Madison, Wisc.-based Leonardo Academy hopes the standards accelerate the growth of market-driven emission reduction actions, and will make it easier for consumers, building owners and companies to get credit for the environmental benefits of their emission reduction actions. Another goals is to provide consistent integrated coverage of the full range of emissions types, from greenhouse gases to mercury. Open and transparent standards will make it clear in the marketplace what stated emission inventories, offsets, and reduction credits really mean, Leonardo Academy says.
Al Gore, the 2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, the World Bank and the HSBC bank all recently brought great attention to emission inventories, offsets, and reduction credits by announcing their action to offset emissions. Al Gore offset the emissions caused by the production of his documentary film "An Inconvenient Truth," the World Cup Organizing Committee offset the emission of the World Cup event, and the World Bank and HSBC Bank offset the emissions caused by their organizations.
These announcements bring to mind questions about the meaning of emissions offsetting. How does one calculate the emissions caused by a given human activity? What types of emissions should be calculated and offset? Should only greenhouse gasses like CO2 be offset, or should toxic emissions like mercury be addressed as well? And how should we define, measure and verify emissions offsets?
The ANSI standard development process aims to create an integrated set of answers to these questions. This process will create a single standard that combines the breadth of current information on the topic into an integrated, easily understood package providing the essential benefits to both the environment and the business world. The objective of this initiative is to develop credible and effective standards for emission inventories, offsets, and reduction credits that are practical for both end users and the marketplace, and are therefore effective drivers for environmental improvement
"This is an important initiative because effective emissions crediting and offsetting standards are key to solving both our global warming and toxic emissions problems,” says Leonardo Academy President Michael Arny said. “Such standards make it economically and socially advantageous to increase this type of environmental stewardship, engaging the creative energy and drive of the marketplace to achieve important environmental goals."
The development of integrated emissions standards will make it possible, for example, for a building owner that documents reduced energy use to capture the economic value of emission reductions created by their actions.
