ICROA Celebrates Successful First Year as Leading Offset Organisation

Establishes Independent Advisory Board

19^th August 2009: The International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA) celebrated its first anniversary by convening its Independent Advisory Board, comprising of independent experts in the voluntary carbon market. After its first year, ICROA members include many of the most reputable companies in the voluntary carbon market.

ICROA recently held the inaugural session of its Independent Advisory Board. The Board is made up of highly respected industry experts from around the world who will provide ICROA with essential advice on its strategy and policy. Members of the ICROA Independent Advisory Board include representatives from Clean Air Cool Planet, Climate Action Reserve (CAR), Forum for the Future, German Emissions Trading Authority, Gold Standard Foundation, Greenhouse Gas Management Institute, Pro-Natura International, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Total Environment Centre, Voluntary Carbon Standard Association (VCSA) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) . The ICROA Independent Advisory board is chaired by Alexia Kelly from WRI who said, “ICROA plays a unique role by working to raise standards across the voluntary carbon market. As a group the Independent Advisory Board will provide ICROA with strategic guidance, to help ensure that their policies lead on defining best practice in this industry.“

ICROA co-chair Jonathan Shopley said, “We are delighted to celebrate ICROA’s first anniversary by establishing the Independent Advisory Board. The Independent Advisory Board will play a pivotal role in ensuring that the ICROA Code remains a benchmark for best practice in the rapidly evolving voluntary carbon market.”

Over the next year ICROA will focus on expanding its membership, auditing the members against the ICROA Code of Best Practice and continuing to advise Governments and policy makers around the world about the role of premium voluntary offsets in both pre- and post-regulatory contexts.

ENDS

Press Contact Details:

ICROA Spokesperson: Edward Hanrahan, JPMorgan ClimateCare

Tel: +44 (0) 7900 566 210

ICROA Secretariat
Caroline Spencer

Tel: +44 (0) 7967 428 247

Notes to Editors:

About ICROA:

The International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA), is a not-for-profit alliance of leading carbon reduction and offset providers. It provides leadership and a unified voice advocating for rigorous industry standards. ICROA members support a “reduce and offset” approach to carbon management. Members have adopted the ICROA Code of Best Practice and must report transparently on their compliance with the Code at the end of each year.

As described by ICROA’s Code of Best Practice, carbon management is a comprehensive approach to assessing and reducing an organisation’s carbon footprint. Comprehensive carbon management requires:

· Measuring carbon footprints according to accepted international standards;

· Setting emissions reduction targets based on scientific assessments;

· Reducing net CO2 emissions by:

- Achieving reductions within the organisation;

- Using real, permanent, and additional offsets.

ICROA members currently serve thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of individuals. The member companies are Carbon Clear, The CarbonNeutral Company, ClimateCare, ClimaCount, Climate Friendly, Climate Neutral Group, co2balance, First Climate, NativeEnergy, targetneutral and TerraPass.

About ICROA Independent Advisory Board:

The ICROA Independent Advisory Board provides essential advice and guidance to ICROA on its policy and strategy. The ICROA IAB members are experts in the voluntary carbon market who are not carbon reduction and offset providers. IAB members serve in a personal capacity. The IAB will help ICROA adapt to the rapidly evolving voluntary carbon market and will help ensure that the ICROA Code of Best Practice remains relevant and an exemplar of best practice.  The ICROA IAB is chaired by Alexia Kelly from the World Resources Institute (WRI).ICROA IAB members also include representatives from: Clean Air Cool Planet, Climate Action Reserve (CAR), Forum for the Future, German Emissions Trading Authority, Gold Standard Foundation, Greenhouse Gas Management Institute, Pro-Natura International , Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Total Environment Centre and the Voluntary Carbon Standard  Association (VCSA).

[1] Representatives are serving in a personal capacity. Participation in the Independent Advisory Board does not imply organisational endorsement of the represented organisations.

Posted on August 21, 2009 · in Press Releases