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The ABC, the guarantor of the Bilan Carbone®
TheAssociation for Low-Carbon Transition (ABC), created in 2011 by ADEME and APCC, has been championing for over 10 years the Bilan Carbone® methodology, a benchmark methodology for the accounting and analysis of Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHG) of organizations.
A key role of the ABC is to promote and develop the Bilan Carbone® standard by guaranteeing its methodological principles, which are now widely shared by the ecosystem of low-carbon transition stakeholders.
Why does the ABC assess the compliance of carbon accounting tools?
As the use of the term Bilan Carbone® has become widely popularized in recent years, the term has now entered common parlance. Unfortunately, it is now often misused for marketing purposes, whereas guiding the economy's transition towards a low-carbon model requires rigor and accuracy.
Following the emergence of numerous carbon accounting software tools on the market, with varying levels of methodological rigor, the ABC has sought to develop its compliance assessment with the Bilan Carbone® method for carbon accounting tools available on the market.
This ABC conformity attestation process enablescontributing to the methodological robustness deployed by the tools and guiding transition stakeholders within companies in their choices when they decide to adopt a solution to conduct a genuine corporate carbon footprint assessment and accelerate their climate strategy.
The ABC also reminds that "any person or solution offering you a 'certified Bilan Carbone®' relies on a certification process that does not exist." (1)
The details behind Traace's evaluation by the ABC.
The framework for the Bilan Carbone® conformity audit
The carbon footprint platform of Traace was audited over the past few months following the ABC's new evaluation framework for carbon accounting tools.
The audit conducted by the ABC was based on four pillars, three historical to the approach “Bilan Carbone Conform” and one new one:
- The technical and methodological framework deployed by the solution.
- thesupport for the carbon initiative offered by the solution.
- The transparency of the approach implemented by the solution with its clients.
- The communication and positioning of the solution.
This latest new criterion was added to the audit by the ABC, specifically to ensure thatcertified compliant solutions do not convey messages disconnected from the real challenges of the transition towards a low-carbon economic model, solely to meet their personal objectives.
Thus, as part of the evaluation, the Traace platform was evaluated, but also our blog, the content of our presentations, and our communication in general : everything was scrutinized to ensure that the messages we communicate are not misleading.
The ABC's audit process
Two auditors were involved to evaluate Traace across these four pillars. One auditor from ABC and one external auditor, each conducting their study using the same evaluation framework to ensure transparency, quality, and independence of the process.
Regarding the various pillars of the evaluation, the auditors particularly highlighted:
- Technical and methodological framework: the comprehensiveness of carbon accounting, the promotion of the physical approach, the exhaustiveness of GHGs taken into account, as well as the ability to quantify carbon reduction actions.
- Support: the ability to upskill stakeholders and raise awareness among the organization's stakeholders.
- Transparency of the process: the quality of the documentation on the methodology followed, the detailed user guide, and the visibility provided on the emission factors used.
- Communication and positioning: the compliance of Traace's messages with those promoted by ABC and ADEME, particularly concerning carbon neutrality and carbon contribution.
During the audit, the Traace teams took into account ABC's feedback to further enhance the relevance of the solution and support offered to our clients. The audit was notably an opportunity to further enrich our documentation and the awareness and training materials we share during our presentations.
The excellent score obtained finally allowed forattesting to Traace's compliance with the ABC standard and the Carbon Footprint methodology.
The exercise was particularly appreciated by the Traace teams. It provided an opportunity to to question ourselves, to objectively assess our strengths and areas for improvement, and above all, to always aim for a more demanding methodology and approach, commensurate with the climate challenges we are tackling alongside our clients.
Conclusion - Why was this certification from ABC important for Traace?
Since its launch in 2020, Traace has been dedicated to technologically equipping organizations to accelerate their transition towards a low-carbon model.
This mission that drives the Traace teams is the embodiment of the deep convictions that motivate our team members and the clients who join us : tackling the decarbonization of our economy requires seriousness, rigor, and transparency.
A certification is only meaningful if it is issued by an independent third party without conflicts of interest. A certification where the auditor and consultant are part of the same entity has no value. This is why Traace chose to dedicate its energy to being audited by ABC rather than launching its own internal certification, as some players in our market do, which is more akin to greenwashing than any serious approach.
For our clients, choosing a tool evaluated by ABC as compliant with the Bilan Carbone® methodology, is the assurance of obtaining rigorous and actionable carbon accounting, sharp and relevant support on carbon emission topics, and generally, expertise at least equivalent to the Bilan Carbone® method standard.
-> Learn more about the Traace platform and our various modules for measuring, analyzing, and planning decarbonization actions: click here!
Sources
- (1) https://abc-transitionbascarbone.fr/tout-savoir-sur-le-bilan-carbone-la-mise-au-point-complete-de-lassociation-pour-la-transition-bas-carbone/
- https://abc-transitionbascarbone.fr/tribune-non-un-bilan-carbone-realise-en-quelques-clics-nexiste-pas/