3rd September 2008: The International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA), the leading alliance of carbon reduction and offset providers has gained two new members; leading carbon reduction and offset providers Climate Neutral Group and First Climate.

Based in Holland, Climate Neutral Group works with high profile customers including the Dutch Government and Parliament, PricewaterhouseCoopers and ING Group to reduce their emissions. First Climate, headquartered in Germany, was formed from a merger in 2008 between 3C – The Carbon Credit Company and Factor Consulting & Management AG; global clients include Nike, Allianz and Credit Suisse.

ICROA co-chair Tom Stoddard said, “Our mission to advocate for rigorous industry standards is continuing to gain momentum as we grow in strength through the addition of two more high quality carbon reduction and offset providers - Climate Neutral Group and First Climate.” 

Commenting on its decision to join ICROA, Denis Slieker, Managing Director of Climate Neutral Group said, “ICROA is the organisation that is leading the way in promoting responsible carbon management practices and setting high quality standards for the voluntary market. We’re pleased to join and support ICROA’s mission.”

Jochen Gassner, Director of First Climate added, “The code of best practice which ICROA provides is an industry benchmark. It guarantees reliable standards and thus credibility and integrity of voluntary carbon offsets, for both the clients’ and the environment’s ends. We fully support ICROA’s goals and encourage others to do so.”

A key aim of ICROA is to promote best practice and high standards in the voluntary carbon market. ICROA members adhere to the ICROA Code of Best Practice. This requires ICROA members to measure footprints according to accepted international standards and to implement a responsible “reduce and offset” approach to internal and external greenhouse gas reductions.

ICROA members support the use of credible offsets verified under leading compliance and voluntary standards; CDM/JI, Voluntary Carbon Standard and Gold Standard.ICROA members submit annual reports to demonstrate compliance with the ICROA Code of Best Practice. ICROA also plays an active role in engaging with Governments and NGOS on voluntary carbon market issues.

ICROA co-chair Jonathan Shopley said “ICROA looks forward to building a larger presence in expanding carbon markets. ICROA now represents a significant number of leading carbon reduction and offset providers in the voluntary market and the organisation’s membership covers Europe, North America and Australia.”

ICROA aims to expand its membership to include other high quality carbon reduction and offset providers in the voluntary market.

Contacts:

Europe: Edward Hanrahan, ClimateCare
Phone: +44 (0) 1865 207 012
edward.hanrahan@jpmorganclimatecare.com

Australia: Freddie Sharpe, Climate Friendly
Phone: +61 2 9356 3600 Mobile + 61 402 968 813
freddy.sharpe@climatefriendly.com

US: Adam Stern, TerraPass
Phone: +1 (415) 692 3412
astern@terrapass.com

Notes to Editors:

About ICROA: www.icroa.org

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, and they all comply with the ICROA Code of Best Practice.

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 www.carbon-clear.com

• The CarbonNeutral Company www.carbonneutral.com

• ClimateCare www.climatecare.org

• Climate Friendly https://climatefriendly.com

• Climate Neutral Group www.climateneutralgroup.com

• co2balance www.co2balance.com

• First Climate www.firstclimate.com

• Native Energy www.nativeenergy.com

• targetneutral www.targetneutral.com

• TerraPass, www.terrapass.com

About Climate Neutral Group:

Climate Neutral Group is a leading, Dutch based carbon reduction and offset provider, which started in 2002 as one of the first offset providers in the world and now serves over 400 business customers. By providing carbon management services, which includes carbon foot printing, reduction measures and offsetting, Climate Neutral Group inspires organisations and individuals to become climate neutral. As one of the pioneering organisations in the voluntary carbon market Climate Neutral Group puts great effort in establishing fully transparent and highly quality services and projects. The carbon offset projects which the Climate Neutral Group develops not only benefit climate change but are also beneficial to local communities, ecology and sustainable development.

About First Climate:

First Climate is one of Europe’s leading carbon asset management companies. With 13 offices on four continents and more than ten years’ experience in the market, it is one of the few intermediaries to cover the entire carbon credit value chain. First Climate develops, finances, and implements CDM, JI, and VER projects, purchases the resulting carbon credits, and customises trading solutions for companies subject to the EU ETS. As investment advisors to various institutional investors, the company’s financial experts structure and develop carbon funds and related products. In the voluntary market, the group’s climate neutral unit provides VERs verified according to the highest international standards. First Climate is one of the main sponsors of the Gold Standard Version 2.