San Francisco, CALIF (December 20, 2006) —The
Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) announced today that the new
Green-e Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Product Certification Standard is now
out for stakeholder comment. CRS is developing the new standard with
the Green-e GHG Advisory Group, composed of key environmental organizations,
government agencies, businesses, and advocacy organizations who work
on climate change issues.
CRS believes the creation of this draft standard
is the first step in ensuring credibility in the marketplace for
voluntary GHG reduction products. Based on recent press coverage
and uncertainty in the marketplace, it is evident that consumers
are ready for steps to be taken to provide support to the emerging
voluntary greenhouse gas reduction market. CRS
aims to provide consumer protection to the growing number of individuals
and businesses who choose to decrease their own contribution to global
warming by purchasing greenhouse gas reductions.
CRS’ well-established stakeholder process is the next step in
ensuring a well-designed standard that meets the needs of the marketplace. “We
believe in transparency above all else,” said Jan Hamrin, president
of the Center for Resource Solutions. “For the past six
months, CRS staff has worked with the GHG Advisory Group to craft an
independent standard we feel confident in. Just as we did with the
Green-e standard for renewable energy products, this new standard will
incorporate stakeholder comments from any interested party. This ensures
a well designed, well-rounded standard that considers suggestions from
every pertinent angle. Based on our past successes, we believe this
is the best way to create standards and invite anyone interested to
participate in the comment period.”
The Green-e Program is developing this new certification standard
to ensure customers are getting high quality reductions and are protected
from double counting and misleading marketing practices.
For 10 years, CRS has developed standards for renewable energy in
a complex regulatory environment. CRS brings that valuable experience
to the table in the creation of this new standard for greenhouse gas
reduction products. The CRS consumer protection standards use transparent,
open, stakeholder-driven processes to ensure consensus-based standards
that are widely accepted by stakeholders.
The draft standard will be out for comment until the end of January
2007. The draft standard, along with instructions on how to submit
comments, can be found at: www.resource-solutions.org/mv/ghgstandard.html. CRS
will host a stakeholder conference call in late January to answer questions
about the draft Standard. If you are interested in becoming a
stakeholder, please contact Alex Pennock at alex@resource-solutions.org.
About Green-e and
the
Center for Resource Solutions
Launched in 1997, the Green-e Renewable Energy
Certification Program is the leading independent certification and verification
program that sets standards for voluntary renewable energy options. The Green-e logo serves as national symbol
for consumer protection and "seal of approval" indicating
high quality, verified renewable energy. Green-e provides an easy way
for consumers to find environmentally friendly energy options that fit
their budget and present much less environmental impact than electricity
generated primarily by fossil fuels. To learn more about certified renewable
energy available in all 50 states, visit: www.green-e.org,
or call 415-561-2100.
Green-e is a program of the Center for Resource
Solutions (CRS), a national nonprofit organization that works to make
it easier for people and organizations to use renewable energy as a
tool to mitigate climate change. CRS designs and operates national and
international programs that support the increased supply and use of
renewable energy resources such as wind, solar, biomass, geothermal,
low-impact hydroelectric power, and other clean energy sources. To learn
more about CRS, visit: www.resource-solutions.org.
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