Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer
CONTACT US

The Clean Energy Regulators New CERT Report – Latest Guidelines and Deadline | Ndevr Environmental

In case you missed it, the Clean Energy Regulator recently released the final guidelines for the upcoming pilot program of the Corporate Emissions Reduction Transparency (CERT) report. The new CERT report allows Australian businesses to report on progress towards their net-zero and emissions reduction targets, by providing a framework that enables stakeholders to review and understand progress towards reducing their Scope 1 and 2 emissions, in a clear and consistent manner.

Here is a rundown of the guidelines and what you need to know to participate in the CERT pilot program and why you should. Note the deadline to participate is fast approaching on January 30th 2022.

Participation is Voluntary – but will Demonstrate Leadership

Participation in the CERT pilot program is open to corporations reporting under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) scheme with total annual emissions greater than 50,000 tonnes CO2-e.

While participation is voluntary, public scrutiny of companies’ progress towards emissions reduction is likely to increase with the first publication. The report aims to provide investors, shareholders, and the general public, a clear and consistent summary of action taken by companies to reduce their emissions. Companies such as Coles and Woodside have indicated support for the report, and are among the several large companies that have already signed up for participation in the pilot.

Businesses reporting under NGERs that have shown strong action in reducing their net and absolute emissions, will be able to use the CERT report as an opportunity to demonstrate and promote their leadership in taking climate action.

Emissions Reduction Commitments

The new CERT report guidelines outline two key types of commitments ‘Commitment (progress verified)’ and ‘Other commitment (company assured)’.

A ‘Commitment (progress verified)’ is a commitment that has all the framing elements to allow the Clean Energy Regulator to calculate and verify progress from activities occurring in Australia. This includes elements such as the year the commitment is intended to be met (the target year), the boundary and scopes of emissions covered, and the accounting approaches used to assess the commitments. Commitment (progress verified) commitments could be in the form of renewable electricity targets, or emissions reduction against a baseline or a percentage of gross emissions reduced.

Progress monitored for Commitments (progress verified) aligns with existing carbon accounting and emission reduction frameworks, such as carbon neutral certification under the Climate Active framework and Science-based Targets (SBT).

These commitments can be verified using data and registries available to the Clean Energy Regulator, with progress reported as a percentage value and as an absolute reduction. Progress may be negative where net emissions have increased, however participants can include a short statement on the context of results.

An ‘Other commitment (company assured)’ is a commitment where progress cannot be verified by the Clean Energy Regulator. This might include for example targets to reduce Scope 3 emissions, or commitments that would lead to reductions in the participant’s or supply chain partners’ emissions. 

Participants can provide figures and a short statement describing progress against their Other commitments, however these would not be verified by the Clean Energy Regulator.

How to Sign up to the CERT pilot program and Key Dates

Businesses wishing to participate in the CERT pilot program must opt-in by 30 January 2022 to participate. You must create an account in the new One Client Portal and log your details.

All data relevant to reporting emissions reduction, such as the surrender of Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) and Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), must be reported by 15 March 2022 to be included in the first CERT report, set to be published in Q2-2022.

Have questions?

If you’re interested in discussing the developments, opportunities, and risks for your business under the CERT, or need support understanding the reporting requirements, contact Louise Walsh by email. We offer a range of services to support reporting under the CERT, including Climate Active certification support, auditing, benchmarking assessments, development of Science Based Targets and procurement of carbon offsets and renewable energy.

You May Also Like

transmission tower abstract - Ndevr Environmental
Australian Emission Reduction Summit Kicking Off Tuesday 5 May – Last Chance to Sign up | Ndevr Environmental
May 4, 2015
A Closer Look at the Exposure Draft Legislation on Climate-related Financial Disclosures in Australia
January 18, 2024

Melbourne

Wurundjeri Country
Level 2, 27 – 31 King street, Melbourne, VIC 3000 P: +61 3 7035 1740

Adelaide

Kaurna Country
217 – 225 Flinders St, Adelaide, SA 5000

Sydney

Gadigal Country
Commons Central, 20-40 Meagher St, Chippendale, Sydney, NSW 2000

Brisbane

Turrbal Country
120 Edward St, Brisbane, Qld, 4000

Perth

Nyoongar Country
Level 25, South 32 Building, 108 St Georges Terrace, Perth, WA 6000

Follow us on

Twitter Linkedin

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we operate, live and gather as employees, and recognise their continuing connection to culture, lands, waterways and community. We pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging and look optimistically towards a sustainable and inclusive future.

Ndevr Environmental Pty Ltd© 2021. All Rights Reserved. Founded 2010. Privacy Policy.| Sitemap.

MAKE AN ENQUIRY

Please complete the form below and we’ll be in contact with you shortly.

    ATIYAH

    CARBON NEUTRAL PRODUCT

    ​AWESOME STREETFOOD, ZERO CARBON – that’s Atiyah. With its launch in 2020, Atiyah became Australia’s first 100% renewable-run street food zero-carbon kitchen certified under Climate Active. Atiyah sets operational carbon efficiency benchmarks and raises awareness about the global warming impact of food choices. They even disclosed the footprint of every item on their menu to empower their customers’ low-carbon lifestyle. We assist ATIYAH with their carbon neutrality certification.

