Greenhouse Friendly™
The Greenhouse Friendly™ initiative operated from 2001 to 1 July 2010. Through Greenhouse Friendly™, Australian businesses were able to market carbon neutral products and services, deliver greenhouse gas abatement and give Australian consumers greater purchasing choice.
All Greenhouse Friendly™ product and service providers’ offsets were sourced from Greenhouse Friendly™ approved abatement activities only. These abatement activities offered permanent, independently verified offsets which represented emissions reductions or sequestration which had contributed to a net reduction of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenhouse Friendly™ provided an effective and successful avenue for participation in the voluntary carbon market in Australia.
Why did Greenhouse Friendly™ finish?
The planned introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) would have implications for Greenhouse Friendly™. The CPRS’s broad sectoral coverage meant there would be less scope to pursue offset activities, with offsets limited to emissions sources not covered by the CPRS.
All Greenhouse Friendly abatement is in sectors that would be covered by the CPRS (once it is introduced) and that are counted towards Australia’s Kyoto Protocol target. Abatement in these sectors would not meet the test of being additional to “business as usual”, and therefore cannot be used to support carbon neutral claims. For these reasons Greenhouse Friendly™ was wound up on 1 July 2010.
What will replace Greenhouse Friendly™?
The Government has developed the National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS) to provide national consistency and to give consumers confidence in the voluntary carbon offset market. The NCOS commenced on 1 July 2010 and will provide the functions of Greenhouse Friendly™ in a way that complements Australia’s Kyoto commitments and the planned introduction of the CPRS.
Who participated in Greenhouse Friendly™?
A list of Abatement providers and carbon neutral Product and Service providers that were active up until the close of Greenhouse Friendly™ can be found on the menu to the left.
Are Greenhouse Friendly carbon neutral products and companies no longer certified?
Many of the Product and Service providers are now undertaking the transition to the NCOS Carbon Neutral Program. These companies will be listed under the NCOS Carbon Neutral Program. For more information on the program transition, see the newsletter: Greenhouse Friendly™ is Changing (PDF 190 KB) | HTML version.
I hold Greenhouse Friendly™ abatement, can it still be sold or retired?
Abatement generated by Greenhouse Friendly™ abatement prior to 1 July 2010 may still be sold, purchased, and retired in voluntary and international carbon markets. However, as they are not eligible offsets under the NCOS, they cannot be retired for the purpose of becoming carbon neutral under the NCOS from 1 July 2010.
Please note, however, that all sales or retirements of Greenhouse Friendly™ abatement will still need to be communicated to the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (DCCEE).
Sales and retirements should be emailed to greenhousefriendly@climatechange.gov.au