Third party assurance of sustainability reporting
Smart Freight Centre’s Conformity Assessment Scheme offers emission reporters independent assurance of GHG emissions and reporting. The scheme promotes a database of Validation and Verification Bodies (VVBs) that reporters can trust to carry out a competent, impartial verification service.
How can the Conformity Assessment Scheme support you?
The scheme can:
- Help you find a Verification Body that can check if you are complying with ISO 14083
- Provide a practical emissions reporting template that covers all of ISO 14083 and GLEC V3.0
- Demonstrate to your clients or any other stakeholder that your GHG Monitoring Plan is complete and adequate
- Recognize your reporting transparency and data quality
What is the Smart Freight Centre Conformity Assessment Scheme (CAS)?
The SFC CAS is a logical step in our collaborative work to identify solutions and advocate logistics decarbonization strategies. SFC developed the GLEC Framework, which was the foundation for the new ISO 14083:2023 standard. ISO 14083 further standardized calculation and reporting of GHG emissions from transport chains. Now that ISO 14083 is published, we are focusing on ensuring competent assurance of the reported information.
Third party assurance of sustainability reporting information enhances its credibility. It provides trust that the information is accurate, relevant, reliable and complete. When GHG emissions are verified, stakeholders feel more confident in the data that is reported. Stakeholders include scope 3 emissions reporters which need to report on the data provided by their contractors or suppliers.
In SFC’s Conformity Assessment Scheme, conformity with ISO 14083 is mandatory, as is third-party verification. The scheme also provides optional performance levels for reporters to apply for, as they move forward along their decarbonization journey.
Smart Freight Centre will continue to increase stakeholder trust by expanding the Conformity Assessment Scheme to cover additional SFC standards, starting with support for market based measures transactions, planned for the end of 2024.
Piloting the 2024 extension to cover Market Based Measures Framework accounting
The Voluntary Market Based Measures Framework (MBM FW) responded to demand among members and the wider industry to provide a high-integrity, market-based approach. It has generated interest since its publication from organizations seeking to implement the MBM FW within their respective accounting processes. We are currently piloting the extension of the CAS to cover MBM FW accounting. Companies who wish to assure their respective accounting outputs want their work verified to the level of detail the MBM FW provides. This pilot is run with assistance and participation of Verifavia, Müller-BBM Cert, DHL, 123 Carbon, and others who will test and strengthen the CAS. This mix of organizations allows both Validation and Verification Bodies and decarbonizing logistics (Emission Reporters) organizations to interact with this topic and ensure the correct processes are in place for full release to the public by the end of 2024.
List of Approved Validation and Verification Bodies
Name and Address of VVB: VERIFAVIA SAS, 33 AVENUE DU MAINE 75015 PARIS FRANCE SIREN N° 520641093.
Contact Details: sustainability@verifavia.com
Technical scope: GHG emission statements in accordance with ISO 14083 for freight transport
Geographical scope: Worldwide
List of approved auditors: Melissa D'souza-Salin, Nilay Warkhedkar, Patricia Esther Pinilla, Rajat Bishnoi
Approval date and status: 22.11.2023, Approved
Accreditation body: COFRAC
Apply for approval as a VVB and/or as a verifier
Request an application form through assurance@smartfreightcentre.org.
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Contact us
If you’d like to learn more through a virtual meeting, please get in touch with us through assurance@smartfreightcentre.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
You should always select a VVB which is accredited under ISO 17029 for verification of GHG statements – ask the verifiers you are interacting with to send you their accreditation certificate to demonstrate their competence for GHG assurance.
But we have gone one step further and developed a scheme to ensure you select a VVB that knows about GHG verification in your respective sector. Check out our list of Approved VVBs – which demonstrates their competence for GHG assurance in the freight sector.
SFC approval of VVBs aims to support reporters by listing VVBs that can be trusted to carry out a competent, impartial verification service. We offer customized training just for applicant VVBs, and once their verifiers pass the related exam, we maintain a list of VVBs who are approved by Smart Freight Centre under our Conformity Assessment Scheme. The list went live in November 2023 and will continue to be updated as more VVBs apply and pass our exam.
First you select a VVB which has been approved by us to verify your Emissions Report and confirm what level of performance you are on (1, 1+, 2, 2+, 3 or 3+).
You only need to apply to the SFC CAS once you have received your final Verification report from the VVB. Read our Emissions Reporter Manual for more details.
Yes we do. Contact us through assurance@smartfreightcentre.org to get it for free.
SFC currently offers an Accreditation service that calculation tool providers can use to have their calculation and reporting methodology checked against the GLEC Framework. This service will be updated soon to offer approval directly against the ISO 14083:2023 standard.
The GLEC Framework remains the primary industry guideline to support the implementation of ISO 14083. It will be developed further along industry needs which includes updated emission factors, default emission intensities, sector-specific application guidance and other topics. These industry-led updates will feed into future versions of the ISO 14083 standard.
Yes! We will offer separate courses for VVBs and Emissions Reporters. If you are interested in training for VVB personnel, please get in touch via assurance@smartfreightcentre.org. If you are interested in training for Emissions Reporters, please get in touch via training@smartfreightcentre.org.
Verification bodies are eligible to provide verification services under the SFC CAS if they are accredited under ISO 17029 for application of ISO 14065 for verification of GHG statements for the transport sector, by an accreditation body that is a signatory of the International Accreditation Forum Multilateral Agreement for GHG Verification.
Verification services must be carried out by persons who have been approved by SFC. This is achieved by attending the SFC training course on ISO 14083 and passing the associated exam.
Read our VVB Manual for more details. Request our application form through assurance@smartfreightcentre.org.
Our assurance fees for VVBs and emissions reporters can be found in the links on this page.