Corporate ESG Strategy
& Reporting Services
Providing the foundational data and metrics to establish and manage your ESG initiatives
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Understanding your disclosure requirements over the short, medium and long term is essential to developing a robust and standardized data management system to produce a credible set of metrics which are complete, consistent and accurate on an ongoing basis.
LCA Resource will guide your firm through the process of selecting the appropriate frameworks, methodologies and standards, while helping you understand how your current data management systems stack up to support this reporting and provide a pathway forward to meet the constantly evolving reporting requirements.
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Our process starts with meeting with your cross-functional leadership teams to evaluate your reporting goals and establish where your firm is based upon a CM3 (carbon maturity model) assessment.
Which direction is right for you? Learn more about our carbon reporting, climate change risk assessment and life cycle assessment (LCA) services below.
Carbon Footprinting
Today, for most firms, establishing a baseline carbon footprint is the top priority. A baseline provides the insight needed to help you understand your current climate
impact, prioritize carbon mitigation strategies and determine which emissions activities are relevant to your organization.
Your carbon footprint engagement will depend upon what your ESG disclosure requirements are. Typically, a firm begins with a corporate carbon footprint and starts to dig deeper with a product carbon footprint. To obtain a very complete and holistic view of your firm’s operations – we may advise starting with an Organizational Life Cycle Assessment (O-LCA) which includes the entire value-chain for a firm.
Let us help develop your carbon reporting strategy!
Standards:
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GHG Protocol
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Corporate Standard
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Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard
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Product Life Cycle Standard
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Mitigation Goal Standard
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Project Protocol
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ISO-14064 – International Standard for GHG Emissions Inventories and Verification
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ISO – 14067 - Greenhouse gases — Carbon footprint of products
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ISO – 14072 - Organizational life cycle assessment (O-LCA)
How It Works
Step
1
Goal & Scope
The most critical phase in any project is establishing the Goal and Scope. Aligning reporting with the Business Goals determines the project blueprint from the Inventory Phase all the way through the Disclosure Phase. In this phase, we evaluate the Business Goals facilitated by a GHG inventory and from this jumping off point are able to design the Inventory Phase to meet those goals. During this phase, we conduct an Emissions Identification Process as well as conduct a relevance check to assure that the appropriate emissions activities are being included in the Inventory Phase. It’s crucial that the results of the project are “decision-useful.”
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Summary
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Capture Business Goals
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Emissions Identification Process
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Scope 3 Discover Process - Relevance Check
Step
2
Inventory
The Inventory Phase involves collection of the data from the emissions activities deemed relevant to the Business sector and Business Goals. Data collection points of contact and data management systems are identified. Data collection also involves continuous data quality checks to be certain the data collected meets the Goals of the project. During the Inventory Phase, an Inventory Management Plan is created to support the data management requirements of a GHG Inventory.
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Summary
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Data Collection Points of Contact identified
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Data Management Systems identified
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Data Collection Begins
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Inventory Management Plan
Step
3
Results & Interpretation
Once the Inventory has been deemed complete and fit for purpose, the modeling commences and the carbon footprint is calculated using fitting emission factors. The results will be formatted to suit the disclosure requirements identified in the Goal & Scope phase. At this time, independent verification may also be conducted.
Summary
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Emission factors selected
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Data quality is reassessed
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Carbon calculations are completed
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Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis is conducted
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Contribution Analysis completed
Step
4
Disclosure & Next Steps
The results are then presented in the appropriate reporting format and the Business leadership teams will use this data to support their ESG initiatives. We also conduct a GHG Inventory Readiness Assessment to help your firm prioritize which data management systems are critical to the accuracy of the GHG and which may have to evolve to meet ongoing reporting requirements.
Climate Risk Assessment
A climate change risk assessment reviews how your business operations are at risk from climate change from a financial perspective. This analysis guides your strategy, helping you prepare for threats and take advantage of opportunities.
The GeSi TCFD Climate Scenario Analysis Framework helps companies align with the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The Framework enables a company to work through a process to assess the materiality of climate-related risks and opportunities, identify and define a range of climate scenarios, evaluate the financial impact and find potential responses.
Standards & Guidance We Follow:
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ISO-14090/91 - Adaptation To Climate Change & Adaptation to climate change — Guidelines on vulnerability, impacts and risk assessment
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The GeSi TCFD Climate Scenario Analysis Framework
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How It Works
Step1
Assess Risks
First, we’ll assess the materiality of your climate-related risks, including:
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Market and technology shifts
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Reputation
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Policy and legal
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Physical risks
Step2
Identify Scenarios
Next, we’ll identify and define various scenarios inclusive of a range of transition and physical risks relevant to the organization.
Step3
Evaluate Impacts
Now it’s time to evaluate climate change impact on your business, including:
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Input costs
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Operating costs
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Revenues
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Supply chain
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Business interruption
Step4
Identify Solutions
We’ll wrap up by identifying potential responses, including:
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Changes to the business model
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Changes to portfolio mix
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Investments in capabilities and technologies
Life Cycle Assessment
A LCA provides a holistic view of your product, service, or organization’s environmental impacts. Depending upon what your reporting requirements are, you may select a screening analysis or a full technical analysis.
LCA reporting is used to:
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Identify significant environmental impacts in the lifecycle – “hot-spot” analysis
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Adjust product or service design to be more sustainable - DfE
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Identify risks in the entire value-chain
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As LCAs can be very resource intensive, we will help you to select the appropriate LCA approach to meet your short, medium and long term business goals. If the results are to be used internally, or for business-to-business communications, a screening analysis is the way to go. If a comparative assertion is to made, a very robust, independently verified report is required. We’ll figure out which level of reporting is right for you!
Standards & Guidance We Follow:
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ISO – 14072 - Organizational Life Cycle Assessment (O-LCA)
Best in Class tools and data:
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LCA Software: iPoint’s Umberto 11
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Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis: Palisade DecisionTools Suite for Risk Analysis
How It Works
Step
1
Kickoff
We’ll start your LCA study with a planning meeting to determine details such as defining the system boundary, functional unit, and reporting audience. We’ll also discuss the project timeline and roles.
Step
2
Data Collection
Next, we’ll finalize and distribute the data collection questionnaires, conduct interviews, and check in regularly. From sales and marketing to accounting to manufacturing, we’ll meet with the internal groups needed to fulfill the data requirements of the analysis.
Step
3
Data Evaluation
During this stage, we ensure the data is complete and accurate. We’ll also fill in any data gaps and then set benchmarks so you can begin measuring your organization’s progress in your ESG strategy.
Step
4
Modeling & Analysis
Now, we dive into the data and create LCA models as well as conduct sensitivity and uncertainty assessments to fulfill the requirements of the Goal & Scope.
Step
5
Reporting
After reviewing and interpreting the results, the entire LCA process and results will be documented into an independent verifier-ready report.
Step
6
Compliance Check
If required by the Goal & Scope of the project, the results and reports are submitted to an independent reviewer to perform the critical review of your LCA study and report to ensure it complies with ISO-14040 and 14044.