Environmental commodities glossary

Allocation is the process of assigning certificates from your inventory to fulfill specific delivery obligations, based on each obligation’s contractual or regulatory criteria.

Attribution is the process of linking certificates in registry transactions, such as transfers or cancellations, to the trade(s) they belong to.

Cancellation refers to the permanent removal of an EAC or other environmental commodity from circulation in a registry. This means it represents a single renewable energy claim, and cannot be subsequently transferred or resold. It is also known as redemption or retirement depending on the region.

A cancellation statement is the official document issued by a registry to confirm that an EAC has been cancelled to back a specific renewable energy claim. It serves as the auditable proof that the cancellation has occurred and records the details of the claim, such as the beneficiary, consumption period, and end-use purpose.

Certificate expiration is the point at which an EAC can no longer be cancelled to back a renewable energy claim. Expiration is set by each registry's rules and is typically defined as a fixed period after the end of the production period.

A certificate inventory is the collection of EACs a company currently holds across all its registry accounts. It reflects what certificates exist and where they are held, regardless of whether they have been committed to any obligation.

Certificate vintage is the production date or production period recorded on an energy attribute certificate. It determines when the underlying renewable energy was generated, and is one of the most important matching criteria when buyers select certificates to back specific consumption claims.

A commodity trading and risk management (CTRM) system is software designed to manage the trading, position-keeping, risk, and settlement of physical commodities including metals, agricultural products, energy, and softs.

A delivery obligation is a contractual or regulatory commitment to provide a specified quantity and type of energy attribute certificates by a specified deadline. Failing to meet a delivery obligation can trigger financial penalties, contract breaches, and reputational damage.

Double-selling is the inadvertent or intentional sale of the same EAC to more than one buyer, resulting in the same MWh of renewable generation being claimed by multiple parties.

An energy attribute certificate (EAC) is a tradable digital record that certifies 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity was produced from a specific renewable energy source. EAC is the umbrella term for many different types of instruments, including Guarantees of Origin (GoOs), Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), and I-RECs.

An energy trading and risk management (ETRM) system is software designed to manage the trading, position-keeping, risk analysis, and back-office operations of energy commodities such as electricity, natural gas, and crude oil.

An environmental commodity is a tradable instrument that represents a verified environmental attribute of an underlying activity, such as renewable energy generation, greenhouse gas emission reduction, or biodiversity protection. Energy attribute certificates (EACs) are the largest category of environmental commodities by traded volume.

A green energy certificate is a generic term for a tradable instrument representing the renewable attributes of electricity generation. It is commonly used as a synonym for energy attribute certificate (EAC), though in some specific markets it refers to a particular regulatory instrument such as the Romanian Green Certificate scheme.

A green trade and risk management (GTRM) system is a SaaS platform purpose-built for managing the trading, operations, and risk of environmental commodities such as energy attribute certificates.

A Guarantee of Origin (GoO) is the energy attribute certificate that is used in most of Europe. Each GoO certifies that 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) of energy was produced from a renewable source within the European Energy Certificate System (EECS), the standard maintained by the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB).

An International Renewable Energy Certificate (I-REC) is the energy attribute certificate used in markets without a domestic GoO or REC scheme. Each I-REC certifies that 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity was produced from a renewable source under the I-REC Standard, an international tracking framework administered by the International Tracking Standard Foundation.

Issuance is the act of creating new energy attribute certificates in a registry, based on verified renewable energy generation. Each MWh of qualifying production results in one EAC being credited to the generator's account.

A J-Credit is a Japanese government-issued credit that certifies a verified greenhouse gas emission reduction or removal. Although often grouped with energy attribute certificates in global discussions, the J-Credit is denominated in tonnes of CO₂ (tCO₂) rather than megawatt-hours, and covers a broader range of project types than renewable electricity alone.

An Obligated Party is a refiner or importer of gasoline or diesel fuel that is required under the US EPA's Renewable Fuel Standard to blend a set volume of renewable fuel into the transportation fuel supply each year, or to acquire an equivalent number of RINs to demonstrate compliance.

Post-trade operations, in relation to EACs, is the discipline of managing EACs after a buy or sell trade has been agreed.

