The Australian Government’s Carbon Neutral certification (NCOS) has been re-launched as Climate Active . Climate Active has announced that applications for carbon neutral certification will require a ‘Registered Consultant’ with relevant expertise either prepare the initial application, help with ongoing reporting or provide a technical assessment of the application. So, if you are in the business of assisting clients to gain government endorsed carbon neutral certification, it is in your interest to become a Registered Consultant.
Process
1. Download an application to become a Registered Consultant and send this to climate.active@environment.gov.au along with your resume.
2. Once the Climate Active team has received your application, the team will notify you within 15 working days as to whether you can go down pathway one or pathway two.
Pathway One (requires direct experience in preparing or auditing a carbon neutral certification application against the Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard in the last five years): go direct to step
Pathway Two (requires relevant experience and knowledge in carbon accounting and/or environmental auditing but not necessarily direct experience with claims against the Climate Active Carbon Neutral standard): You will be sent an invitation to attend a training session. At this stage the next training session is expected to occur in March 2020, likely to be in Melbourne and/or Sydney. Attendance at the session is free but you will need to arrange your own travel.
3. Complete a technical test and submit to climate.active@environment.gov.au: The test will be online from June 2020, in the interim the Climate Active Team will send you the relevant test.
4. The Climate Active team will assess your test and notify you of the outcome within 15 business days of receipt.
5. If successful, your organisation will need to sign the Terms and Conditions for a Registered Consultant. As an individual you will need to sign the Code of Conduct.
6. The Climate Active team will publish your name, organisation name and a link to your organisation’s website on the Department of the Environment and Energy’s website. You will be responsible for ensuring clients can find your contact details and any other information about the services you offer on your website.
7. You will need to register on the Department of the Environment and Energy’s Community portal to enable clients to engage you as a Registered Consultant in the Climate Active Certification Portal.
If you have any questions about the process please don’t hesitate to contact the Climate Active team: climate.active@environment.gov.au
Click here to see the current list of Registered Consultants.