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What is the Emissions First Partnership?
The Emissions First Partnership was launched in 2022 with a membership of some of the world’s largest tech companies like Amazon and Meta. The partnership promotes a strategy for carbon accounting that encourages organizations to prioritize actions with the greatest potential to reduce emissions.
This approach advocates for directing investments toward clean energy projects on the most carbon-intensive grids, to achieve the highest possible impact on decarbonization. By focusing on maximizing carbon reductions, the Emissions First Approach is embraced by practitioners, companies, and organizations aiming to ensure every dollar spent on clean energy contributes effectively to reducing overall electricity emissions. There have been numerous studies and reviews which assess the robustness of the Emissions-First approach and voluntary actions on the decarbonization of the grid more generally (e.g. RMI, RFF and Nrel). We suggest energy buyers conduct their own independent research into emissions matching and other advanced energy procurement strategies to assess the right course of action for them.
Below, we look at what is needed to adopt an Emissions First Approach, and how Flexidao can help you execute this strategy.
How to Execute an Emissions First Approach?
Implementing an Emissions First strategy requires precise and granular data to measure and report the impact of clean energy investments effectively. To operationalize this strategy, practitioners need to consider the following datasets:
Marginal Emissions Rates (MER)
Marginal Emissions Rates (MER) are a critical dataset. They capture the marginal emissions associated with electricity consumption and production at specific grid nodes. This data is essential for calculating the environmental impact of electricity use. To ensure accuracy, MER data must be time- and location-sensitive, as emissions vary significantly depending on these factors.
Electricity Consumption and Production Data
Accurate electricity consumption and production data are key to emissions-matching. Hourly electricity consumption meter data helps accurately track energy use over time, while production data from renewable energy projects is also needed to calculate their clean energy contributions. Ensuring access to granular (hourly or sub-hourly) data is vital to achieve the level of precision required to conduct an emissions matching calculation.
Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs)
Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) are essential for validating renewable energy production and ensuring that emissions reductions are not double-counted. These certificates underpin the credibility of renewable energy claims and must align with established standards like the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance. Proper management and monitoring of EACs ensures that companies can confidently account for their renewable energy investments. Comprehensive digital tools like Flexidao’s can streamline the management of EACs and help minimize administrative burdens while maximizing the impact of decarbonization efforts.
With all of these data sets, there are several considerations businesses need to consider in order to operationalize this methodology. Conducting a sensitivity analysis to understand the effects of different spatial and temporal granularities in data ensures that outcomes remain accurate and operationally feasible. This analysis is critical to refining the data hierarchy and prioritizing the most impactful data types in emissions-matching frameworks. Flexidao is currently working on an Emission Matching Corporate Playbook, which will go into more detail of these datasets and how buyers can incorporate emissions-matching into their clean energy strategy.
How Flexidao Can Help Operationalize Emissionality
To implement a successful emissions-first strategy, access to the right data, tools, and guidance is crucial. Flexidao can help to support organizations in maximizing avoided emissions while improving operational efficiency by providing advanced data capabilities, the necessary oversight, and expert guidance.
Flexidao provides granular electricity consumption and emissions data, allowing businesses to track their electricity consumption and associated CO2 emissions monitoring at a detailed, hourly level. By closely monitoring energy usage and its emissions impact, organizations can make more informed decisions about when and where to buy energy, leading to tangible emissions reduction results.
Flexidao’s intuitive dashboards simplify emissions tracking by offering a real-time view of key performance indicators (KPIs) such as induced and avoided emissions, which are critical to any emissions-first strategy. With this visibility, businesses can clearly understand how their energy procurement decisions are impacting their sustainability goals and adjust their strategies accordingly.
Once you have access to the necessary data and insights, it’s crucial to apply this information effectively to drive action. Flexidao also provides expert guidance to help companies interpret emissions data and turn it into actionable insights for smarter procurement strategies.
Contact our experts today to find out how we can help you with the execution of your Emissions First Strategy.