    ORIGIN

    CARBON NEUTRAL ORGANISATION & PRODUCT

    Responsible business is at the heart of what Intrepid does. Intrepid has been a pioneer in measuring and reporting carbon emissions since 2010. When it joined the Climate Active family in 2018, it became the largest global provider of carbon neutral certified travel adventures and the first company to voluntarily include all global operations in its certification.

    NEXTDC

    CARBON NEUTRAL ORGANISATION & PRODUCT NEXTDC are one of Australia‘s most trusted providers of data centre solutions. Since 2018 we’ve been assisting them with their Greenhouse Gas (GHG) accounting and in March 2021, the company broke ground with the launch of NEXTneutral, an innovative Climate Active-compliant colocation opt-in program for their customers. Learn more.

    GOODMAN

    COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY
    Goodman Group is an ASX20 global property expert in logistics and business space. It owns, develops and manages industrial property in 17 countries. We provide strategic advisory on Goodman’s operational GHG inventory and trajectory, the GHG intensity of its investment portfolio, net zero pathway and carbon neutral certification, as well as the renewable energy delivery strategy.

    ISPT

    PROPERTY FUND MANAGEMENT
    ISPT is one of Australia’s largest unlisted property fund managers, with over $11.9 billion of funds under management. We assist ISPT with its net zero pathway, land-based offset strategy as well as maintaining its carbon neutral certification. When ISPT joined the Climate Active network, it pioneered many concepts. It became the first participant under Climate Active to voluntarily include base building operations on all its owned and operated properties into its organisational certification and, as an industry first, procured 100% Australian Carbon Credit Offset Units (ACCUs).

    BHP

    METALS & MINING
    BHP is an ASX listed, world-leading resources company and are among the world’s top producers of major commodities, including iron ore, metallurgical coal and copper. They also have substantial interests in oil, gas and energy coal. We assist BHP comply with energy and greenhouse gas legislation and advise facilities on matters related to energy use and production emissions.

    Intrepid

    TRAVEL
    Intrepid Travel is the largest small group adventure travel company in the world. Responsible business is at the heart of what Intrepid does. We assist Intrepid with their Human Rights reporting obligations as well as many aspects of its GHG accounting and reporting. This includes its Science-based target (SBT), making them the first tour operator with approved SBT. When Intrepid joined the Climate Active family in 2018, it became the largest global provider of carbon neutral certified travel adventures and the first company to voluntarily include all global operations in its certification.

    LION

    BEVERAGES
    Lion is a global beverage company with a portfolio of brands in beer, cider, wine, spirits, seltzers, and non-alcoholic drinks. Lion has four large and four small Australian breweries, and its brands include XXXX, GOLD, Tooheys New, and Little Creatures. We assisted Lion to become Australia’s first large-scale brewer to be certified as carbon neutral under Climate Active in 2020.

    QANTAS Airline

    AIRLINE
    Founded in the Queensland outback in 1920, Qantas has grown to be Australia’s largest domestic and international airline. We have worked with Qantas since 2016 on a variety of emissions reduction projects.

    ORICA

    METALS & MINING
    Orica is the world’s largest provider of commercial explosives and innovative blasting systems to the mining, quarrying, oil and gas and construction markets, a leading supplier of sodium cyanide for gold extraction, and a specialist provider of ground support services in mining and tunnelling. We assist Orica with their regulatory reporting such as NGERs and also carbon abatement projects.

    Fulton Hogan

    CONSTRUCTION
    Fulton Hogan has more than 80 years experience in the transport, water, energy, mining, civil construction and land development infrastructure in New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific.
    We assist Fulton Hogan comply with NGER and NPI legislation for their extensive national operations. We work Fulton’s team to streamline reporting procedures to avoid duplicating data handling and transparently demonstrate data flows and aggregations.

    TOYOTA AUSTRALIA

    AUTOMOTIVE
    Toyota Australia was founded in 1963 and is one of Australia’s leading automotive companies. We have worked with Toyota since 2018 on many aspects of its GHG accounting, target setting, reduction initiatives, and reporting. We continue to inform strategic decisions around the contribution of the Australian business to the realisation of Toyota’s global Environmental Challenge 2050.

    H&H Group / Swisse Wellness

    CONSUMER GOODS
    H&H Group is a global health and nutrition company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Consumer brands include Biostime, Solid Gold Pet, Dodie, Good Goût, Aurelia Probiotic Skincare, CBII, and Swisse Wellness, a vitamin, supplement, and skincare brand, born in Australia in 1969. We have been working with Swisse and the group on many aspects of its GHG accounting and reporting, including the ongoing management of its Climate Active certification.

    AGL ENERGY

    ENERGY
    AGL is one of Australia’s leading energy companies offering electricity, gas, solar and renewable energy services, plus internet and mobile plans. We have assisted AGL for over five years on a variety of activities including audit and assurance projects.

    VIVA ENERGY

    ENERGY
    Viva Energy is a leading energy company which supplies about a quarter of Australia’s fuel requirements. Viva Energy make, import, blend and deliver fuels, lubricants, solvents and bitumen through extensive national and international supply chains. We assist Viva Energy with a range of energy and greenhouse gas related projects. These include annual NGER reporting, Safeguard baseline setting, advice on Emission Reduction Fund opportunities and emission trajectories.