Refer to Table 5 in the Certification Standard for a full list of eligible project types. As you consider whether your project may be eligible, here is a helpful guide:
Count the price premium if you choose to spend more than you would normally in a business-as-usual scenario in order to use a lower-carbon input.
These costs are typically Operating Expenses (opex) associated with products and procurement, but may be Capital Expenses for certain business-related spend.
For preferred product inputs, the change must have been initiated in the past 5 years. For preferred packaging inputs, there is no time limit.
Examples: buying more expensive, preferred material inputs or ingredients (or finished goods that contain preferred material inputs or ingredients) with lower carbon emissions across some or all products; choosing higher-cost renewably-produced electricity at controlled facilities; choosing more expensive, electrified transport services for upstream shipping.
Count the direct cost if you undertake a project specifically to reduce emissions, or retire equipment and replace it early in order to decarbonize more quickly. NOTE: Since these projects may have multiple business objectives, they are ALL subject to this policy.
These costs are typically Capital Expenditures (capex) associated with new equipment or technology, but sometimes can be Operating Expenses (opex) if the improvement is paid for as a service.
You may count the annual depreciation expense (for projects initiated in the past 5 years) instead of the full capex, if preferred.
For early retirement projects, only count the cost of new equipment; do not count the residual value of existing assets.
Examples: installing onsite solar at your headquarters; investing in onsite renewables at a supplier facility; installing GHG capture equipment; investing in equipment to switch fuels; converting an older HVAC system to a heat pump before it’s fully depreciated; investing in a regenerative agriculture project at a supplier facility; electrifying a fleet before existing vehicles are fully depreciated; investing in an energy efficiency project.
Count the full cost of the EAC if the project is structured as a market-based instrument, where you are purchasing and retiring the environmental attribute.
These costs may be Operating or Capital expenses, depending on how your accounting department wants to treat the expense and how the contract is structured.
These costs may count towards VCA up to the total equivalent amount of consumption or procurement accounted for in your GHG inventory.
Examples: purchasing 100 RECs for 100 MWh of electricity consumption; purchasing 1,000 SAF credits for up to 1,000 tonnes of emissions in Scope 3.4 or 3.9 (make sure your units match!).
DO NOT count the cost towards your CTB if you make a purchase or investment required for regular business operations or to comply with laws or regulations.
Examples: buying conventional inputs to make your products; replacing an HVAC system at end-of-life; building out office or warehouse space; buying new equipment to increase production capacity.