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Isometric recently released the Emission Factor Library, which makes it simple for carbon removal projects to rigorously quantify their emissions by selecting from approved emission factors. The Emission Factor Library is available through Isometric Certify, which helps suppliers streamline every step of the verification process.
Emission factors convert activity data—such as the amount of electricity used by a piece of equipment—into the emissions associated with that activity. They are used to quantify emissions in the absence of direct measurements and are a core part of calculating a project’s net impact on the levels of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
However, finding and understanding emission factors has historically been confusing and time consuming, involving painstaking research. Their quality varies dramatically and they are hard to find, often hidden in numerous sources such as databases, research papers, and environmental product declarations. It can take over 20 hours to source and select a single emission factor to use. Since projects often require dozens of emission factors, this process is a significant burden. Additionally, many emission factors are gated in expensive licensed databases that can cost thousands of dollars a year.
Isometric Certify’s Emission Factor Library collates emission factors from reputable open-source repositories, cutting out the time consuming research process for suppliers. This makes it easy to find high quality emission factors that are compliant with the requirements of Isometric’s GHG Accounting Module. By providing recommended emission factors, Certify drives standardization of carbon accounting across carbon removal projects.
The Emission Factor Library is available through the LCA Builder tool in Certify. When preparing a project’s carbon accounting, an emission factor can be selected via the Library, or if a suitable factor is not available, the supplier can provide their own. Emission factors in the Library are carefully selected by Isometric’s in-house Science Team, making it simple for a supplier to choose the appropriate factor that matches the technology, geography, and year of their project’s activities.
Using the Emissions Factor Library speeds up verification, as suppliers can select high quality emission factors, which are confirmed upfront by their verifier and automatically pulled through to every verification. The result is making it easier for suppliers to create robust and compliant carbon accounting, clearer guidance for verifiers, and reduced delays during verification. The Emission Factor Library is also kept up to date with the latest factors, giving suppliers and verifiers confidence that the most relevant and reliable factors are being used, leading to rigorous emissions accounting.
Jack Tucker, Project Development Analyst at CarbonRun, said:
"Sourcing reliable emission factors used to require hours of manual research through academic papers and databases, making carbon accounting a slow, laborious process. Certify’s Emission Factor Library changes that by collating emissions factors from a range of reputable open sources. It’s a huge time saver for our team, meaning we can focus more of our time restoring the world’s rivers and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.”
Certify’s Emission Factor Library has been built with a focus on including emission factors that provide the largest impact to carbon removal projects today. The Library will continue to be updated and expanded as new and more accurate emission factors become available. With Certify’s Emission Factor Library, suppliers can prepare their project’s carbon accounting faster than ever before. Get started with your LCA in Certify today.
