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Assessment and support guide: climate solution providers

Assessing 1.5 °C compatibility, avoided emissions, positive impacts, carbon handprint, mitigation contributions, scope 4

Please note that we do not recommend using Scope 4

OverviewPurpose and scope of the initiatives and toolsDetailed overview of Initiatives and toolsOverview of Opportunities and ChallengesSearch and co-create appropriate initiatives and toolsAbout
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Global Reporting Initiative

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Unique selling point
GRI's unique selling point is that they are a well established partner to obtain quality reporting on your activity, covering range of fields such as financial, environmental and social reporting. During the assessment conducted little to no focus on enabling transformative or disruptive solutions was found.
Objective
Provides services related to reporting activities, with a wide focus ranging from economic, environmental and humanitarian subjects through use of their standards (so called GRI standards)
Launch year
1997
N/A
Opportunities score
4
Challenges score
-25
N/A count
5
1.5 °C Compatibility Assessment of tools/initiatives
Opportunities
1
Help establish a dynamic solution perspective
No identified
opportunity, N/A
Potential
opportunity (Value 1)
Some
opportunity (Value 2)
Significant
opportunity (Value 4)
2
Quick and Easy Assessment
3
Identifying acceleration potential for solutions
4
1.5 °C Compatible
5
Need focus for 11 Billion with equity encouragement (Global south agenda)
6
Solutions have Synergies with other sustainability goals
No identified
opportunity, N/A
Potential
opportunity (Value 1)
Some
opportunity (Value 2)
Significant
opportunity (Value 4)
7
+1000 and/or >10 Gigatonnes of potential solutions
8
Aligned with Mission Innovations Net-Zero Innovation Compatibility Initative
9
Focus on clustering of solutions (across existing sectors)
Challenges
1
Lock-in Potential from the solutions
No identified
challenge, N/A
Significant
challenge (Value -4)
Some
challenge (Value -2)
Potential
challenge (Value -1)
2
Supply and End-of-Pipe Focus
3
Excluding Transformative (System) Solutions
4
Only including technology innovations
5
Resource Intensive Solutions
6
Only Focus on Problems rather than Human Needs
7
Excluding other sustainability aspects (biodiversity and poverty)
No identified
challenge, N/A
Significant
challenge (Value -4)
Some
challenge (Value -2)
Potential
challenge (Value -1)
8
No filter to support sustainable solutions for an equitable world with 11 billion
9
Limiting focus to existing/traditional sectors
10
Lack of implementation in global south/no focus on 11 Billion with equity encouragement
11
No focus on clustering of solutions
1.5 °C Compability Assessment comments

Opportiunities
‍1. Help establish a dynamic solution perspective : No focus on providing or supporting solutions
‍2. Quick and Easy Assessment: No focus on conducting assessments
‍3. Identifying acceleration potential for solutions: No identified goal/activity related to supporting or accelerating solutions
‍7. + 1000 and/or > 10 Gigatonnes of potential solutions: No focus on calculating or measuring impact of solutions
‍8. Aligned with Mission Innovations Net-Zero Innovation Compatibility Initative: Accurate reporting of certain business aspects as well as transparency are both important increasing understanding of solutions, but the impact is limited if this is the only activity
‍9. Focus on clustering of solutions (across existing sectors): No clustering activity identified

Challenges
‍1. Lock-in Potential from the solutions: No focus on providing or supporting solutions
‍2. Supply and End-of-Pipe Focus: No clear filtering of users to avoid supply and end-of-pipe focus
‍3. Excluding Transformative (System) Solutions: The reporting activity is likely as relevant for transformative solutions as for incremental solutions. 
‍4. Only including technology innovations: As the reporting that GRI offers is understood to be flexible in what it entails, it likely has relevance for various types of companies and actors
‍5. Resource Intensive Solutions: No filter for avoiding resource intentive solutions has been identified

