Center for Sustainability Performance (CSP) Launched

NEW YORK, August 10 /CSRwire/ - Deloitte today announced the launch of the Center for Sustainability Performance (CSP) in Waltham, Mass. The CSP will be led by Mark McElroy, Ph.D., and will provide

• on-site client training,
• research and development,
• with a focus on corporate sustainability measurement and reporting

Prior to joining Deloitte, McElroy served as executive director of the Center for Sustainable Innovation where he worked with clients on sustainability management, measurement and reporting engagements. He is also the creator of the Social Footprint Method, a procedure for measuring and reporting the social sustainability performance of organizations. McElroy will lead the CSP's research and development efforts and work with clients to formulate tailored metrics and tools designed to help manage, measure and report on non-financial performance. He will continue to serve on the board of the Center for Sustainable Innovation and also the Sustainability Institute, both located in Vermont.

"An evolving regulatory environment combined with increasing stakeholder interest in sustainability performance across the entire supply chain continues to drive demand for transparency, disclosure and compliance around nonfinancial performance," said Chris Park, co-leader of Deloitte's Enterprise Sustainability Group.

"Deloitte's Center for Sustainability Performance will provide customized training modules in the areas of sustainability measurement and reporting, enabling our clients to comply with regulatory demands while also reporting on social and environmental sustainability performance throughout their supply chain."

Further underscoring the need for supply chain transparency, Walmart, the world's largest retailer, recently announced plans to develop a worldwide sustainable product index, which will establish a single source of data for evaluating the sustainability of products.

"Nonfinancial reporting is evolving from voluntary communications to mandatory compliance, and the environmental regulatory and financial reporting worlds are converging," said Kathryn Pavlovsky, co-leader of Deloitte's Enterprise Sustainability Group. "

This convergence will require increased collaboration across many facets of an organization to ensure that the internal control frameworks are in place for measurable, consistent and repeatable corporate responsibility and sustainability reporting that is strategically, operationally and financially achievable."

In addition, Deloitte has teamed with LEAD Canada, the only Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) certified training organization offering GRI-certified sustainability reporting courses in both the U.S. and Canada. Deloitte will host GRI-certified training courses at Deloitte offices throughout the U.S. and Canada. Course participants will receive their course completion certificates directly from GRI.

"The prevalence of sustainability reporting is growing and the GRI has emerged as the world's most widely used reporting framework," said Eric Hespenheide, global reporting and compliance leader of Deloitte's Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Group. "As sustainability reporting matures and becomes more standardized, assurance of company reports will become increasingly important, just as it has for financial reporting. We look forward to hosting this training."

For a schedule of GRI training courses hosted by Deloitte, please click here.

The Rest @ CSRWire

Becoming a Lead Verifier and Verifying Body

The Climate Action Reserve and several other greenhouse gas (GHG) programs and registries are partnering with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to accredit independent third party Validation and Verification Bodies under to ISO14065:2007 and the International Accreditation Forum, Inc. (IAF) guidance and under their accompanying protocols.

This coordinated effort will help streamline the accreditation process for GHG Verification Bodies in North America and create consistency with international practice in relation to GHG emissions verification. Only Verification Bodies currently approved by the Reserve or those involved in the ANSI accreditation program may provide verification services to Reserve project developers. The Reserve is no longer accrediting new Verification Bodies but in the future could partner with other organizations to provide accreditation services.

ANSI is currently accepting applications for the GHG accreditation program. For more information or to request an application, please visit ANSI’s website for details on how to apply. Accreditation reduces the risk to GHG programs by assuring them that verification bodies are competent to carry out the work they undertake. It also provides criteria for assessing and recognizing the competence of verification bodies, allowing for a consistent comparable scheme across GHG programs.

To successfully gain approval to conduct verification activities for the Climate Action Reserve, verification bodies must meet the following criteria for both verification body Requirements and Individual Verifier Requirements.

For any individual to be qualified as a Lead Verifier and eligible to conduct verification activities under the Climate Action Reserve, he/she must meet the following criteria:

• Be employed or subcontracted to a verification body accredited under ISO 14065 OR an already approved Verification Body under the Reserve
• Meet internal training requirements, following proper processes and procedures under his/her ISO 14065 accredited Verification Body or already approved Verification Body under the Reserve
• Attend and successfully complete a required Project Verification Body training under the Climate Action Reserve protocols (receive a Certificate of Completion for the training course)
• Be identified as “Lead Verifier” in the Designated Staff, Roles and Responsibilities form submitted by his/her Verification Body to reserve@climateregistry.org
  

Any company or organization seeking to be qualified and eligible to conduct emissions reduction project verification activities must meet ALL of the following criteria:

• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the Climate Action Reserve Project and Verification Protocols.
• Have a minimum of two staff members designated as Lead Verifiers
• Lead Verifiers are REQUIRED to have completed Reserve training on its project protocols, specific to the sector that the Verification Body is applying to be accredited under.
• Meet the Reserve’s accreditation additional sector specific requirements.

The Rest @ The Climate Reserve

First Solutions Certified as a Validation and Verifying Body

Boonton, NJ - January 8, 2009 With so much confusion regarding the validity of carbon credits here in the United States, First Environment recently completed a program to standardize the process for documenting and verifying greenhouse gas emissions.

Working with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), First Environment has been accredited as a Validation and/or Verification Body (VVB). This program will facilitate the true reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the environment.

ANSI coordinates development and use of voluntary consensus standards in the United States, and represents the needs and views of U.S. stakeholders around the globe.

ANSI launched this pilot accreditation program in early 2008. Lane Hallenback, ANSI Vice President of Accreditation Services said, “This program marks a significant step forward in assuring integrity and consistency in emission reporting and reduction projects across industry sectors and geographical borders. The institute is pleased to join in strengthening consumer confidence and promoting best practices for the validation and verification of GHG emissions.”

As a result of ANSI’s accreditation, The Climate Registry and The California Climate Action Registry recognize First Environment as an accredited 3rd party verifier. In addition, First Environment is accredited for emission reduction projects under the Voluntary Carbon Standard and is the only verification body in the United States accredited for Chicago Climate Exchange.
The benefit of this program is that buyers and sellers of carbon credits can be sure that firms verifying emission reductions possess the technical qualifications to perform such an audit. This will bring order to the marketplace of companies who are claiming to offer the technical expertise to document and reduce the six greenhouse gases that are the primary cause of climate change.

Tod Delaney, President of First Environment says, “We have been working in the industry for 30 years and are pleased to be recognized for our commitment to assuring the integrity and consistency in emission reporting. Standardizing this process and making sure it is transparent is critical to the success of any government regulatory scheme or marketplace driven solution that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

First Environment offers engineering design and implementation services to meet your company’s environmental and sustainability goals. Established in 1977 we are an international leader in emerging environmental standards and have built award-winning Environmental Management Systems for the Westchester County Airport as well. Email Bob Previdi at rwp@firstenvironment.com and for more information about ANSI go to http://www.ansi.org/.

The Rest @ First Environment