How do we ensure credibility?
Company credibility, in any claims, are important to us, and therefore we take several measures to ensure our savings are credible.
- We provide a record of all project savings which have entered the carbon bank. The bank is available to our external verifier to ensure that the carbon credit inflow and outflow is balanced. Additionally, we share project information and data to ensure the savings are credible and in line with our rules and accounting standards.
- To prevent double accounting, project savings can only be added to our carbon bank if they are not already included in published environmental product declarations/profiles (EPDs) for upstream manufacturing of crude steel.
How to process Carbon Lite declarations
You can put CO2e reductions in your own bank based on your organisational emission baseline. Your carbon bank must have third party oversight and assurance in terms of inflow and outflow and handling of the carbon bank. Any sales from your carbon bank would be done under your own brand, with your own issued declarations and subject to your own third-party assurance process.
The CO2e tonnes reduced from the yield losses should remain connected to the product. For example: from 10 tonnes bought there is 1 tonne lost in processing yield losses. The CO2e tonnes reduced and stated on the declaration should be balanced across the remaining 9 tonnes to retain the connection to the product for the onward selling. This way you will be able to continue to pass on the reduction and charge for it.
How to report on scope 3 level
You can lower your scope 3 emissions with our Zeremis products. You can do this through following the reporting protocol you adhere to and stick to the specific guidelines on scope 3 value chain interventions to know how to report our declarations.
It is up to you as a steel buyer on how you report your CO2e emissions as it differs per customer which standards they need to conform to in their industry, and which guidelines they follow for their reporting.
Independent assurance experts
Tata Steel Nederland in IJmuiden asked DNV to provide an independent limited assurance engagement for decarbonisation projects.
They check actual data after implementation, never theoretical data.
They check all certificates and statements from the parties we work with.
They check our carbon bank itself, i.e. the inflows and outflows, to make sure we are not selling more than we are reducing CO2 emissions.
Single counting and selling
Our baseline is anchored to the data submitted to the life cycle assessment process. This ensures there is no double counting between the numbers declared in our product EPDs and EPs and the CO2e tonnes offered through the Carbon Lite scheme. Not theoretical, only real, measured CO2e savings at an intensity level are eligible to be banked. We convert everything into CO2e per tonne for both the baseline period and the period post implementation to do this. The savings are then linked to a certain product (e.g. product type X), and savings done for a different product (e.g. product type Y) will not be able to be bought for type X, only for type Y. This ensures the customer buys CO2e savings that no one else can buy, making it unique to the customer.
Avoiding double accounting with EPD(s)
- Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method used to calculate the total environmental burden of a product during its entire life cycle. For Tata Steel Nederland this includes from raw materials all the way until the product is ready to be shipped to the customer.
- An environmental product declaration (EPD) or environmental profile (EP) is a reporting tool we at Tata Steel Nederland use to report the total environmental burden of a product during its entire life cycle.
- EPDs/EPs is calculated based on data from one year of operation and is updated every 5 years.
- In many instances EPDs/EPs are used by Tata Steel’s customers to account for the scope 3 emissions. This creates a risk of double accounting if project savings are already integrated within the EPDs.
- Projects that were operational before and/or during the data collection timeframe are included in the new EPD/EP. This means their reduction savings will become part of the new baseline. Therefore, we do not include the reductions from these projects in the Zeremis carbon bank, to ensure that double counting is not possible.
- Other projects can still be added to the carbon bank when the new EPD goes live, as it was operational after the data collection period and their savings are therefore not part of the baseline emission intensity and is valid until the next EPD refresh.
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Please note use and validity of the Zeremis Carbon Lite declaration is subject to the holder of the declaration accepting that:
- A Zeremis® Carbon Lite declaration represents a virtual (mass balanced) reduced carbon product. This must be clearly stated if, and when, the credits are used and/ or referenced in any way.
- It must take into account its own production processes and, if applicable, any other entities in the supply chain and adjust the virtual carbon intensity accordingly.
- This declaration is only valid if it is used in accordance with Tata Steel’s guidance set out on our website.
- Notwithstanding anything to the contrary and to the fullest extent permitted by law, the total cumulative liability of Tata Steel (howsoever arising and whether under contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise) arising out of or in connection with this declaration shall not exceed, in any circumstances, the premium paid to it for the reduced CO2e steel. Tata Steel shall not under any circumstances whatsoever be liable whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise, for any loss of profit and any indirect or consequential damage suffered that arises under or in connection with this declaration.
- Each and every holder of a declaration from time to time shall fully indemnify Tata Steel and shall hold Tata Steel harmless from and against any claim, damage, liability, loss of any kind whatsoever accrued or incurred by Tata Steel arising out of or in connection with any improper or incorrect use of the declaration and/or improper or incorrect calculations in relation to CO2e savings.
- A declaration and any disputes arising out of or in connection with it shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of and subject to the jurisdiction of the courts where the applicable Tata Steel entity issuing this declaration has its registered office.
- Any reference to or use of the words Tata Steel, Zeremis® and/or Carbon Lite must be approved in advance in writing by Tata Steel.