4.1 Internal abatement requirements

This section lays out the requirements for the achievement of internal abatement, in support of CarbonNeutral® certification.

Certified organizations should demonstrate that their company-wide and subject-specific GHG inventories are decreasing over time. Abatement can be demonstrated using absolute or intensity metrics.

Annually, certified organizations must meet one of the following requirements. Option 1 should be prioritized, and Option 2 used only where the organization has failed to meet the requirements of Option 1.

Option 1

All three of the following:

• Have demonstrated an emissions reduction vs. the baseline year
• Have demonstrated an emissions reduction vs. the prior year
• Consider itself on track to achieve its near-term science-aligned target

Option 2

To be used only where one or more of the requirements from Option 1 have not been met.
Both of the following:

• Publicly explain whether and how it considers itself on track to achieve its near-term science-aligned target
• Publicly disclose planned and ongoing corrective actions the organization is taking to ensure that emissions reductions will be achieved in subsequent years

Achievement of the above requirements, or an explanation of why the requirements have not been met and how this will be addressed, must be reported to the certifier. 

The CarbonNeutral Protocol acknowledges that annual reductions are not always linear and may not be consistently achieved, as there are several influencing factors which may lead to a temporary increase in emissions, such as large capital expenditure projects or unexpected supply chain disruptions. However, it is critical that organizations remain on track to meet their near-term reduction targets and the certifier reserves the right to withdraw certification from organizations which are unable to achieve annual reductions over longer timeframes.