Description
1. What the assessment is meant to be used for
1. Identifying solutions
2. Support solutions
3. Strategic decisions
4. Increased positive impact
5. Investor information
6. Market/user information
7. PR/Branding/Offsetting
8. Reporting
9. Other
2. Scope of assessment
1. Avoided Emissions
2. 1.5C Compatibility
3. SDG compatibility
4. Sustainability for 11 Billion Citizens
5. Other compatibility (existential risks, etc)
6. Preselected categories of solutions
7. Conducting solution assessments is not a focus
8. Other
3. Stakeholder focus
1. Large companies
2. SMEs/Start-ups
3. Investors
4. Policy makers
5. Other
4. Assessment activities
1. Developing Principles (Offering high-level standards to begin to align stakholders)
2. Assessment & Internal reporting (Organizing common metrics & methodological guidelines)
3. Defining Targets (Defining strategies around specific impact goals, such as net-zero and 1.5C LED compatability)
4. Collecting and disclosing data (Advocating for and/or facilitating data transparency)
5. Standardizing evalualtion (Independent 3rd party evaluation based on publicly available data)
5. Time horizon
1. now
2. 2030
3. 2050
4. Other
6. Methodology
1. Individual LCA/assessment
2. Case studies
3. Macro assessment (solution belonging to specific area)
4. Conducting solution assessments is not a focus
5. Other
7. Approach
1. Reduce problems from existing sectors
2. Delivering new solutions to needs
3 .Could not determine
4. Conducting solution assessments is not a focus
5. N/A
1. Reduce problems from existing sectors
2. Delivering new solutions to needs
3 .Could not determine
4. Conducting solution assessments is not a focus
5. N/A
8. State of development
1. Early Beta
2. Working beta/Draft
3. Working (but limited users)
4. Fully working/Published
9. Process
1. Static (just an assessment)
2. Delta (made to help innovations/companies improve)
3. Dynamic (Explore new revenue streams and clusters)
4. Conducting solution assessments is not a focus
5. Other
1. Static (just an assessment)
2. Delta (made to help innovations/companies improve)
3. Dynamic (Explore new revenue streams and clusters)
4. Conducting solution assessments is not a focus
5. Other
10. Assessment unit
1. Individual technologies
2. Individual solutions (economic, leagal, etc)
3. Individual companies/start-ups
4. Clusters of companies/enablers
5. Companies
6. Cities
7. Countries
8. Conducting solution assessments is not a focus
9. Other
11. Solution categories
1. All possible solutions
2. Predetermined areas
3. Minimum level of avoided emission
4. Conducting solution assessments is not a focus
5. Other
12. Solution areas
1. Technical
2. Business models
3. Financial
4. Legal
5. PR/Communication
6. Policy/Governance
7. Conducting solution assessments is not a focus
8. Other/not specific
13. Process for verifying data
1. Third party
2. Open data
3. No process/nontransparent
4. Other
5. Conducting solution assessments is not a focus
6. Not clear/no info provided
14. Data provided by
1. Start-up/company
2. Own data base
3. Other
4. Conducting solution assessments is not a focus
5. Not clear/no info provided
1. Start-up/company
2. Own data base
3. Other
4. Conducting solution assessments is not a focus
5. Not clear/no info provided
15. 1.5 °C pathway focus
1. P1
1. P2
1. P3
1. P4
5. N/A, unknown
Scale of operations
1. Number of impact assessments
2. Total avoided emissions
3. Total number 1.5C compatible assessments
4. Number of users
5a. Other indicator of scale: Total revenue of supported organizations/companies
5 b. Other indicator of scale: Number of countries/ cities/ other worked with
5c. Other indicator of scale: Total amount of assets represented
5d. Other indicator of scale: Other
16a. Number of impact assessments
16b. Total avoided emissions
16c. Total number 1.5 °C compatible assessments
17. Organizations behind
Description comments

What the assessment is meant to be used for
‍4. Increased positive impact: While it does not seem like it's part of their core business, GRI have examples of supporting information spreading related to increased impact (e.g. improved data transparency for sustainability-related projects, supporting initiatives such as podcasts that discusses the SDGs and collaboration),
8. Reporting: The organization is mainly focused on various types of economic, environmental and other reporting services

‍Scope of assessment
‍8. Other: Offers a wide range of standards not only related sustainability, such as corruption, tax, HR to name a few.

‍Time horizon
1. now: Supports in assessing and reporting other company activities in relation to existing standards

Methodology
3. Macro assessment (solution belonging to specific area): Support, training and other related services for individual customers with reporting needs

Approach
‍1. Reduce problems from existing sectors: Nothing has been found to indicate that the organization specifically pushes for new solutions, most likely to depend on the goal of individual users

State of development
‍4. fully working/Published: Established global organization that provides services to companies/organizations in 100+ countries

Process
‍1. Static (just an assessment)XReporting services to provide transparency

Assessment unit
‍3. Individual companies/start-upsXUsers represents mutliple types of organizations such as businesses, labor organizations and policy makers,
5. CompaniesXUsers represents mutliple types of organizations such as businesses, labor organizations and policy makers
6. Cities: Users represents mutliple types of organizations such as businesses, labor organizations and policy makers
9. Other: Users represents mutliple types of organizations such as businesses, labor organizations and policy makers

Solution categories
‍4. Conducting solution assessments is not a focus: Does not work with solution providers specifically

Solution areas
‍8. Other/not specific: No info on focus areas has been identified

Process for verifying data
2.Open data: Provides and develops processes, language and other structures to enable report, and does not themselves conduct assessments

Data provided by
‍2. Own data base: As a provider of reporting standards, the data is most likely provided my individual users

1.5 C Pathway Focus
‍4. P4: As GRI provides tailored reporting services, it is most likely ambivalent to focus on specific pathways, and relies on the focus of its users.

Scale of operations
5d. Other indicator of scale: Other: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australia, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Switzerland, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Sweden, UK International Climate Finance - UK PACT Green Recovery Challenge Fund, United Kingdom

Initial categorisation done by Mission Innovation NCI
Scanned document

This document scan has been made with the Climate Innovation Assessment tool

Reporting
Other
Individual companies/start-ups
Companies
Cities
Other
Reporting

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