Case study: Carbon reduction programme

Carbon reduction programme verified

Verification by TÜV SÜD now enables the industrial and business clients of Energiecontracting Heidelberg AG to make use of an important climate-change tool.

Mai 2011

Modern energy contracting products now increasingly include climate-change aspects. TÜV SÜD Industrie Service verified a CO2 bonus programme offered by Energiecontracting Heidelberg AG (ECH), thus enabling the company's clients in industry and business to generate and sell emission reductions units (ERUs) on an annual basis.

Energy contractors are investors, receiving some of the income generated by the implemented saving measures in compensation for their services. ECH, for example, offers companies in the manufacturing sector the possibility to change their heat generation systems from fossil fuels to renewable energy carriers. This measure enables companies to benefit from the savings achieved through the modernisation of their heating systems. On top of this, companies generate one emission reduction unit (ERU) per tonne of CO2 emissions saved under the "Joint Implementation" scheme. Joint Implementation (JI) projects under the Kyoto Protocol are greenhouse-gas (GHG) emission reduction measures which companies implement either in their own or other industrialised countries. ERUs can be sold within the scope of emissions trading.

Certified emission reductions (CERs)

In the future, the emissions saved within the scope of the CO2 bonus programme of ECH can be traded on the international market. Trading depends on the emission reductions being verified and documented by a third-party verifier. To determine the subsequent emission reduction achieved by the ECH customer, heat generation must be recorded continuously and documented. For this purpose, the verifier assesses the metered heat supply, the efficiency of the old system and the emission factor of the replacement fuel.

A textile manufacturer located in Baden-Wuerttemberg was one of the first companies that signed up for ECH's CO2 bonus program. Within the scope of this programme, the textile manufacturer replaced their old heating-oil-fuelled steam and hot-water boilers with wood-pellet boilers, reducing their operating costs and significantly curbing their CO2 emissions. Modernisation of the heat and steam generation systems and the move to renewable sources of energy now result in a reduction in CO2  emissions of around 700 tonnes per year. By selling certified emission reductions (CERs), the company generates additional income of around 6,000 EUR per annum

ECH offers integrated energy services for industry, business and municipalities. Verification of its CO2 bonus programme by an independent third-party will enable the energy contractor to offer a modern service incorporating the mitigation of climate change in the future.