Many Australian businesses are focused on avoiding and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by becoming more energy efficient, switching to renewable energy solutions, and reducing emissions wherever possible. However, we know that not all emissions can be easily avoided or further reduced, so another option to help your business achieve its net zero goal may be carbon credits.
Investing in carbon credits is often a necessary step for achieving goals and commitments, such as carbon neutrality or net zero.
Carbon credits are a recognised mechanism for investing in projects that contribute to reducing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This is done by either removing or avoiding emissions that would otherwise have occurred.
Each carbon credit unit represents an emission reduction of one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent in the atmosphere and every tonne carries a unique serial number which is recorded into a publicly accessible and independently operated registry. As a result, every credit can be tracked from its origin to the end user.
Your business can then trade these credits or ‘cancel’ them from the registry to help achieve carbon neutrality for those emissions that cannot be avoided. Voluntary cancellation of credits in the registry is an action we can perform at the request of our customers, so it’s not necessary for you to set up and maintain a registry account solely for this purpose.
Both national and international carbon credits are increasingly bought and sold in Australia’s growing carbon marketplace.
We source credits from a mixed portfolio of Australian and carefully chosen international carbon credits so that we can supply you with a range of solutions to support your decarbonisation journey. You can feel confident that our international carbon credits, diverse in geographies and in methodologies, have been drawn from projects that have passed our thorough due diligence to ensure credibility and quality. In addition, selected projects in the international portfolio demonstrate positive benefits to local communities or biodiversity in the project area.
Australian carbon credits, known as Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), are issued by the Federal Government’s Clean Energy Regulator for eligible activities under the Carbon Farming Initiative regulations. Each ACCU represents one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) stored or avoided by a project.
Projects that earn ACCUs for storing CO2 or avoiding emissions are regulated by the Federal Government. The Federal Government recognises ACCUs from those projects as eligible credits under its voluntary carbon neutrality programme Climate Active, as well as its legally binding framework for managing emissions from Australia’s largest emitters, called the Safeguard Mechanism.
Shell Energy can access reputable international carbon credits for our customers. These are typically generated under the leading independent certification standards for verifying the activities of voluntary carbon credits projects, such as The Gold Standard and the Verified Carbon Standard of Verra.
As with other carbon credit schemes, these generate one unit per tonne of CO2 equivalent stored or avoided for eligible activities. We vet international projects thoroughly using our in-house technical expertise to confirm their integrity so that our customers can feel confident in the credits they purchase.
Projects that earn these credits are recognised under Climate Active. The Climate Active scheme allows for the use of credits from these projects to contribute towards Climate Active carbon neutral certification.
Nature-based solutions are projects that protect, transform or restore land in a way that captures and stores more carbon. These projects can lead to the marketing, trading, and sale of carbon credits.
Shell Energy has access to a domestic and global portfolio of nature-based carbon credits and, within Australia, has relationships with major nature-based carbon project developers including Select Carbon (which is owned by our parent company Shell).
These companies work with hundreds of Australian farmers and landowners across tens of millions of hectares in rural areas of Australia to protect and regenerate native vegetation and improve soil quality, which increases the stores of carbon in the land.
The avoidance and sequestration of CO2 generates carbon credits that are traded as ACCUs in the Australian marketplace. ACCUs can create revenues for rural communities, as well as the economic incentive to manage the land more sustainably.
Our parent company, Shell, made its first acquisition of a carbon farming company when it acquired Select Carbon in Australia. Carbon farming involves using agricultural and land management practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and store or capture carbon in vegetation and soils, creating benefits for biodiversity, landowners, and local communities.
Select Carbon will help us advance our own net zero emissions vision and contribute to Shell Energy being able to help our customers with their decarbonisation goals.
If your sustainability goals require innovative energy solutions as well as carbon credits, Shell Energy can make it easier. Utilising our energy expertise and market insights, we work closely with you to optimise energy efficiencies, drive cost savings, and advance your future-facing goals like net zero emissions. Our engineers and market experts have deep sector knowledge gained from first-hand experience working with a wide range of sectors, including manufacturing, retail, property, government, and water and waste. Choose Shell Energy for innovative energy solutions that are tailored to your business and can help you reduce consumption, cost, and emissions.
Our energy experts have the experience and expertise to help you reach your energy and sustainability goals.
1 http://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/ERF/About-the-Emissions-Reduction-Fund
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
This information is for explanatory purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon by any person. This information does not form part of any existing or future contract or agreement between us. We make no representation, assurance or guarantee as to the accuracy of information provided. To the maximum extent permitted by law, none of Shell Energy Retail Pty Ltd, its related companies, directors, employees or agents accepts any liability for any loss arising from the use of this document or its contents or otherwise arising out or, or in connection with it. This information is not a recommendation to enter into any agreements and we recommend you seek independent advice before doing so.
