About ERI’s work on EACs
Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs) allow the transfer of ownership of a product’s environmental attribute, either in conjunction with the product or separately. As market-making instruments, EACs have the potential to positively influence the development and exponential scaling of climate solutions, bringing them towards “positive tipping points”. To incentivise corporate investment in such solutions, organisations are seeking clarity on the conditions under which EACs can be used to claim emission reductions under market-based GHG accounting and/or to demonstrate progress against climate targets.
There is no clear consensus on the conditions under which EACs can be incorporated into existing accounting and reporting rules. Major standards, like GHG Protocol and SBTi, are under revision, and new and independent organisations are developing their own sets of rules for accounting for, reporting and claiming the use of EACs. It will be some months or years until the revisions and debates regarding EACs are concluded.
To help organisations navigate the current uncertain landscape of commodity certificates, Exponential Roadmap Initiative has conducted an overview of the current terms, standards, initiatives, and sector-specific guidance. In addition to this, Exponential Roadmap defined its position statement and provided recommendations on the actions corporates can undertake when working with EACs in the absence of clear guidance from relevant organisations.
