The high profile that climate change from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has across the political agenda, in the media and in the minds of the general public has resulted in a number of initiatives to measure and reduce carbon impacts. This has led to some organisations claiming that they are "carbon neutral" by reducing their carbon impacts and offsetting the remainder through a variety of schemes such as renewable energy projects and forestation.
Previously these claims have not been based on a recognised set of standards leading to an element of mistrust and scepticism as to how valid these claims are and how they can be substantiated. This has driven the need for the introduction of a specification to produce a common definition and a recognised method of validation.
PAS 2060:2010 Specification for the Demonstration of Carbon Neutrality has been developed by British Standards Institute (BSI) along with a steering group of industry representatives, government bodies, environmental organisations and standards bodies to produce such a standard approach.