A power purchase agreement (PPA) is a long-term contract between a renewable electricity generator and a buyer, covering the sale of electricity and, in many cases, the associated EACs. PPAs are one of the primary mechanisms through which corporate buyers source renewable energy and the certificates that back their renewable claims.

The production period is the time window during which the renewable electricity certified by an EAC was generated. It is the underlying timestamp that determines the certificate's vintage and its eligibility for backing claims within specific reporting periods.

Reconciliation is the process of comparing a company's internal record of its EAC positions and trades against the data held in external registries, identifying mismatches, and correcting them.

Redemption refers to the permanent removal of an EAC or other environmental commodity from circulation in a registry. This means it represents a single renewable energy claim, and cannot be subsequently transferred or resold. It is also known as cancellation or retirement depending on the region.

A registry is the official platform where energy attribute certificates are issued, held, transferred, and cancelled. Each major EAC market has its own registry (or set of regional registries), and certificates cannot exist or move outside that infrastructure.

A Registry Bridge is a software component that provides API-like access to EAC registries that do not natively offer an API, typically using robotic process automation (RPA) to interact with the registry's web interface. Registry Bridges allow EAC operations platforms to read and write data with every relevant registry, regardless of the registry's technical maturity.

A Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) is the energy attribute certificate used in the US. Each REC certifies that 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity was generated from a renewable source and tracked through a regional registry. Unlike the European GoO system, there is no single national registry; the US REC market is administered by a patchwork of regional tracking systems.

A Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGO) is the energy attribute certificate used in the UK. Each REGO certifies that 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity was produced from a renewable source in Great Britain or Northern Ireland and is issued by Ofgem, the UK energy regulator.

Renewable fuel is fuel produced from qualifying renewable biomass, such as corn, soybean oil, waste fats and oils, or cellulosic feedstocks, that meets the US EPA's lifecycle greenhouse gas reduction thresholds under the Renewable Fuel Standard, allowing it to generate RINs when produced or imported.

A Renewable Identification Number (RIN) is a unique 38-character numeric code assigned to each gallon (or gallon-equivalent) of renewable fuel produced or imported under the US EPA's Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

A Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) is the volume of renewable fuel, expressed as RINs across several fuel categories, that an obligated party must retire each year under the US EPA's Renewable Fuel Standard to remain compliant.

Retirement refers to the permanent removal of an EAC or other environmental commodity from circulation in a registry. This means it represents a single renewable energy claim, and cannot be subsequently transferred or resold. It is also known as cancellation or redemption depending on the region.

A retirement statement is the official document issued by a registry to confirm that an EAC has been retired to back a specific renewable energy claim. It serves as the auditable proof that the retirement has occurred and records the details of the claim, such as the beneficiary, consumption period, and end-use purpose.

RIN management software is a platform used to track, validate, and reconcile Renewable Identification Number transactions across their lifecycle, supporting obligated parties, traders, and brokers with accurate recordkeeping and EPA compliance reporting.

Scope 2 emissions are the indirect greenhouse gas emissions from a company's purchased and consumed electricity, steam, heat, or cooling. Although the emissions occur at the power plant or generation source, they are attributed to the company that uses the energy under the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance.

Settlement is the operational process of meeting an EAC delivery obligation. It involves identifying which certificates from inventory match the obligation's criteria, transferring or cancelling those certificates in the relevant registry, and confirming completion with the counterparty or compliance body.

Tradable Instruments for Global Renewables (TIGR) is an international renewable energy certificate program operated by APX. Each TIGR certificate represents 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity generated from a verified renewable source, and is designed for international corporate renewable procurement in markets without a domestic EAC scheme.

A tradebook is a company's internal record of every trade (or counterparty contract) it has executed in a given market, including EAC trades. It serves as the system of record for what trades have been booked, what obligations exist, and what positions the company holds before reconciliation with the registry.

A transfer of a certificate is the registry action of moving it from one account holder to another. Transfers are the principal mechanism through which EACs move from seller to buyer following a trade, and they are recorded in the registry as a permanent change of ownership.

The usage period is the window during which an EAC can be cancelled to back a renewable energy claim. It is set by each registry's rules and is typically defined as a fixed period after the end of the production period, after which the certificate expires and can no longer be used.