Greenhouse Friendly™ carbon neutral certification was replaced with certification under the Government's National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS) from 1 July 2010.
The NCOS Carbon Neutral Program is being administered by the Australian Carbon Trust on behalf of the Australian Government.
What does carbon neutral mean?
Under the NCOS carbon neutrality means that the emissions associated with a product or with an organisation's activities are measured, reduced, and the balance of emissions offset by acquiring an equal amount of eligible offset units.
A product, organisation, or a part of an organisation can be certified as carbon neutral under the NCOS.
The NCOS introduces public disclosure requirements that were not required under the Greenhouse Friendly™ initiative. The NCOS requires Carbon Neutral Program participants to publicly disclose information on greenhouse gas measurement, reduction, offsetting and verification activities by submitting a Public Disclosure Summary which will be uploaded onto the Carbon Neutral Program website. Participants are also encouraged to publish this information on their own website.
It is important for program participants to be clear and accurate when making claims about carbon neutrality and offsetting. The ACCC has published guidance to assist businesses in making clear, truthful and accurate claims about carbon offsets and carbon neutrality on its website.
What should I look for?
From 1 July 2010 the National Carbon Offset Standard carbon neutral branding began appearing on carbon neutral products.
The Greenhouse Friendly™ trademark that used to demonstrate the achievement of carbon neutrality has been replaced by a new trademark to reflect the fact that carbon neutral certification will now be underpinned by the National Carbon Offset Standard.
Like the Greenhouse Friendly™ brand, this trademark will represent Australian Government-backed certification of the carbon neutral status of products or organisations.
You may continue to see products with the Greenhouse Friendly™ brand available for sale, depending on the shelf life for each product. These products have been certified under the requirements of the Greenhouse Friendly™ program and their carbon neutral status is assured and permanent.