Climate change is a global issue which demands the attention of organisations, governments and individuals alike.   Already, forward-thinking organisations have begun voluntarily declaring their GHG emissions for reasons such as risk management, cost reduction, brand protection, and attracting socially responsible investment.   And in the process those organisations have prepared themselves for the GHG legislation of tomorrow.

With the UK government committed to reducing the UK's total greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050 in a bid to tackle global warming, measuring and reporting an organisation's carbon footprint is becoming a big issue in the board room. Already forward thinking organisations have begun voluntarily declaring their GHG emissions for reasons such as risk management, cost reduction, brand protection and attracting socially responsible investment. And in the process, these organisations have prepared themselves for GHG legislation of tomorrow.

CFV (Carbon Footprint Verification) is fundamental to provide credibility. It reassures regulators, customers, employees, shareholders, potential investors, environmental groups, the media and even your competitors, of the integrity, completeness and transparency of the carbon footprint calculations. Any organisation that is actively measuring, or is establishing the procedures to arrive at its carbon footprint, irrespective of size, industry or location, could benefit from the additional rigour and expertise the CFV process brings.

Carbon Footprint Verification is relevant to all types of organisations.  

• Those already reporting GHG emissions for mandatory schemes that want to widen the scope to cover the whole organisation
• Those in industries which are shortly going to be drawn into a mandatory GHG emissions scheme
• Those that are reporting voluntarily to initiatives such as the Carbon Disclosure Project to implement ways to reduce carbon footprint
• Those smaller organisations looking for a manageable first step in promoting their contribution to the environment

• Prepare for future legislation such as the Carbon Reduction Commitment
• Manage carbon risk exposure and identify areas for improvement
• Improve efficiency and reduce costs through reduced energy consumption
• Gain credibility by demonstrating environmental responsibility
• Motivate and engage staff by involving them in ways to reduce carbon footprint  

Third-party verification of your organization's carbon dioxide emissions provides significant added value for participating organisations. Undertaking the process towards verification will provide:

• Credibility
  Third-party verification provides a degree of credibility when it comes to reporting and publishing environmental information. This has implications for interested parties such as employees, customers, brokers, shareholders and insurance companies.
• Integrity
  Independent verification provides assurance to your stakeholders that the verified data is faithfully represented, contains no material misstatements, is consistent and has been collected and analysed in a transparent and reliable manner.
• Transparency
  Reporting externally verified GHG emissions data demonstrates your commitment to environmental transparency and accountability especially for carbon dioxide emissions. A GHG emission report may form part of a public or corporate environmental or sustainability report and be a step towards 'Green Governance'.
• Consistency
  Third-party emissions verification will ensure that your data is consistent according to set protocols. Using a unique process developed by our experienced GHG verification team, we will ensure that your data is accurate for the purpose for which it is designated.
• Reliability
  We have ensured that third-party verification will produce reliable and faithful representation emissions data. Through accreditation under the UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) scheme EN 45011, we have achieved an important independent professional endorsement of our verification process.

This will assist you in:

• Managing reputational risk
  You can be assured and assure others that your organisation has considered the full scope of processes and emissions, and that the information is robust enough to withstand media scrutiny
• Attracting Investment
  Providing credible information to financial markets and insurance companies can enhance your organisation's reputation, leading to improved access to capital through ratings on the growing number of market indices such as the FTSE4Good and DJSI
• Differentiating you from the competition
  By proving that your organisation takes its environmental impact seriously
• Carbon neutrality
  Having your carbon footprint independently verified will underpin your claim of carbon neutrality with a proven best practice calculation, ensuring that you are focusing on the most efficient abatement programmes and not purchasing more offset credits than necessary to achieve carbon neutrality.

Why BSI?

The food industry impacts every person on the planet. Though what the world's population may eat may differ depending on the geography, wealth, age, gender and availability of goods, no other sector plays such a vital role in all of our day-today lives and culture. Economically, food represents 10% of global GDP (valued at US$48 trillion by the World Bank).

But the food sector also faces significant challenges. Each year, food-borne illness makes one in ten people ill and is the cause of death for millions around the world. Population growth projections and an increasing middle class suggest that the demand for food will increase 70% by 2050. And, consumers are increasingly conscious about what goes into their food, how it's made, its impact on ecosystems and where it comes from.

BSI believes the world deserves food that is safe, sustainable and socially responsible. We support the food sector by developing and publishing standards of best practice, supply chain solutions as well as training and certification to not only the most popular food safety standards, but other business improvement standards that work together to make organizations more resilient.

Working in 172 countries, we pride ourselves on the expertise, integrity and professionalism of our people. Our mission is to help our 80,000 clients, ranging from high-profile global brands to small local companies, survive and prosper in today's world.

BSI believes the world deserves food that is safe, sustainable and socially responsible. We support the food sector by developing and publishing standards of best practice, supply chain solutions as well as training and certification to not only the most popular food safety standards, but other business improvement standards that work together to make organizations more resilient.

Working in 172 countries, we pride ourselves on the expertise, integrity and professionalism of our people. Our mission is to help our 80,000 clients, ranging from high-profile global brands to small local companies, survive and prosper in today's world.