Integrated Climate Change Policy – ICCP
GSS, seeking to attend the principles established on the Climate Convention, proposes an innovative approach related to Climate Change, these actions encompass the creation of an Institutional Climate Change Program that embraces the development of internal policies, capacity building and awareness raising (or sensibilization), and also the development of emission reduction projects, emission offset activities and social-cultural projects.
The ICCP requires the involvement of employees and executives, focused on the structuring of the company and the definition of guidelines that will lead to future actions and improvement of internal decision-making processes. The ICCP is the integration of projects and actions based on the Climate Convention principles, adding value to the sustainability of your clients' activities, together with economic and social benefits.
Moreover, the ICCP helps the companies that are acting on the reduction and monitoring of greenhouse gases emissions, creating tools for the management of all processes.
GSS offers development and management of carbon credit projects under the CDM – Clean Development Mechanism and also the Voluntary Market (VCS, VERs+, Gold Standard, CCB, etc.).
We help companies from all sectors to identify and diagnose carbon reduction opportunities, and consequently the follow up during the project cycle and commercialization.
GSS Activities:
The Kyoto Protocol is a document signed by several countries committed to reduce around 5% emissions of greenhouse gases to 1990 levels. To ensure that this goal is met, three flexible mechanisms were developed under the Kyoto Protocol:
1. International Emissions Trading (IET)
2. Joint Implementation (JI)
3. Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
The Clean Development Mechanism is a mechanism in which developing countries participate in the Kyoto Protocol through the implementation of project activities that reduce levels of greenhouse gas emissions, generating certified emission reductions (CERs). CERs are used/purchased by countries that have reduction targets to meet their quota of emissions.
The CDM has the objective of encouraging foreign direct investment, technology transfer and contributing to sustainable development.
In summary, the CDM projects can be characterized in two ways:
The emissions reduction projects include:
The voluntary market is a market that runs parallel to the Kyoto or compliance/regulated market. Unlike the regulated market, which is governed by the United Nations, the voluntary market has a different project cycle and is regulated by the market itself, which is supported by various Standards (VCS, VER+, SC, Gold Standard, amongst others) as well as registry systems.
Buyers cannot use these credits (VERs - Verified Emissions Reductions) to offset their Kyoto targets. For this reason, VERs are often used to offset emissions from companies, products, events or activities (eg. travel). In this market buyers look for projects in developing countries, with strong sustainability aspects and social attributes. Buyers pay a significant premium for projects with those attributes, because they bring visibility to the buyer.
The demand for this type of credit is growing exponentially because of the worlds attention to global warming and the acceptance by an increasingly wide variety of sectors about the need for action in relation to climate change
In the voluntary market the guidelines are set according to the standard used. Most of the Standards use approved tools and methodologies under the CDM in order to ensure reliable compensation. Despite the great similarity, both markets remain separate with different price expectations and growth.
The scope of projects in the voluntary market is the same as the CDM.
REDD+ – Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation forest Degradation, and foster conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
REDD+ is a mechanism that is under negotiation at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The objective of REDD+ is to support activities that enable reductions in CO2 emissions that are caused by deforestation and forest degradation.
A properly designed REDD+ mechanism is widely seen as a cost-effective approach to simultaneously conserve forests, slow climate change, protect biodiversity, foster sustainable development, and maintain important ecological services provided by healthy forest ecosystems.
To do this, landowners in forest areas, must demonstrate through historical data, satellite images and tree measurements the carbon stock of their forests as well as the historical deforestation rate in the reference region The payment originated from the sales of carbon credits or from financing funds, would be linked to the amount of carbon that would have been emitted should the forest be burnt or cut down, and is then used in programs that create alternative income generation other than wood extraction, cattle ranching or unsustainable agriculture practices, therefore avoiding deforestation and CO2 emissions from such degradation.
GSS has expertise in the development of REDD projects with a team specialized in this field to assist you throughout the process, from identification, development, and interface with investors, to sales of carbon credits.
GSS - Global Sustainable Strategy assists companies to identify,account for and reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) resulted from its day-to-day operations through the emissions inventories. The inventory of GHG emissions is an important tool in corporate management and especially regarding the positioning of companies on their environmental responsibilities.
In addition, GSS differentiates itself in the market by offering GHG emissions inventories, aligned to a strategy of emissions reductions, thus creating opportunities for cost reduction and generation of carbon credits for businesses.
GSS experts have conducted over fifty GHG emissions inventories in many different scopes, from small businesses to large international companies, industries in different segments, products, events, NGOs, government agencies and public administration, among others.
For the technical development of the GHG emissions inventories, GSS uses the following standard methodologies for greater recognition and credibility in the market:
The management of the greenhouse gases emissions is a fundamental activity for any institution that seeks to maximize its assets, linking products and brands to the forefront of sustainable development and especially promoting environmental responsibility to employees, partners and consumers.
GSS develops emissions offset strategies, allowing companies to offset their emissions with their own projects or through carbon credits generated by projects of high quality, transparency and credibility selected by GSS
Our difference is to provide our clients with carbon offset strategy tailored to our clients corporate institutional policy, always looking for the involvement of all stakeholders.
CDP – Carbon Disclosure Project
Created in 2003 by the British government, the CDP is a not-for-profit organisation funded by others foundations, led by the Rockefeller Foundation USA.
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the not-for-profit organisation that gathers data on how companies act to prevent dangerous climate change.
Its main objective is to create a relationship between shareholders and companies focused on business opportunities in a low carbon economy. Currently, representing 475 investors (signatory) who manage approximately $ 55 trillion in financial assets, therefore, it is the main initiative of the financial sector in relation to climate change mitigation.
It gathers data on how companies act to prevent dangerous climate change. Since all its processes are voluntary, institutional investors created a joint petition and a questionnaire which is then sent to companies listed on major stock exchanges in the world with the aim to obtain and disseminate information about climate change policy adopted by the sector. All information is gathered in a report containing the information acquired in the questionnaire, which will demonstrate to the investors the mitigation actions companies are realizing in their organizational structure.
GSS, seeking to help companies participate in this program, has developed a consulting service divided into three parts. The first is the diagnosis and identification of all existing actions in the company and offering new possibilities related to climate change within their corporate policy. The second step is advice on completing the questionnaire, using information from the initial diagnosis, according to the requirements of the CDP and finally, advice on communicating CDP and others stakeholders on the participation in the program and the information presented.
