Glossary

Accredited Certificate Provider – a person accredited under the NSW ESS to create ESCs for Recognised Energy Saving Activities.

AEMO, also known as an Australian Energy Market Operator. Is a body that manages electricity and gas systems and markets across Australia. Helping to ensure

AESS, is your Annual Energy Savings Statement.

Approved Measurement and Verification Professional. A person approved by the Victorian Essential Services Commission (ESC) to validate Measurement and Verification plans for the creation of

Accredited Provider – a person accredited under the Victorian Essential Services Commission (ESC) to create VEECs for Prescribed Activities.

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement relates to the trading of carbon offsets between countries, also known as flexible mechanisms. There is an ongoing debate

An air source heat pump, also known as an ASHP, is a type of heat pump that absorbs heat from a colder place and releases

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). It is the process of capturing energy from biomass via pyrolysis. The output is electricity or heat and

Biochar is a stable, carbon-rich form of charcoal that is produced by pyrolysis of biomass. When applied to soil it can increase soil fertility, crop

Biomass is plant or animal material used to produce electricity or heat. Examples include forestry by-products, crop waste, animal waste and food processing waste. Biomass

Building management system, used to control the operation of the energy using equipment in the building.

A certificate that is equivalent to 1 tonne CO2-e. Credits often refer to instruments issued under a cap and trade scheme, where companies are allocated

The act of offsetting all scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions associated with a product or service.

1 carbon offset = 1 tonne of CO2-e avoided or removed from the atmosphere. Avoided emissions covers activities that alter behaviour that would have otherwise

A mechanism for non-Annex 1 countries  to create carbon credits under the Kyoto protocol and sell those to Annex 1 countries to meet their Kyoto

Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental

The Clean Energy Regulator is the Australia Government body responsible for accelerating carbon abatement for Australia through the administration of the National Greenhouse and Energy

Climate Active is an accreditation program for Australian companies to certify their organisations, products, services, events, buildings or precincts as carbon neutral. The program is

The concept that your actions are having a net positive benefit to the climate. This is generally achieved through surrendering more carbon offsets than your

Carbon dioxide removal certificates where CO2 is physically captured from the atmosphere and stored for a minimum of 50 years. It is a voluntary market

Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) is the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)’s market-based greenhouse gas offset mechanism. Corsia has specific eligibility

Direct air capture (of CO2) using technology, not nature-based solutions.

Energy attribute certificate – generic term for a certificate issued for 1MWh of renewable electricity generated. Used interchangeably with renewable energy certificate (REC).

Energy conservation measure

Energy consuming system

There are several operating schemes, both mandatory and voluntary. The International Emissions Trading Association provides and overview of the mandatory markets in operation around the

A mathematical model describing the energy use profile before implementation of a project (baseline phase) and after an implementation of a project (operating phase) occurs.

Electricity or gas savings or both.

Energy productivity is the ratio of economic output to energy consumption. By implementing efficiency measures, EP100 members improve their energy productivity and reduce greenhouse gas

The NSW Energy Savings Scheme (ESS) provides financial incentives to install, improve or replace energy savings equipment and appliances in NSW households and businesses. The ESS

Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere. They all have different global warming potentials (GWP) over different time frames, the higher the number, the worse

A gigajoule (GJ) is the equivalent to 1 billion joules. A joule is a measure of the energy required to send an electrical current of

Accreditation scheme for voluntary carbon offset and renewable energy projects. The tradable instruments are Verified Emission Reductions (VERs). The Gold Standard label can also be

also known as a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) represents 1 MWh of renewable electricity generation, typically from sources such as solar PV, wind, hydro, geothermal,

The GHG Protocol is the most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standard for companies. It provides guidance on the calculation of scope 1, 2 and

International Renewable Energy Certificate created under the International REC Standard.

Large-scale Generation Certificate under the Australian Renewable Energy Target.

Nationally determined contribution is a country’s greenhouse gas reduction commitment under the Paris agreement.

Net-zero is a term meaning to get to zero emissions, there is no current standard on what getting to net-zero means. For governments a net-zero

Negative emissions technologies, which remove CO2 from the atmosphere and sequester it.

National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme. Large energy users and greenhouse gas emitters that exceed the thresholds must report their detailed energy and emissions data

New Zealand Energy Certificate, equivalent to 1 MWh of renewable electricity

New Zealand Energy Certificate System, the Renewable Energy Certificate registry in New Zealand managed by Certified Energy

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12

Power Purchase Agreement is a direct agreement between a renewable energy project developer and an end-user for the sale of renewable electricity. Behind the meter,

Race To Zero is a global campaign to ally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions, investors for a healthy, resilient, zero carbon recovery that

RE100 is the global corporate renewable energy initiative bringing together large businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity. The members must be influential based on their

A carbon offset created from reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in developing countries under the UNFCCC framework. Several REDD+ projects have been

A residual mix sets out the proportion of electricity from each generation technology (coal, gas etc.) that remain in the power grid after all certified

The Renewable Energy Target is an Australian Government scheme designed to encourage the additional generation of electricity from sustainable and renewable sources. The Renewable Energy

The science based targets initiative (SBTi) is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund

Small-scale Technology Certificate under the Australian Renewable Energy Target.

The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) is an industry-led effort, chaired by Michael Bloomberg, with 32 global expert members from the private sector.

Tradeable Instrument for Global Renewables (TIGR) Registry is an online platform for tracking and transferring renewable energy certificates (RECS), enabling developers to generate,verify and sell

Verified Carbon Standard is the program operated by Verra and is the most widely used voluntary greenhouse gas program internationally. Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) are

Verified Carbon Unit under the Verra Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) program. Eligible for use under the Climate Active Program.

Voluntary Emission Reduction under the Gold Standard.

Verra is a not for profit organisation that administers the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program under which VCUs are created. Operating since 2006 it is

used to track reductions in energy use, usually from energy efficiency activities, can be measured in either MWhs of energy saved or in Tonnes of