Terminology

• Carbon Credit: A generic term for any tradable certificate or permit deemed to allow a company, within an emissions trading scheme, to emit one tonne of CO2 equivalent. This covers CO2 or any of the other greenhouse gases.
• Carbon Neutral: Balancing greenhouse gas emissions with an equivalent amount of independently verified carbon offsets. Also referred to as net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
• Carbon Offsetting: Any activity deemed to reduce overall emissions of greenhouse gases by purchasing verified carbon credits (also known as offsets) through emissions reduction projects or carbon trading schemes.
• Greenhouse gases: Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapour. They are responsible for the greenhouse effect, warming the Earth’s surface and atmosphere.
• Scope 1 emissions: direct greenhouse (GHG) emissions that occur from sources that are controlled or owned by an organization (e.g., emissions associated with fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces, vehicles)
• Scope 2 emissions: indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling.
• Scope 3 emissions: all indirect emissions (not included in scope 2) that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions.