Carbon accounting lab for Adelaide

An Indo-Pacific Carbon Accounting Lab is to be established in Adelaide to help build the next generation data infrastructure and carbon accounting systems, creating trusted and accurate data across entire supply chains.

The lab was announced by the state Department for Trade and Investment off the back of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27 in Egypt.

According to a statement: “Already a global leader in renewable energy, South Australia is now poised to transform the net zero efforts of business and countries into an economic benefit by enabling the accurate accounting of emissions, supporting businesses across the region to better account for their progress to net zero.

“The Lab will enable companies that have made commitments to net-zero to be better able to track changes over time, resulting in more accurate and reliable sustainability reporting, helping to reduce the cost-of-capital for businesses that can demonstrate their credentials.”

The Department said it aims to link government agencies with commercial and research partners so that the Indo-Pacific Carbon Accounting Lab can develop ESG solutions for global export, while contributing to the state’s net-zero ambitions.

“As global companies look to meet their climate change targets, there is increasing spotlight on carbon impacts through supply chains.

“For global companies purchasing component inputs for their products and services across international boundaries, this can make the task of gathering accurate and meaningful carbon data (scope 3 emissions) that underpins business decisions, very complex.”

In the first phase, the SA Government is partnering with Salesforce, Deloitte and the National Australia Bank (NAB) to explore the opportunity to work collaboratively on pilot projects in industries in which South Australia has a competitive advantage, including food and wine, minerals and energy, tourism and defence.

These projects will aim to develop and deploy the systems that will underpin the next generation of carbon accounting products and services.

The Indo-Pacific Carbon Accounting Lab is also inviting companies and research organisations within these supply chains to come together to collaborate and develop innovative approaches to solve supply chain data challenges.

Picture: invest.sa.gov.au/Adelaide