Under its My Carbon Zero initiative, Pond Foundation calculates its members’ annual and lifetime carbon emissions. We include all Scope 1, 2 and 3 data. We do this under the guidance of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol and the ISO14064-1 standard. The Foundation has, to date, conducted fourteen (14) emissions calculation projects for its members; some of which are service providers, some are manufacturers, some are SMEs and one, Guardian Capital Group (Guardian) in Canada, comprises several separate companies with offices and operations in multiple locations.
In February 2024, the Foundation’s 2022 annual emissions report for Guardian was verified under the ISO14064-1 standard. The Foundation doesn’t require that its members get their emissions calculations ISO14064-1 verified but we conduct our work in accordance with the standard so that if they choose to pursue verification, they can with confidence that our approach aligns with the standard. Guardian, as a financial services company in Canada, believes that demonstrating compliance with international standards is critical for its credibility so did seek ISO verification. Securing verification demonstrates that Pond Foundation’s calculations and approach accord to the standard.
Michele Robitaille, Managing Director, Head of Responsible Investing at Guardian Capital LP, the asset management subsidiary of Guardian, said,“The audit and verification process, while lengthy, ran very smoothly and provided comfort that our annual carbon emissions calculations were accurate. Having Pond Foundation’s support greatly helped us to navigate the process to calculate our emissions and to achieve the ISO verification. We’re super grateful for the great working relationship we’ve built with the Pond Foundation team.”
Our work to support Guardian followed four distinct stages:
Phase 1:Initial calculation and gap analysis
We conducted a carbon emissions calculation for 2021 using available data. In doing so, we identified gaps in Guardian’s data collection and management systems that would prevent it from securing ISO14064-1 verification. We presented our emissions calculations and gap analysis report in 2022 which included the steps needed to close the gaps. Most of the gaps were in Scope 3 data collection and management.
Phase 2:Engage ISO14064-1 for a pre-verification audit
We identified INTECO, a Costa Rican based auditing firm accredited to audit against the ISO14064-1 standard and introduced them to Guardian. Guardian contracted INTECO to conduct a pre-verification audit. The pre-verification audit confirmed that Pond Foundation’s calculation methodology was aligned with the ISO14064-1 standard and that our gap analysis of Guardian’s data collection and management system was correct. The audit identified additional gaps and controls.
Phase 3:Closing the gaps
We worked closely with the internal Guardian team to build their capacity to close the identified data collection and management gaps. We chose 2022 as the base year for the scheduled audit that was due to be conducted in September 2023. The internal team setup the appropriate systems and we used the emergent data to complete the 2022 carbon emissions calculation report. That report then became the basis for the full ISO14064-1 audit conducted by INTECO in September-October 2023.
Phase 4:Full audit
The full INTECO audit identified where the 2022 carbon emissions report complied with the ISO14064-1 standard and produced some Corrective Actions. Together with the Guardian team, we provided the response to those Corrective Actions. In January 2022, INTECO confirmed that their audit report had passed their internal controls and passed it for external compliance control. Their audit report passed that external control and Guardian was issued with an ISO14064-1 verification in February 2024.
“We think this is a global first but certainly for any company in the financial sector. With this ISO verification of their base year, in Guardian’s case, 2022, our members can better understand how much carbon their operations have produced over the lifetime of their existence, known as their Lifetime Carbon Balance. Though that lifetime figure isn’t verified under the ISO14064-1 standard, the base year verification does give us confidence that we can get a better Lifetime Carbon Balance estimate. They can now work confidently to reduce their annual emissions and remove that balance from the atmosphere,” said Scott Poynton, Founder and Chief Inspiration Officer of Pond Foundation.
Following this process, we continue to support the internal Guardian team to gather data for the 2023 carbon emissions report in compliance with the ISO14064-1 standard. As part of their verification, our annual emissions reports will be checked by INTECO for compliance.
Beyond our work with Guardian, all our carbon emissions calculations are conducted in accordance with the ISO14064-1 standard, following the GHG Protocol. We support and train all our members to develop their capacity to collect and manage their data so that should they choose to be audited against the standard, their systems would comply.
