GLOBAL CARBON : Bureau Veritas Certification chosen to provide verification services for joint implementation projects

Global Carbon is a leading environmental consultancy and financial brokerage services firm in the international emissions trading market under the Kyoto Protocol. The company focuses on Joint Implementation* (JI) project development in Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Russia, and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in Bulgaria.

Global Carbon chose Bureau Veritas Certification to manage the Determination/Verification for the set of its JI* projects. Business Vision interviewed Oleg Bulany, Senior Consultant with Global Carbon

Bureau Veritas: Can you give us some background on your JI business projects in Eastern Europe?
Oleg Bulany: We help companies take advantage of a direct source of income locked within their companies, one that requires no additional investment on their part, by releasing potential carbon revenue from energy efficiency projects, which either already exist or are in the implementation phase. Global Carbon provides consulting, carbon audits, project development and management and brokerage services to its clients who are seeking to benefit from this global emissions trading system. There are considerable opportunities for companies in Russia and Ukraine to benefit from this program as these two countries have significant reductions quotas available for attribution to industry.

Bureau Veritas: How do these projects work?
OB: Projects aimed at reducing energy costs are designed to cut carbon emissions, which can then be converted into Emission Reduction Units (ERUs) for sale on the international market. For Ukraine and Russia, JI projects are both a tool for attracting investment and a unique opportunity to realize the potential in preexisting projects by providing a source of profit from the sale of emission reduction units. Nearly all industry sectors have the potential to take advantage of the Kyoto Protocol.

Bureau Veritas: Why did you choose Bureau Veritas Certification to lead the Determination/ Verification on your projects?
OB: Global Carbon develops all the documentation for a project and then supports both the buyer and seller in the entire process of verifying and selling the emissions reductions. We work with Bureau Veritas Certification because of their proximity to us and our clients and we rely on their technical experience and knowledge of the Carbon Emissions Determination and Verification methodology for energy efficiency projects, all of which enhances our overall performance.

Bureau Veritas: What benefits has this process brought to your projects?
OB: Our role is to assist our clients in unlocking the value of the ERUs by accompanying them through the various stages of the process, from their Carbon Potential Assessment, followed by the preparation and approval of the Project Design Document (PDD) – a key document required to gain approvals from host country and from other parties involved. Global Carbon develops the PDD, which provides the technical details of the project, for its clients and when a project's PDD is complete, we arrange for the required audit of the project by an accredited independent entity. This is where we rely on Bureau Veritas Certification teams' technical expertise, deep knowledge of the Global Kyoto Protocol program and their familiarity with local business issues, culture and language.The final step of the process is to monitor and verify the actual emissions reductions and to export the ERUs realized through the project to an international market. Global Carbon provides support through the whole Carbon life cycle, assisting in the annual monitoring process and ensuring the independent audit of the Emission Reductions that have actually been generated. Here again Bureau Veritas Certification services come into play. Its Moscow Competency Center provides us with the Determination and Verification services that support Global Carbon's role as the broker trading the ERUs on the appropriate exchange to generate revenue for our clients.

*Joint Implementation:
Joint Implementation (JI) is one of the three mechanisms that are recognized and defined by the Kyoto Protocol. The United Nations Convention on Climate Change set up this protocol to define targets for developed countries in terms of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions reduction. Companies from developed countries can meet their emissions reduction targets by investing in an energy efficiency project in another developed country (including countries whose economy is in transition) and then be awarded carbon credits. The Kyoto Protocol requires JI projects be subjected to Determination and Verification by an Accredited Independent Entity. To date, the largest number of implemented JI projects has been in Eastern Europe, mainly in Russia and Ukraine. Bureau Veritas Certification is currently working on 26 projects that represent emissions reduction of more than 11 million tons of CO2, making it one of the biggest JI Determinator/Verifier. In order provide clients with both global and local competencies and expertise in a timely manner and to strengthen local business relationships, Bureau Veritas Certification has opened its first Competency Center, located in Moscow, with Russian-speaking teams familiar with local business cultures and also has an office with teams in the Ukraine for faster onsite determination/verifications.