Carbon Accounting

Everything You Need to Know About Renewable Energy Credits (RECs)

For corporate reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the time to start making progress is now. But if you’re spearheading a massive reduction effort—spanning multiple regions, countries, or even continents—where do you begin to create an impact? Companies that wish to reduce their carbon footprint often start by offsetting their electricity consumption with Renewable Energy Credits […]

How to Reduce Scope 2 Emissions

After receiving and reviewing over 12,000 public comments by late fall 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is finally set to finalize its much-anticipated rules on climate-focused disclosures in April 2023. In addition, the European Union recently finalized its own Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which has even more stringent reporting requirements, including for companies […]

Iron Mountain’s Innovative 24/7 CFE Solution Lightens Its Data Center Customers’ Carbon Emissions Load, Serving 100+ U.S. Facilities

24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE) as a strategy is often looked at as near-impossible, or at least unaffordable–but Iron Mountain recently announced a landmark deal that is poised to challenge the skeptics. Iron Mountain’s innovative 24/7 CFE solution for data center customers–in partnership with RPD Energy, Direct Energy and Cleartrace–is providing a strong model, backed by […]

Carbon Data: When Does a Company Need It?

As companies race to build out ESG and sustainability programs to measure their environmental and social impacts and set goals to address them, the critical element to starting their decarbonization journey is good baseline data. Without it, companies are forced to rely on assumptions, estimates and often far-apart observations. But putting systems in place to […]

What’s Right for Your Business: Science-Based vs Net-Zero vs Science-Based Net Zero Targets

As the world continues to set new dangerous global temperature highs and lows, corporations must take action to mitigate climate change. When it comes to measuring (and limiting) carbon emissions, the goals business leaders set are their north star for short-, medium- and long-term action.. That’s why it’s important to understand these goal-setting options, as […]

Advancing Decarbonization through Clean Energy Procurement: Practical Tips from the IEA

Let’s start with the good news. A lot of companies are committing to decarbonization; in fact, over 1,000 companies across a range of sectors have pledged some kind of emissions reduction or climate neutrality goal. Very naturally, the ways in which corporations account for carbon dictate the ways they procure energy, which in turn dictates […]

How to Reduce Scope 2 Carbon Emissions from Purchased Electricity

With rising international concern for global energy consumption comes the pressure to take responsibility for the reduction of carbon emissions and fossil fuel usage. Enterprise organizations are facing pressure to account for and reduce the energy—and the carbon emissions that come with it—that they produce, purchase and consume through activities related to basic operations or […]

Scope 2 Emissions: Location-Based vs. Market-Based Carbon Accounting Methods

For organizations working to decarbonize their operations, there is a viable tension between sourcing clean energy locally or regionally through utilities and power purchase agreements (which can be more difficult, costly, and time-consuming) versus sourcing through Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs), which is often a quantity-over-quality scenario and more expeditious […]

Martin Wainstein: Complexities Surrounding Global Cooperation on Climate Change

On the latest episode of The Decarbonization Race podcast, Martin Wainstein, Founder and Executive Director at the Open Earth Foundation, offers insights into the scale of challenge planetary sustainability goals represent and the new kinds of paradigms emerging to help us start to meet them. In particular, he looks at the concept of global digital […]

Biggest Pitfalls Corporations Face with Net Zero Commitments

Answering the climate challenge and managing operational impacts is one of the largest challenges facing companies, particularly corporations with large regional or global footprints. As enterprise businesses scale up ambitions, they run the potential of making major mistakes when it comes to creating and publicizing their net zero commitments—whether those mistakes are intentional or not. […]

GRESB: Advancing ESG Investment Data for Real Estate & Infrastructure

The health of our environment, sustainable conditions for our communities, social and economic equity, and reliable government policies are essential to growth and business prosperity. Yet, stacks of well-meaning books and hours of informed dialogue are not enough to assist in the unblinking world of large investment firms, whether hedge funds, banks, REITs, or fiduciary […]

Understanding Scope 1, 2, and 3 Emissions—How to Take Responsibility for Emissions This Year

With the growing focus today on corporate carbon footprints, enterprise organizations and smaller businesses alike have a vested interest in understanding different emissions scope levels—and it’s not just about proving an organization’s energy output. Forward-thinking business leaders must take time to understand the GHG Protocol and emissions scope levels as a way to gain better […]