Second Call for Comments: Green-e® Renewable Electricity Standard for International Certification
July 10, 2023
On July 10, Center for Resource Solutions (“CRS”) opened a second 60-day open stakeholder comment period on a new draft Green-e® standard that will provide access to certification for voluntary renewable electricity and Environmental Attribute Certificate (“EAC”) transactions in a growing number of international electricity markets. Comments are accepted through September 7, 2023—links to documents and further details are provided below.
The Green-e® certification program promotes the use of high-quality renewable electricity and EACs by providing environmental standards and consumer protection to support consumers’ choices to purchase and use renewable electricity. The program has offered guiding principles to expanding renewable energy markets for over 25 years, first launching in the U.S. and Canada, where it is the leading certification of its kind, and more recently in Singapore, Chile, and Taiwan R.O.C.
The new standard, called the Green-e® Renewable Electricity Standard for International Certification (the “International Standard”), provides criteria for Green-e® certification in selected electricity markets. Users of the International Standard will be sellers and consumers of renewable electricity and EACs. The International Standard will not replace any Green-e® certification standards that already apply to particular countries or regions, but instead allows certification in certain new markets, to be determined by CRS.
The International Standard will add a layer of quality and market growth criteria on top of existing renewable energy tracking systems, allowing compliance with many other international programs and demonstrating consumers' commitment to the most impactful renewable energy purchasing.
CRS has a broad mission to create policy and market solutions to advance sustainable energy around the world. Robust, widely accepted standards such as this one are an effective way to further this mission, by reducing market uncertainty and increasing consistency among markets with regards to definitions, minimum requirements, and uniform accounting methodologies.
CRS has also developed a Terms of Reference (“TOR”), which lays out the goals of the International Standard and the key issues that it would address. These include market need, sustainability, comparison to and compatibility with other existing relevant standards (e.g. RE100, CDP, LEED), implementation risk, and how to address such risk. The TOR also discusses how certification under the International Standard will be structured, how that differs slightly from Green-e® Energy certification under other current standards and how certification interacts with renewable energy tracking systems.
Both the International Standard and TOR are open for stakeholder comment through September 7, 2023. Stakeholders are encouraged to provide feedback as soon as possible through an online survey that contains targeted questions about the International Standard, TOR, program structure and the stakeholder process. Comments are also accepted via email at comments@green-e.org.
Stakeholder Comment Materials and Details:
- International Standard
- Terms of Reference
- You may review a PDF of survey questions before submitting feedback
Comments are accepted through September 7, 2023:
- Through the above survey or
- Via email at comments@green-e.org
This is the second and likely final comment period before the International Standard is voted upon by the Green-e® Governance Board and published. For general information on standard setting, please see Green-e® standard setting. The TOR contains a timeline for the International Standard development process as well.
For further background and detail, see Green-e Energy and Frequently Asked Questions. CRS staff can be reached at comments@green-e.org.