Providing third-party environmental and sustainability certification, auditing, testing, and standards development.

Service Offerings

SCS Global Services can measure and verify the greenhouse gas inventory of your organization.

• Carbon Footprint Measurement - We will help you compile information necessary to calculate your GHG emissions. We provide a framework to manage and reduce your GHG emissions and can review and evaluate your emissions and targets on an annual basis.
• Carbon Footprint Verification - We act as the verification body for companies reporting emissions under the Carbon Disclosure Project, The Climate Registry, or the WRI GHG Protocol.
• Training - SCS provides training courses on the current best practice approaches to footprinting to help you get started measuring, calculating, and declaring your organization's direct and indirect GHG emissions.

Note, we cannot measure and verify for the same organization as this is a conflict of interest.

Process

1. Apply for Verification

   Complete an SCS Application Form, including a description of the project and its location. SCS staff will return a proposal to you for signature. To initiate the verification process, return a signed proposal and contract agreement.

2. Submit Inventory Documentation

   Our qualified verification team will review your inventory documentation for completeness, conduct a desk review of all documentation, and issue findings. Applicants can address findings before the site visit is conducted.

3. Site Visit

   SCS conducts site visit(s) to assess project compliance with applicable program standards and issues findings from the visit. This includes an office visit and a field visit.

4. Technical review

   Once the verification has been satisfactorily completed, an independent technical reviewer cross-checks the GHG inventory and audit report.

5. Verification Report

   SCS will make a final verification decision and issue a report. You will need to acknowledge the report and resolve any corrective actions (ie errors in measurement or gaps in procedures) before the deadline for emission data submission.

6. Verification Opinion

   A final verification opinion statement is submitted to the applicable GHG program for registration.

Clients and Projects

SCS Global Services has conducted greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory verification (also called "carbon footprint verification") for manufacturing, non-profit, corporate, and municipal clients, including aviation, waste management, manufacturing, transportation, high tech and professional services. Satisfied clients include:

The Conservation Fund: Big River & Salmon Creek

SCS has verified the Big River and Salmon Creek Forest Project from 2007 through 2011 under the Climate Action Reserve’s Forest Project Protocol, and is scheduled to conduct the assessment of the upcoming 2012 verification. This conservation-based forest management project in Northern California is composed of two forest tracts that are high priority refugia watersheds for California Coho Salmon. The 15,911 acres of important coastal forestland in the project area provide a significant contribution to the integrity and ecological viability of each of their respective watersheds, and the approximately 1,000,000 metric tons of biological carbon stored in the land now has permanent conservation restrictions.

Conservation International: Alto Mayo Conservation Initiative

In the summer of 2012, SCS validated the deforestation reduction activities of the Alto Mayo Conservation Initiative under the Verified Carbon Standard. The 700 square miles of rainforest in the Peruvian Amazon covered by this project is of extremely high value for biodiversity conservation and watershed protection. As part of the deforestation avoidance programs the project puts in place, conservation agreements will increase the productivity and sustainability of local family coffee plantations, all while reducing emissions from deforestation by an average of 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging, Inc.

SCS conducted an assessment of Longview Fibre's greenhouse gas emissions for all facilities located in Washington State. The verification was conducted under the auspices of The Climate Registry, a leading greenhouse gas reporting program for North America. SCS assessed Longview's main pulp and paper mill along with its mobile fleet, and verified its GHG inventory as being accurate and complete.

The City of Arcata

SCS verified the GHG footprint for the City of Arcata, California, helping the city meet its sustainability goals. Arcata has a population of 17,294 and is home to Humboldt State University. The SCS audit included an assessment of records at City Hall and site visits to the wastewater facility, the corporation yard, and other city facilities. The city had its emissions inventory verified and was recognized as a Climate Action Leader by the California Climate Action Registry (CCAR).

The Nature Conservancy

SCS verified the GHG footprint for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) of California for all operations statewide, including 20 offices and projects. Sites audited by SCS include a large farming operation in the Sacramento River Delta, a conservation project on Santa Cruz Island, the Sacramento River Mega-site project, and various TNC offices. TNC California achieved Climate Action Leader status from the California Climate Action Registry (CCAR). TNC works around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.