Intouch : New Carbon Footprinting Tool

Hot on the heels of its award-winning carboNZero programme, Landcare Research has launched carbon footprinting programme dubbed CEMARS.
The new Certified Emissions Measurement And Reduction Scheme (CEMARS) focuses solely on the measurement and management of an organisation’s carbon footprint or greenhouse gas emissions profile.
Energy For Industry and Westpac are the first two New Zealand organisations to participate in CEMARS.
Mike Tournier, business manager for Landcare Research’s carboNZero programme says: “CEMARS gives large carbon-emitting companies the framework to measure and manage their carbon footprint and make legitimate carbon claim.”
He explains that with the passing of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) there will be legal requirement for heavy carbon emitters to measure their impact on the environment and take steps to actively reduce their carbon emissions within defined timeframe to avoid heavy financial penalties.
“Smart companies will be aware of the pending regulation and how it is likely to affect their business and will be taking active steps now to get their house in order,” he says.
The voluntary sector may also stand to benefit from the launch of CEMARS.
“CEMARS provides market opportunity for those companies that may not be able to participate in carboNZero because it is either too onerous (ie, the purchase of carbon credits is beyond economic viability), or brand positioning is such that they are not seeking to make carbon neutral claim.
“CEMARS provides large carbon-emitting companies with framework within which to measure and manage their GHG emissions profile to demonstrate commitment to addressing their impact on climate change.”
Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O’Reilly welcomed the announcement.
“As we move to carbon efficient economy, it’s important that businesses have the right tools and robust certification processes to identify the opportunities to reduce their emissions.
“Landcare Research is to be congratulated for taking the initiative.”
Formulated by world-leading environmental scientists, the programme is working towards accreditation by the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ).
CEMARS will be globally recognised as the most credible carbon footprinting tool available on the market to date. In fact, Landcare Research’s partner in the United Kingdom, Achilles Information, has signed up to roll out CEMARS to 32,000 clients across 24 countries.
The JAS-ANZ accreditation body is recognised across 50 major economies such as the European Union and is founding member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).