The CarbonNeutral Company’s premium CarbonNeutral® services are provided in accordance with our proprietary quality standard – The CarbonNeutral Protocol (CNP).  The CNP draws on other developments in the carbon market – such as independently certified standards for Verified Emission Reductions, such as the Voluntary carbon Standard – in order to maintain its best-in-class status and is regularly revised under the guidance of our Independent Advisory Group (IAG).  The IAG was established in August 2005 and meets formally four times per year. The IAG also provides advice relating to international policy developments and their potential impact on the business. To view the full remit of the IAG.

The IAG is chaired by The CarbonNeutral Company’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor John Murlis. Members of the IAG act in a personal capacity – that is, their views and advice do not necessarily represent the views of their organisations. From 2008, two places on the IAG are reserved for clients of The CarbonNeutral Company and these positions can be held for a maximum term of two years. We are currently in the process of filling these positions. All other (non client) positions on the IAG may be held for a two year term renewable for a further two years. The current membership of the IAG is as follows:

From Financial Year 2008 (ending June 30th 2008) we have asked the IAG to make a formal report to The CarbonNeutral Company’s Management providing a summary of the key discussions held during the previous year and their advice regarding challenges and suggested areas of focus for discussion by the IAG in the following year. To view the IAG Annual Report 2008. 

All of The CarbonNeutral Company’s Emission Reduction projects are independently verified and the verification reports are published on our project registry. In addition to this ‘formal’ verification, from Financial Year 2008 we arranged for IAG members to visit a small sample of our Emission Reduction projects to review their performance and impact on the local community from a more qualitative perspective. This process is used to feed into the design, selection and management of future Emission Reduction projects. In November 2007 an energy efficiency project in Jamaica and a wind power project in Turkey were visited – summaries of the project reports and The Company’s response to these findings are published below:

Independent Project Review - CFL Replacement, Jamaica

Independent Project Review - the Karakurt Wind Farm, Turkey

The CarbonNeutral Company Response to Project Review, March 2008

During Financial Year 2009, IAG members will continue this programme of independent reviews by visiting small-scale hydro projects in China, and two forestry projects.

From time to time the Company may choose to publish documents that have been discussed with the Independent Advisory Group where these relate to policy decisions with no commercial sensitivity. These documents are made available here.

The CarbonNeutral Company's Position on Aviation