PAS 2060: implications of the new carbon neutral standard

Last month saw the publication of the PAS 2060 Standard by the British Standards Institute (BSI). The development of the standard was to provide a common and consistent approach for the demonstration of carbon neutrality for organisations, products, events, buildings, towns, cities and services.

Extending on from the PAS 2050, which is a method for measuring the embodied GHG emissions from goods and services across their lifecycle, the new standard allows entities to declare 1. a commitment to and 2. the achievement of carbon neutrality.

1. A declaration of commitment to carbon neutrality requires the entity to establish its carbon footprint and to come up with a Carbon Footprint Management Plan describing how it intends to achieve carbon neutrality. Declarations of commitment however will only be valid for a maximum period of one year after which the commitment and plan will need to be reviewed and renewed accordingly.
2. A declaration of achievement of carbon neutrality requires the footprinting and plan as above, along with reductions in emissions and purchase of carbon offsets for any residual emissions. Achieving carbon neutrality solely though offsetting is not endorsed. Where the entity plans to maintain carbon neutrality, they will need to update their Carbon Footprint Management Plan at least every 12 months. The standard also requires an offset strategy to be adopted before the offset is purchased, outlining the estimated quantity, nature, type of offsets to be used.

Unlike the DECC’s Guidance on Carbon Neutrality which only recommends offsetting credits accredited  through their own UK Quality Assurance Scheme (EUAs and CDM credits), this standard allows for both of these types of offsets but also credits from Gold Standard and VCS accredited projects.

Much of PAS 2060 reflects existing best practice in the sector. It is possible to self-assess, so for many companies, compliance with the standard will entail little additional work.

What's probably new for most organisations is the requirement for a 'pre-emptive' offset strategy, as many companies currently wait to see how far they can reduce before looking into the options for offsetting rather than doing this upfront.

If the standard proves popular, this requirement could see a shift to stronger targets, as companies look at the price of carbon before beginning their reduction work. It could also see a shift towards more responsible offsets, as companies research the options in advance, plan communications around the offset in more detail and build the cost of their chosen approach into their budget from the start.

For more information on the standard itself see the PAS 2060 pages on the BSI website.