Verification basis: Passive procurement of fossil-free energy
This disclosure type refers to fossil-free energy that is supplied to an organisation via an energy supplier through default bundles EACs in with their power. This means the supply has no special ‘green tariff’ – all the power they sell has the same treatment, where the energy supplier retires an equivalent amount of EACs for the energy that they have delivered to the organisation, instead of selling them on as ‘unbundled certificates’ to be used as the basis for other fossil-free claims.
What disclosures are required for verification?
To make a verification claim based on passive procurement, a provider must share:
- Documented disclosures from their energy supplier showing their organisation’s energy consumption and the retirement of EACs equivalent to that amount.
What is a credible claim for the purposes of verification?
Any claims made must be credible, in that they are unique and exclusive to the organisation making those claims. They must also be timely and deliverable – (e.g. a renewable energy certificate from 2016 cannot be used to make claims for the 2025 calendar year; nor can a renewable energy certificate from Norway be used to make a claim for operations in the region of Singapore).
For a detailed explanation of what constitutes a Credible Claim, please refer to the Climate Group’s 24-7 CFC Technical Criteria Appendix A.
Third-party limited assurance
For providers unable to share disclosures in the aforementioned categories, we also accept third-party limited assurance report covering Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions for that organisation. This means that an independent auditor has obtained sufficient and appropriate disclosures that the organisation has used one/more of the mechanisms listed above to support claims of using 100% fossil-free energy from their hosting infrastructure.
To make a verification claim based on limited assurance, the limited assurance must specify:
- The region/s it is applicable to
- The GHG Scope/s (Scope 1 or 2) which is being assessed
- The basis under which the limited assurance has been reached. Namely, use of:
Providers must also share the related sustainability report and/or other documents for which that limited assurance has been provided.