Verification statement

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SGS Belgium S.A. – Environmental Services – Parc Créalys – Rue Phocas Lejeune, 4 – B5032 GEMBLOUX (Isnes) Tel. +32 (0)81/ 715.160 – Fax +32 (0)81/715.161 – e-mail : [email protected] Member of the SGS Group

Verification statement

Verification of a GHG calculation tool

for the graphic industry against iso 14064-1

Client :

ClimateCalc Consortium EEIG

Rue Barastraat 175

B-1070 Brussels

Project number : 11.0260

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SGS Belgium S.A.

Project Number : 11.0260 September 2011

2 Objectives

SGS Belgium (environmental Services) has been assigned by ClimateCalc Consortium EEIG to verify if the GHG tool developed by the consortium for the reporting of GHG emissions from graphic companies

a/ complies with the principles and requirements of ISO 14064-1 (Specification with

guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals);

b/ allocates the GHG emissions to the printed material in a consistent manner.

The first part of the above mentioned verification assignment (item a) has been performed in accordance with ISO 14064-3. The second verification assignment (item b) has been performed outside the framework of ISO 140641.

The version of the ClimateCalc calculation tool that has been assessed is “Climate calculator

EGCC-10.7”, available as excel workbook.

GHG assertion to be verified

The GHG tool “Climate calculator EGCC-10.7” complies with the principles and requirements of ISO 14064-1.

Criteria

The verification has been performed against the principles of ISO 14064 (relevance, completeness, consistency, accuracy, transparency). The relevant requirements of ISO14064-1 for a scope limited to the verification of a calculation tool are the requirements for quantifying the organization's GHG emissions and removals.

Scope

The scope of the verification work is based on the delimitations explicitly or implicitly defined in the ClimateCalc tool.

i) organizational boundaries of the GHG project

This point needs to be clarified by each organization willing to use the GHG tool. ii) physical infrastructure, activities, technologies and processes of the organization; The technologies relevant for the use of the GHG tool include:

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Heatset printing

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Sheetfed printing

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Coldset printing

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Flexographic printing

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Screen Printing

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Digital printing

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Magazine rotogravure printing

Company buildings and vehicles are also included in the scope. iii) GHG sources, sinks and/or reservoirs;

- direct emissions from fossil fuel combustion by the company (scope 1)

- indirect emissions from electricity used by the company and district heating if applicable (scope 2) - other indirect emissions including commuting of staff, production and transport of operating supplies and waste management (scope 3)

iv) types of GHGs;

The emission factors used in the calculation tool include CO2, N2O and CH4.

1_{This is because the scope of the ISO 14064 series of standards does not include the GHG emissions from}

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3 Materiality

The intended materiality of the calculation tool is 5%. Intended use

The GHG tool is intended to be used by individual graphic companies, in several perspectives:

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for internal purpose (identification of the most significant sources, improvement of the performances),

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to allow objective comparisons of the performances between companies under a common calculation methodology,

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for planning print jobs with customers (assess the impact of technical choices on GHG performances and, if necessary compensate the emissions).

Verification plan

The inspection has covered the following aspects:

- consistent identification of organizational boundaries, - comprehensive identification of GHG sources and sinks2, - appropriate selection of quantification methodology, - documentation of GHG emission factors,

- correct calculations performed in the spreadsheet.

The verification work was performed as desktop review, based on the excel file and the supporting technical documentation.

Results

a/ compliance of the calculation tool (limited to the GHG emissions at the organization level) with the principles and requirements of ISO 14064-1

SGS has determined that the material assessed during the verification of the criteria is sufficient to support the GHG assertion.

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relevance : the specific needs of the intended users are taken into account in the methodology (including reference to the Intergraph standard an GHG calculation, and difference between data for internal use vs data to be communicated on the market).

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completeness : the emissions sources included in the scope are based on the 13 sources defined in the Intergraph methodology. According to Intergraph, the various small emissions that are ignored in this calculation scope do not exceed 5% of the estimated comprehensive emissions (direct and indirect) at the company level. This is in line with the intended materiality level.

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consistency: the calculation of the (direct and indirect) emissions at the organisation level are consistent with the intended use and the scope

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accuracy : the calculation method offering the highest accuracy is always preferred, when available. When available a specific emission factor can replace a default emission factor.

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transparency : emission factors and other reference are appropriately documented and

verifiable.

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requirements for quantifying the organization's GHG emissions and removals : The calculation tool includes an appropriate approach for

o the identification of GHG sources and sinks (including scope 1-2-3 definitions),

o the selection of quantification methodology (including the choice of various tiers, depending on the availability of specific emission factors; the level of preference of each tier appears clearly),

o the selection or development of GHG emission or removal factors (all emission factors are appropriately documented and up to date at the time of verification),

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In accordance with ISO 14064-1, some direct or indirect GHG sources or sinks might be excluded if their contribution to GHG emissions or removals is not material or whose quantification would not be technically feasible or cost effective. The decision needs to be justified.

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4 o the calculation of GHG emissions and removals (the calculation formulas within the

worksheet have been successfully checked).

The selection and collection of the relevant activity data that needs to be filled in the calculation tool is left up to the user when implementing the system to a particular company. It is understood that the use of the GHG tool by an individual graphic company will not automatically lead to a GHG reporting that is compliant with ISO 14064-1. It will depend of the appropriate implementation of the tool and of the principles and criteria of ISO 14064-1 by each graphic company using the tool (organizational boundaries, monitoring systems, data management, collecting, processing, consolidating, controlling and reporting the GHG data).

This can be subject to an individual third party assessment.

b/ consistency of the allocation of the GHG emissions to the printed material (outside the scope of the ISO 14064 series of standards)

Two indicators are provided in the tool:

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A single figure in kg CO2 eq/tonne printed matter is generated for each company/organization

This figure does not intend to reflect any difference in GHG intensity that might exist between different types of printed product (particularly with regards of the paper/ink used and possibly to different energy intensity in processing and transportation). The intended use is the calculation of a consistent indicator for comparison between several graphic companies.

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The calculation tool offers the possibility to calculate a GHG figure (in kg CO2 eq) for a specific

print job, based on a combination of data specific to the print job (paper type, ink type, transportation…) and general data (specific company emission deemed to the print job, based on the ratio print output for the job / yearly print output). The intended uses are

o plan a print job together with a customer taking into account the expected emissions, o report the print job emissions accordingly

o if requested, allow for a correct external offsetting of the GHG emissions generated by a particular job (an additional 5% GHG emissions is added to make sure 100% of the actual emissions are covered by the offseting, since it is understood that the emission sources of the calculation scope are guaranteed by Ito cover at least 95% of the actual (direct and indirect) company emissions.

In those two calculations, the allocation of GHG emissions to printed material was found to be appropriately justified and consistent with the calculation of the GHG emissions at the organization level.

F. Ducarme B. Van der Auwera

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