Greenhouse Gas Accreditation Program

The Standards Council of Canada (SCC)’s Greenhouse Gas Accreditation Program (GHGAP) assesses the competency of organizations conducting validation or verification activities for both greenhouse gas emission reduction projects and greenhouse gas inventories.

Before accrediting an organization, SCC evaluates its practices to ensure they meet requirements set out in the ISO standard for greenhouse gas validation and verification bodies ISO/IEC 14065, which was adopted by Canada as CAN-P-20.

Under this standard, validation and verification bodies must demonstrate that they meet the specifications set out for validating and verifying greenhouse gas assertions, and are familiar with  measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions, and their reduction or removal, under ISO’s greenhouse gas standards collection (ISO/IEC 14064: parts 1-3).

The overall aim of GHG validation or verification activities is to provide confidence that GHG assertions are accurate. The validation and/or verification body is responsible for completing an objective assessment and providing an evidence-based validation or verification statement concerning the GHG assertion.

SCC’s accreditation program supports the Government of Canada’s sustainability agenda, which includes initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  The program was developed through a partnership between SCC, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Environment Canada, and Environmental Careers Organization (ECO Canada).

SCC is the only Canadian organization offering internationally recognized accreditation for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) validation and verification bodies.

Accreditation requirements

GHG validation and/or verification bodies seeking to offer validation or verification services for industry- and/or government -specific programs must first be accredited as a validation and/or verification body under the Greenhouse Gas Accreditation Program.  The validation or verification body will then be assessed against any program specific accreditation requirement, as applicable.

The Standards Council of Canada applies accreditation requirements from international standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The procedural document CAN-P-20, which is based on ISO/IEC 14065, and CAN-P-1520 which outlines the conditions and procedures are used for accrediting GHG validation and verification bodies.

Information about Canada’s Offset System for Greenhouse Gases Program can be found at http://www.ec.gc.ca/creditscompensatoires-offsets .

Additional information in relation to “Canada’s Offset System for Greenhouse Gases: Guide for Verification Bodies” can be accessed at http://www.canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2009/2009-06-13/html/notice-avis-eng.html#d118 .

To become an accredited GHG verification body recognized under Canada’s Offset system program, please contact SCC’s GHGAP program.