This document describes the requirements that apply to all entities seeking certification during calendar year 2024 for their 2023 emissions. Last updated: 20 May 2024.
Quick start:
To better understand this document, the following terms are important to understand.
How to apply for and receive a Carbon Neutral Certified label?
Companies must follow the NetNada Carbon Neutral Certified Standard (NCNS), apply for certification, and receive formal approval from NetNada Approved Certifiers (NAC) in order to be licensed to use the Carbon Neutral Certified label.
Eligible Certifying Entities
The NetNada Carbon Neutral Certified Standard represents a leading and comprehensive approach to climate action by businesses. Businesses can pursue certification for a corporate entity, subsidiary, or brand, but individual products or services are not eligible.
To maintain the integrity and reputation of the NetNada Carbon Neutral Certification and its marks, companies operating in sectors listed on the Restrictions on Eligibility for Certification are ineligible for NetNada Carbon Neutral Certification.
NetNada Standard for Events and Films
While Carbon Neutral Certification primarily targets corporate brands, non-brand entities such as events or film projects may still qualify for certification through the same standard receiving a Carbon Neutral Event Certification and Carbon Neutral Film Certification.
For certification eligibility in 2024, entities must track their cradle-to-customer emissions either from the entire 2023 calendar year or an overlapping full fiscal year. This tracking must include emissions from all products, services, and business activities. Fiscal year data is valid if it overlaps with at least six months of the 2023 calendar year. Measurement boundaries follow the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, encompassing all Scope 1 emissions, all Scope 2 emissions, and 8 out of the 15 categories of Scope 3 emissions, as outlined below.
Table 1: Carbon Neutral Certified measurement boundary requirements
* Investments Required for Finance and Investment Firms - Entities with substantial financial holdings ( at least 5% of revenue is derived from these activities) are also required to measure Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 3.15 emissions. Please note, institutions determined to have significant financial holdings encompass asset managers/owners, retail and commercial banks, insurance companies acting as asset managers, real estate investment trusts (REITs).
Use of verifiable activity data vs. estimated data for Scope 1 and 2: Certifying entities are encouraged to provide actual metered or billed data, rather than modeled estimates, for Scopes 1 & 2.
Use of activity data: Certifying entities are strongly advised to utilise activity data or physical data for emissions Scopes and Categories where emissions account for 5% or more of the total footprint. Companies that fall outside the Small Company Pathway must use activity data or physical data (e.g., kWh instead of dollars spent on electricity) for Scopes 1 and 2, beginning in their second annual certification year.
While all GHG inventory submissions must follow the boundaries and categories defined in Table 1, the inputs and how you measure your business emissions depends on your company size.
If an organisation that seeks certification has multiple subsidiaries, the combined revenue of all certified entities will be used to determine the Verification Requirements Pathways.
Once GHG inventory has been completed, our staff will review your submission and evaluate it for compliance with the Standard.
Table 2: Verification Requirements Pathways
Small business pathway: below $5 million in revenue for 2023
Estimate your emissions using the NetNada Carbon Management Platform (NCMP)
If you measure your emissions using the NetNada Carbon Management Platform, here’s what you need to submit:
If you don’t measure through the NetNada Carbon Management Platform, here’s what you need to submit:A complete inventory with signed attestation. (No third party verification required.)A complete inventory with signed attestation. (No third party verification required.)
You can make a copy of the Good Faith Attestation document here.
Medium brands: 2023 revenues $5-100 million
Create a report summarising total emissions by scope and category. This report should be generated using either the NetNada Carbon Management Platform, an external calculator, a consultant, or an in-house tool, provided it complies with the GHG Protocol and adheres to the measurement boundary criteria. Independent verification is not necessary.
If you measure your emissions using the NetNada Carbon Management Platform, here’s what you need to submit:
If you don’t measure through the NetNada Carbon Management Platform, here’s what you need to submit:
Large brands:2023 revenues above $100 million
Create a report summarising total emissions by scope and category. This report should be generated using either the NetNada Carbon Management Platform, an external calculator, a consultant, or an in-house tool , provided it complies with the GHG Protocol and adheres to the measurement boundary criteria. A third-party verifier must review the inventory (see below).
If you measure your emissions using the NetNada Carbon Management Platform, here’s what you need to submit:
If you don’t measure through the NetNada Carbon Management Platform, here’s what you need to submit:
All verification reports should follow these five common principles of carbon footprint verification: relevance, completeness, consistency, transparency, and accuracy.Verifications must conform to one of these standards: ISO 14064-3, ISAE3000, ISAE 3410, or Corporate GHG verification guidelines from ERT. Verification reports must specify the level of assurance provided by the report as either limited or reasonable.g:
Third-party verifiers (e.g. environmental auditors or consultants) must be able to demonstrate the following:
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) that are bundled or unbundled with energy purchases may be used to make “market-based” adjustments to the total emissions from your electricity consumption.
The Standard requires that vintages of any Energy Attribute Certificates used for compliance be purchased within the certification year or one year prior. For example, when considering 2023 Scope 2 emissions, you must purchase RECs with a vintage of 2022 or later. All RECs used for compliance must also take place on the same grid subregion as your Scope 2 electricity consumption.
For example, if your business operates only in one state of Australia, your RECs need to be attributed to that subregion.
If errors or omissions are identified in a previous submission that exceed a 5% materiality threshold, the certified entity is obligated to restate the emissions for the affected year(s).
All organisations seeking certification must develop a Reduction Action Plan using Change Climate’s prescribed template.
The plan should demonstrate progress in reducing emissions from their products and services and include:
Science-Based Target Setting Requirements:
In cases where multiple subsidiary within a larger company seek to achieve certification, certifiers will use the combined revenue of all certified brands to determine certification requirements.
Success toward reduction actions and science-aligned targets will be closely evaluated in Checkpoint Years set in 2025 and 2028. Certified entities will be required to evaluate and report on progress towards the following goals:
Checkpoint Year 2025 Goals: • All RAPs set through 2023 should be complete.• Clearly report on progress toward targeted year-over-year emissions reductions. • You should be roughly 50% toward completing 2030 target requirements, if applicable.*
Checkpoint Year 2028 Goals: • All RAPs established through 2026 should be complete.• You should be roughly 80% toward completing 2030 target requirements, if applicable.*
a. Requirements for GHG Mitigation Beyond the Value ChainCertifying entities are required to contribute to greenhouse gas mitigation projects at a level proportional to their measured emissions (all product, services, and operations) by making investments beyond the value chain. Carbon inventories may be adjusted with clean energy purchases made via eligible Energy Attribute Certificates such as RECs or GOs. All carbon credits and/or EACs must meet the following criteria:
All carbon credit purchases must be from the approved project categories and types in Table 3. Certifying entities are encouraged, but not required, to follow the Suggested Portfolio Allocation Targets.
Table 3: Eligible Carbon Credit Types and Categories
The Standard requires that companies with active certifications publicly disclose the following information on the Brand Profile Directory on the NetNada website:
Certified entities are strongly encouraged to engage in lobbying, education and stakeholder (e.g. customer, supplier, employee, consumer) mobilization efforts in support of climate solutions. Applications for certification will include a requirement to report on such activities completed in the prior calendar year. This reporting will not be made public, but should generally include one or more of the following activities:
In addition, use of the NetNada Carbon Neutral label is an important form of advocacy. Re-certifying companies must provide evidence of at least one (1) example of using the label in either a digital or real-world setting.
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