Ecometrica say it has become the first environmental accounting provider to secure assurance of audit readiness, following a review by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The move comes as the UK’s largest companies face mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reporting as of Oct. 1.
The company commissioned PwC to carry out an independent review of output from its Our Impacts software, in line with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales’ Code of Ethics. The software uses Ecometrica’s comprehensive databases of emission and conversion factors. Algorithms automatically select the most appropriate emission and conversion factors, according to the input data, and calculate GHG emissions in real time.
Audit-ready outputs will provide certainty to companies affected by these regulations that the results can withstand external stakeholder scrutiny, without the need for subsequent time-consuming and costly revisions, Ecometrica says.
The GHG Regulations 2013 requires London Stock Exchange-listed companies to assess and measure global GHG impacts from a range of different sources, including energy, vehicles and refrigeration equipment. Outputs from a GHG accounting system are required to be fit for purpose and may be subject to independent audit.
PwC director of risk assurance Fraser Wilson says the audited data provision will likely see environmental accounting processes develop so that they provide better, faster and more effective outputs.
Our Impacts users include large companies such as RSA, BP and Petkim, Turkey’s biggest petrochemical company. The software is a Carbon Disclosure Project accredited web platform.