List of Verification Bodies

List of Verification Bodies

The firms listed below have been accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to conduct GHG inventory verification services for Members of The Climate Registry:

ANSI’s Accreditation Committee will consider additional Verification Bodies for accreditation on an approximately quarterly basis.

HOW TO SELECT A VERIFICATION BODY

Members of The Climate Registry have two options for selecting a Verification Body:

1. Members can select an ANSI-accredited, Registry-recognized Verification Body from the list provided above.
2. Members can select a Verification Body that is proceeding through ANSI’s GHG Accreditation Program to become accredited to The Climate Registry’s protocols.

NEW: Multiple Program Matrix – Updated January 29, 2010

The Registry developed this resource to assist Members of The Climate Registry that are additionally reporting to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and/or the California Climate Action Registry (CCAR). This matrix lists ANSI-accredited Verification Bodies and ANSI Applicants eligible to perform verification services for The Climate Registry as well as CARB and CCAR.

Members should note that The Climate Registry will accept verification statements only from ANSI-accredited, Registry-recognized Verification Bodies. In choosing an ANSI applicant, please keep the following considerations in mind:

• If the Verification Body does not succeed in attaining accreditation within nine months of the rendering of a Verification Statement, the Verification Statement will not be accepted by The Registry and the Member must have their inventory re-verified by another Verification Body.
• In such a case, the Verification Body will be liable for the costs of the verification services it provided to the Member. This liability must be explicitly included as a contractual term between the applicant Verification Body and the Member.
• Note that a Verification Body cannot become accredited until it has fulfilled the requirement for a witness assessment and, therefore, it must secure at least one client for verification services prior to becoming accredited. Starting December 31, 2009, Verification Bodies that are ANSI applicants may enter into a contract with a Registry Member only in order to fulfill ANSI witness assessment requirements, as further explained in the policy announcement issued on August 24, 2009.
• Verification Bodies are allowed one year from the time they apply to ANSI’s accreditation program to attain accreditation. As such, Members should ask Verification Bodies when they expect to complete the accreditation process and make sure the timing is acceptable.
• A Member’s emissions report will not be made public until its Verification Body has been accredited.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE ACCREDITED?

In order to attain accreditation, these Verification Bodies completed a rigorous assessment process in which they demonstrated independence, impartiality and competence to successfully verify GHG emission inventories. ANSI’s assessors evaluated the Verification Bodies through:

• Desktop review of the Verification Body’s management systems and procedures
• Onsite assessment consisting of a visit to the Verification Body’s office to interview personnel and review records
• Witness assessment consisting of observation of a Verification Body conducting a facility visit as part of its verification activities for a client

This assessment is completed to ensure the Verification Body’s compliance with requirements defined in:

• International Standard ISO 14065:2007, Greenhouse gases – Requirements for greenhouse gas validation and verification bodies for use in accreditation or other forms of recognition
• International Standard ISO 14064-3:2006, Greenhouse gases – Part 3: Specification with guidance for the validation and verification of greenhouse gas assertions
• The Climate Registry’s General Verification Protocol, Version 1.0, May 2008

The following Verification Bodies are currently proceeding through ANSI’s accreditation program:

ANSI GHG ACCREDIATION PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS