure GHGs from company vehicles for fuel consumption?
A: Fuel Consumption: You would sum up the amount of gasoline, diesel, etc. that is used by your vehicles, based on receipts or invoices, then apply the appropriate emission factor available from http://oee1.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/statistics/neud/dpa/handbook_tran_ca.cfm?attr=0 .


16) Q: How can I measure GHGs from air and train travel?
A: Factors are available from http://oee1.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/statistics/neud/dpa/handbook_tran_ca.cfm?attr=0 that can be applied to the distances you travel on business.


17) Q: If I report indirect emissions, is there a possibility of double counting?
A: We encourage registrants to report both direct and indirect emissions separately where possible. By reporting separately, double counting is avoided. The Canadian GHG Challenge Registry is not used directly as the basis for Canada’s national greenhouse gas inventory, precluding double counting in the creation of that estimate.


18) Q: How do I include the emissions from acquisitions and/or divestitures?
A: If you purchase another company, take control of another facility or sell part of your company after your base year, the best way to incorporate these changes is by back casting your baseline information. You would make changes to the data as if the current operating conditions existed in previous years. There may be some educated guesswork that you need to do in determining the GHG emissions from past actions, but the intent is to report emissions as if that acquisition or divestiture was there since the base year. Note: There is a further discussion and good examples of this in the GHG Protocol at www.ghgprotocol.org.


19) Q: What is the difference between actuals, targets and business-as-usual projections?
A: Actual emissions refer to the annual GHG gases that were released by your organization, including Direct and Indirect emissions. A target refers to a future emission level that you are aiming to reach once you have implemented the reduction strategies identified in your Action Plan. Organizations will often define targets using a performance indicator or intensity value (GHG per unit of output) as that may be a better measure of progress for the organization in meeting its target. Business-as-usual projections are estimates of GHG emissions that would have been released if your organization had done nothing to reduce these emissions since the base year. These projections are also referred to as ‘Reference Case’, ‘Without Emission Reductions’ or ‘Frozen Efficiency Forecast’.


20) Q: What does CO2e stand for?
A: CO2e means carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent units. Because different gases dissipate in the atmosphere at different rates, scientists have established this common unit to calculate the overall effect on climate. The global warming potential (GWP) for all of the common greenhouse gases expressed in CO2e may be found at in http://unfccc.int/ghg_emissions_data/items/3825.php.


21) Q: What is GWP?
A. The GWPs may vary as the science of climate change is understood better. Listing the individual greenhouse gases separately will facilitate future adjustments using the most current GWP factors. The Kyoto Protocol has adopted a policy to hold constant these factors until the end of the first budget period in 2012. Canada’s National GHG Inventory is calculated on this basis. You may wish to maintain consistency with this policy.


22) Q: What things should I look out for when ‘rolling-up’ facility or project data into my Action Plan?
A: If your company has a number of facilities, departments or emission reduction projects, there are a few things you will want to check as you sum up the results into an entity-based report: -> Have consistent emission factors been used? -> Has the same time period been used in calculating emissions? -> Have consistent units and methodologies been used?


23) Q: What is an offset and how can I use it?
A: In spite of your organization’s best efforts, it may be difficult to meet the targets you have set based on actions you can take within your own operations. In some cases you may want to utilize emission reductions that others have accomplished to ‘offset’, or reduce, your own net emissions. Offsets exist if: -> You have directly invested in the creation of the emission reduction or removal and -> You can quantify the amount of emissions reduced/removed


24) Q: Can you direct me to some examples of offsets?
A: Examples include such things as supporting tree planting, spending money for employees to telework or use bicycles, public transport or car pools, displacing grid based electricity by selling excess electricity from a cogeneration plant and purchasing registered emission reductions from a verified project. Many such projects are listed in CSA's Canadian GHG Reductions Registry [http://www.ghgregistries.ca/reductions/index_e.cfm] and GHG CleanProjects TM Registry [http://www.ghgregistries.ca/cleanprojects].