2024 CII-EMC CAER Guide: Boosting Sustainability and Ensuring Compliance in Corporate Air Emissions Reporting
The Corporate Air Emissions Reporting Guide (CAER Guide) is a valuable tool designed to help companies in India overcome challenges in air emissions reporting. This guide, available for download at this link, empowers companies of all sizes and sectors to align with regulatory requirements, adopt global best practices, and enhance their sustainability performance.
High costs associated with monitoring certain pollutants, such as HAPs and POPs, can deter comprehensive reporting. However, through proactive management and transparent reporting of air emissions, Indian businesses can play a pivotal role in achieving clean air goals and fostering a sustainable future.
By adopting the good practices outlined in the CAER Guide, companies can improve their reporting accuracy and transparency. The guide establishes clear distinctions between emission loading and ambient air concentrations, reducing ambiguities in disclosures. It also clarifies pollutant categories and provides tools for converting emissions data into relevant units, ensuring consistency and comparability.
In India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) framework, mandating the top 1,000 listed companies to report their emissions data on particulate matter (PM), SO2, NOx, and additional pollutants. While the BRSR framework lacks specificity in reporting of air emissions, the CAER Guide provides standardized processes with real-world examples for emissions reporting, helping companies align with frameworks like BRSR and global ESG disclosure standards.
Operational barriers include the difficulty in differentiating between 'air emissions' (pollutant loading) and 'ambient air monitoring' (pollutant concentrations), leading to inconsistencies in disclosures. Another challenge is the lack of clarity in pollutant categorization, with overlapping definitions of pollutants like VOCs, HAPs, and POPs making it difficult for companies to classify and prioritize these air emissions accurately.
The CAER Guide aims to enhance the capacity of reporting teams through education and awareness-building initiatives. By improving the quality of air emissions reporting, Indian companies can strengthen their reputational capital and position themselves as leaders in environmental stewardship.
On a global scale, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) offers industry-specific sustainability standards, mandating the reporting of air pollutants like NOx, SO, particulate matter (PM), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) for sectors like utilities and power generation. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a worldwide framework used by organizations to disclose their economic, environmental, and social impacts, with a focus on air emissions. The GRI 305-7 standard requires companies to disclose data on nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SO2), and other significant air emissions, in absolute terms and categorized by business unit, geography, and type of activity.
In conclusion, the CAER Guide is a crucial resource for Indian companies seeking to improve their air emissions reporting practices. By providing clear, standardized methodologies for measuring and disclosing their air emissions, the guide supports Indian companies in enhancing transparency and compliance with environmental regulations, promoting best practices for reporting that align with national and international standards.
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