CarbonCare® Label
Carbon Management
CarbonCare® Label encourage and recognize the efforts of companies and organisations in their action to tackle climate change and achieve carbon reduction/neutrality status by Measuring, Reducing and Offsetting (MRO) their carbon footprints.
There are six CarbonCare® Labels representing different levels of achievement in carbon reduction/neutrality, indicated with green labels in one, two, three, four and five leaf(s) respectively, recognizing the achievement of 5% (starting point), 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% of emission reductions in the application year against a defined base year.A gold CarbonCare® Champion Label indicates the achievement of carbon neutrality.
Eligibility Criteria:
All organisations including listed companies, private companies, public bodies, social enterprises and NGOs are eligible to apply.
The entity must establish its emission baseline and emission inventory. Reduction and offset performance is validated and verified in accordance with a specific protocol based on international best practice before measurement.
CarbonCare® Champion Label
Eligibility Criteria:
For applying the CarbonCare® Champion Label:
- The applicant must demonstrate that it has taken all practical steps to reduce its carbon footprint by fulfilling either one of the following criteria:
a. achieve at least 5% GHG reduction in the application year against a defined base year; or
b. provide documentary evidence that a carbon reduction target in the application year has been endorsed by the management and that practical measures are taken to meet such target. - The residual GHG emissions should be fully offset by purchasing and retiring accredited carbon credits with internationally accepted standards, such as VCS, CDM, CCB, Gold Standard VER or equivalent.
- The documentary evidence of carbon reduction and the types of carbon credits for offset must be disclosed to the public together with the verification statement of the label.
CarbonCare® ESG Label
Best Practice in ESG Reporting
Ever since the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) has raised ESG Reporting to “Comply or Explain” level from January 2016, investors' expectations on the extent of disclosure have been increasing. New amendments to the ESG Reporting Guide by the HKEX have officially become effective on 1 July 2020, which sets elevated requirements and expectations on the sustainability playing field. The CarbonCare® ESG Label 2021 is consistently upgraded to reflect the latest international trends, regulatory requirements and community aspirations. It is designed to give special recognition to best performers in ESG reporting in four important areas: company board accountability, materiality assessment, disclosure of social KPIs, and corporate climate actions.
Eligibility Criteria:
The applicant's current ESG report has
1. followed the ‘comply or explain’ provisions of the HKEX ESG Guide on general disclosures and environmental KPIs; and
2. disclosed at least one of the following four areas:
a. Governance structure with Board accountability on ESG-related issues in the Company; or
b. materiality assessment through dedicated stakeholder engagement process(es); or
c. KPIs in at least 5 out of the 8 Social Aspects (B1-B8); or
d. climate-related policies and risk-mitigation actions.
3. Four levels of recognition will be awarded, dependent on the applicant’s achievements in one, two, three or four areas in (2) above.
CarbonCare® Circularity Label
Circular Economy
CarbonCare® Circularity Label was introduced in 2020 aims to provide a framework for public and private organisations keen to adopt Circular Economy initiatives in operation. Starting with paper products for the pilot phase, the Label will quantitatively measure the recycling performance of the applicants. The CarbonCare® Circularity Label is organisation-based, following the footsteps of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
This label encourages achievement of circularity through concrete actions including:
Design out waste and pollution through increasing the recycling of recyclable used paper products;
Keep products and materials in use through creating an end market for recycled paper products and supporting the improvement of the local infrastructure for recycling;
Regenerate natural systems through reducing virgin paper use of unrecyclable paper products.
Eligibility Criteria:
All organisations including listed companies, private companies, public bodies, social enterprises and NGOs are eligible to apply.
The applicant must have conducted an independent waste audit at least once every three years, or a waste snapshot survey at least once within the past year.
The applicant must have a record of all its purchased paper products within the past year.
Having achieved a minimum percentage of recycled paper and recycling rate considering all purchased paper products.
CarbonCare® Conctruction Label
Carbon Management for Construction Project Site
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The new CarbonCare® Construction Label & CarbonCare® Construction Champion Label is introduced this year for construction project management in achieving carbon reduction associated with construction process and/or material production.
This label encourages achievement of circularity through concrete actions including:
Design out waste and pollution through increasing the recycling of recyclable used paper products;
Keep products and materials in use through creating an end market for recycled paper products and supporting the improvement of the local infrastructure for recycling;
Regenerate natural systems through reducing virgin paper use of unrecyclable paper products.
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Eligibility Criteria:
CarbonCare® Construction (Process) Label
All organizations which run construction project sites are eligible to apply.
The applicant must establish its project site emission inventory within a clearly defined boundary annually. Reductions and offset performance are validated and verified in accordance with a specific protocol based on international best practice before measurement.
The applicant is advised to use recognised emission factor databases and methodologies to understand the greenhouse gas emissions of construction processes of construction site.
Provide documentary evidence to demonstrate the carbon reduction measures currently taken.
CarbonCare® Construction (Material) Label
All organizations which run construction project sites are eligible to apply.
The applicant must establish its project site emission inventory within a clearly defined boundary annually. Reductions and offset performance are validated and verified in accordance with a specific protocol based on international best practice before measurement.
The applicant is advised to use the CIC Carbon Assessment Tool or other recognised emission factor databases and methodologies to understand the greenhouse gas emissions of embodied carbon of construction materials.
Provide documentary evidence to demonstrate the carbon reduction measures currently taken.
Eligibility Criteria for Construction Champion Label:
CarbonCare® Construction (Process) Champion Label:
To apply for CarbonCare® Construction (Process) Champion Label, the applicant must:
a). at least attain Level 1 of CarbonCare® Process Construction Label
b). fully offset the residual GHG emissions by purchasing and retiring accredited carbon credits with internationally accepted standards, such as VCS, CDM, CCB, Gold Standard VER or equivalent;
c). publicly disclose (i) the documentary evidence of GHG reduction, (ii) the types of carbon credits for offset and (iii) the verification statement of the inventory.
CarbonCare® Construction (Material) Champion Label:
To apply for CarbonCare® Construction Process Champion Label, the applicant must:
a). at least attain Level 1 of CarbonCare® Construction (Material) Label;
b). fully offset the residual GHG emissions by purchasing and retiring accredited carbon credits with internationally accepted standards, such as VCS, CDM, CCB, Gold Standard VER or equivalent;
c). publicly disclose (i) the documentary evidence of GHG reduction, (ii) the types of carbon credits for offset and (iii) the verification statement of the inventory.
CarbonCare® Star Label
Special Recognition
CarbonCare® Star Label
Special Recognition
Eligibility Criteria:
For committed achievers who have managed to attain the CarbonCare® Label scheme continuously for three (or more) year in a row (including 2022), an additional CarbonCare® Star Label will be awarded as a special recognition.