Late afternoon light over Australian rangeland

Greenhouse gas emissions and energy assurance

Specialist independent assurance for Australia's emissions and energy schemes.

Clear Environment audits emissions and energy trading schemes across Australia — under Commonwealth and State government programs, and under bespoke terms for clients who require an independent opinion.

Discuss an engagement Schemes & methodologies
  • 25+ years Auditing and assurance in Australia and overseas
  • 100+ ACCU Scheme audits as Audit Team Leader
  • CER Registered Greenhouse and Energy Auditor
  • IPART & ESC Registered Lead Auditor — Energy Security Safeguard and Victorian Energy Upgrades

The practice

A small,
specialist firm.

Clear Environment has been undertaking greenhouse gas and energy scheme audits since 2011, drawing on more than 25 years of experience — from the earliest Commonwealth and State programs through to the schemes running today.

  • A senior auditor undertakes the audit

    Engagements are led and delivered personally by a senior auditor. There is a single point of contact who is fully aware of the engagement at all times. That is a key strength of keeping the firm small, and it is what clients tell us they value.

  • Depth of understanding through experience

    More than 100 audits as Audit Team Leader under the ACCU Scheme and its predecessors, plus decades of experience on state-based schemes and GreenPower.

  • Particular strength in the energy sector

    A large share of our work is for energy companies, and energy retailers in particular — liable entities, scheme participants and accredited certificate providers. We understand how these businesses are run and the markets in which they operate.

  • Lean, responsive, and easy to work with

    As a small company we can make decisions quickly, there are no lengthy approvals processes, and we carry no corporate overheads. Instead, we focus on the client and the project.

  • Capacity when the job is large

    We maintain established relationships with a network of other audit firms and technical specialists, which lets us take on large multi-site engagements without carrying the overhead the rest of the time.

Approach

Clear thinking. Clear focus. Clear results.
Professional, experienced · Independent, responsive · Timely, respected

Schemes & methodologies

The work we have done.

We are members of various scheme auditing panels that authorise us to work on specific types of audits. The following section provides details on the experience we hold — backed up with actual projects.

Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme

Commonwealth

Administered by the Clean Energy Regulator · the ACCU Scheme was formerly the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) and Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI)

Clear Environment has undertaken Audit Team Leader roles on more than 100 audits under the ACCU Scheme and its predecessors, and peer review roles on many more.

Methods audited

  • Human-induced regeneration
  • Avoided deforestation
  • Plantation forestry
  • Permanent environmental plantings
  • Reforestation from environmental or mallee plantings
  • Landfill gas
  • Commercial and public lighting
  • Designated Verified Carbon Standard projects
  • Source separated organic waste
  • Industrial and commercial emissions reduction

NSW Energy Savings Scheme (ESS) and Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS)

NSW

ESS and PDRS · administered by IPART

A leading member of the Energy Security Safeguard auditing panel, conducting Scheme Participant and certificate registration audits across the schemes' main calculation methods.

Methods audited

  • Installation of High Efficiency Appliances for Business
  • Project Impact Assessment with M&V (PIAM&V)
  • Home Energy Efficiency Retrofits
  • Commercial lighting
  • Public lighting
  • Metered baseline
  • Sale of new appliances
  • Removal of old appliances
  • Behind-the-meter battery energy storage systems (BESS)

Victorian Energy Upgrades

VIC

VEU · Essential Services Commission (Victoria)

A long-standing member of the Victorian auditing panel since the scheme's VEET era, conducting Relevant Entity and certificate registration audits across the scheme's main calculation methods.

Methods audited

  • Building and non-building based lighting
  • Water heating
  • Space heating and cooling
  • Water-efficient pre-rinse valves
  • Weather sealing
  • Low-flow shower roses
  • Installation of devices

GreenPower

National

National GreenPower Accreditation Program

Engaged by the GreenPower Program Manager to undertake the annual Tier 2 audits in accordance with the GreenPower Program Rules for over ten years. We have also undertaken Tier 1 GreenPower audits for more than 30 GreenPower providers.

Engagement types

  • Tier 1 audits of GreenPower providers
  • Tier 2 annual audits for the Program Manager

Bespoke assurance engagements

Client-specific

Scoped to your terms of reference

We also undertake client-specific assurance work: independent peer review of another auditor's work, verification of internal emissions and energy data, and reviews of the systems and controls behind scheme reporting. Scope, standard and level of assurance are agreed with you up front. This includes providing assurance over energy retailer greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy claims.

Some of the methods listed above have since been closed to new projects by the scheme administrators. They are listed because they represent audit experience we hold, which remains relevant to existing projects and to panel assessments.

Greg Loftus, Director of Clear Environment
Greg Loftus Director · Registered Greenhouse and Energy Auditor
Certified Measurement and Verification Professional

About

Clear Environment Director and Lead Auditor

Greg Loftus is the founding Director of Clear Environment, with more than 25 years of consulting and auditing experience in Australia and overseas. Before founding the firm in 2011 he held senior management positions within a large environmental and engineering consultancy, including management of a 25-person environmental consulting group.

His work spans assurance engagements, risk assessments, audits, training programs and workshop facilitation across the environmental and energy sectors. Today his practice is concentrated on scheme assurance — and he personally leads every engagement Clear Environment accepts.

  • Registered Greenhouse and Energy Auditor with the Clean Energy Regulator, authorised to lead audits and sign assurance reports submitted to the CER
  • Registered Lead Auditor with IPART under the NSW Energy Security Safeguard — the Energy Savings Scheme and Peak Demand Reduction Scheme
  • Registered Lead Auditor with the Essential Services Commission under the Victorian Energy Upgrades program
  • Audit experience across ACCU/ERF/CFI, NGER, ESS, VEU/VEET and GreenPower, and earlier programs including the NSW Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme (GGAS), the Carbon Neutral Program and Climate Active, the South Australian Retailer Energy Efficiency Scheme (REES), Greenhouse Friendly and Greenhouse Challenge
  • Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP)
  • MBA, Canterbury Business School, University of Kent · BA (Hons) Geography, University of Kent

Contact

Tell us what you need audited.

A short conversation is usually enough to tell you whether we are the right firm, what the engagement would involve and a fee estimate. If we are not the right fit, we will say so.

Email us directly

Email
greg.loftus@clearenvironment.net
Telephone
0419 420 855
Post
43 Victoria Street
McMahons Point NSW 2060
Australia
ABN
20 147 840 640
Elsewhere
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