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ABC, the Bilan Carbone® guarantor
TheAssociation for the Low Carbon Transition (ABC), created in 2011 by ADEME and APCC, has been developing the Bilan Carbone® methodology for over 10 years. methodology for the accounting and analysis of greenhouse gas emissions (GH G) emissions of organizations.
The role of ABC is in particular to promote and develop the Bilan Carbone® standard by being the guarantor of its methodological principles now widely shared by the ecosystem of low-carbon transition actors.
Why does CBA assess the compliance of carbon accounting tools?
The use of the term Bilan Carbone® has been widely democratized over the last few years, and the term has now become part of everyday language. Unfortunately, it is now often misused for marketing purposes, whereas supporting the transition of the economy to a low-carbon model requires rigor and accuracy.
Following the appearance on the market of numerous carbon accounting software tools, with varying levels of requirement in terms of their methodological approach, ABC wished to develop its compliance with the Bilan Carbone® method for carbon accounting tools available on the market.
The ABC's compliance certification process helps toensure the methodological robustness of the tools used , and to guide those involved in the transition within companies in their choices when they decide to equip themselves with a solution to carry out a real corporate carbon footprint and accelerate their climate strategy.
Finally, the ABC points out that "any person or solution offering you a 'certified Bilan Carbone®' is relying on a certification process that does not exist". (1)
Behind the scenes of the ABC evaluation of Traace.
The framework of the Bilan Carbone® compliance audit
Visit carbon accounting platform platform has been audited over the last few months according to the new ABC assessment standard for carbon accounting tools.
The audit carried out by ABC was based on four pillars, three historical ones of the "Bilan Carbone Conform" approach and one new one:
- The technical and methodological framework deployed by the solution.
- thesupport of the carbon approach offered by the solution.
- The transparency of the approach taken by the solution with its customers.
- Communication and positioning of the solution.
This last new criterion was added to the audit by the ABC in order toensure that the solutions certified as compliant do not relay messages that are disconnected from the real issues of the transition towards a low-carbon economic model, solely to satisfy their personal objectives.
Thus in the framework of the evaluation, the Traace platform was evaluated but also our blogthe content of our presentations and in general our communication: everything has been scrutinized in order to verify that the messages we communicate are not misleading.
The ABC audit process
Two auditors were involved in evaluating Traace on these four pillars. A CBA auditor and an external auditor, each carrying out their study according to the same evaluation standards to guarantee the transparency, quality and independence of the approach.
On the different pillars of the evaluation, the auditors highlighted in particular :
- Technical and methodological framework: completeness of carbon accounting, promotion of the physical approach, completeness of the GHGs taken into account as well as the ability to quantify carbon reduction actions.
- Accompaniment: the ability to increase the competence of the interlocutors and to sensitize the stakeholders of the organization.
- Transparency of the process: the quality of the documentation on the methodology followed, the detailed user guide and the visibility provided on the emission factors used.
- Communication and positioning: the conformity of Traace's messages with those of the ABC and ADEME, especially on the subjects of carbon neutrality and carbon contribution.
During the audit, Traace teams took into account the feedbacks of the ABC to make the solution and the support proposed to our customers even more relevant. The audit was also the opportunity to enrich our documentation and the awareness and training elements that we share during our presentations.
The excellent score obtained finally allowed tocertify the conformity of Traace to the ABC standard and the Bilan Carbone methodology.
The exercise was particularly appreciated by Traace teams. It was an opportunity to question ourselves, to take an objective look at our strengths and areas for improvement, and above all to aim for an ever more demanding methodology and approach, commensurate with the climate challenges we are tackling alongside our clients.
Conclusion - Why was this CBA certification important to Traace?
Since its launch in 2020, Traace has been working to technologically equip organizations to accelerate their transition to a low carbon model.
This mission that drives the Traace teams is the materialization of the deep convictions that animate the team members and the clients who join us: tackling the decarbonization of our economy requires seriousness, rigor and transparency.
A certification is only meaningful if it is issued by an independent third party with no conflict of interest. A certification where the auditor and the consultant are part of the same entity has no value. This is why Traace preferred to devote its energy to be audited by ABC rather than to launch its own internal certification as some actors of our market do, which is more like greenwashing than any serious approach.
For our clients, choosing a tool evaluated by ABC as compliant with the Bilan Carbone® methodology is the assurance of obtaining rigorous and activable carbon accounting, a sharp and relevant support on the subjects related to carbon emissions and, in general, an expertise at least equivalent to the standard that is the Bilan Carbone® method.
-> Learn more about the Traace platform and our different modules for measuring, analyzing and planning decarbonation actions: click here!
Sources
- (1) https://abc-transitionbascarbone.fr/tout-savoir-sur-le-bilan-carbone-la-mise-au-point-complete-de-lassociation-pour-la-transition-bas-carbone/
- https://abc-transitionbascarbone.fr/tribune-non-un-bilan-carbone-realise-en-quelques-clics-nexiste-pas/
