Reducing Emissions

NERM Toolbox

This page provides extensive resources and assistance to members for reporting their emissions and wastes and recoverables data to the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada.

NOTE: Reporting to the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada’s National Emissions Reduction Masterplan (NERM) Survey and the Wastes and Recoverables Survey is a requirement of members ONLY.

Introduction
NERM Instructions and Documents
Wastes and Recoverables
Greenhouse Gas Reporting
DSL Categorization
Guidelines
Web resources

Introduction

Each year the Association conducts two environmental surveys of member facilities:

the emissions and off-site transfers of chemical substances (NERM Survey)
the total quantities of waste and recoverable materials (Wastes and Recoverables Survey)

The Association publishes an annual summary of these results in the Reducing Emissions report.

Please note that the Association’s Wastes and Recoverables survey is separate from the emissions survey and has nothing to do with Environment Canada’s OWNERS.

The NERM emissions survey is fully integrated into Environment Canada’s on-line One Window National Environmental Reporting System (OWNERS). This on-line system is designed to facilitate the reporting process to Environment Canada and other agencies, through a single, secure and easy to use portal.
OWNERS (www.owners.gc.ca) fully integrates:

Environment Canada (EC) National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI)
Chemistry Industry Association of Canada National Emissions Reduction Masterplan (NERM) Survey
Alberta Environment for Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act
EC Environmental Performance Agreement for Refractory Ceramic Fibre

The deadline for reporting is June 1, 2010.

NERM Instructions and Documents

NERM Reporting Guide (.pdf file download)
Substances List (MS Excel Spreadsheet)

Wastes and Recoverables

Please consult the Waste and Recoverable Guidance Document (hyperlinked below) for all the necessary information in reporting Wastes and Recoverables data.

To install the Wastes and Recoverable software,

Create a new folder on your hard drive such as WRS
Download the Wastes and Recoverables Software file link and select Save Target As
Click save
A message will appear saying download complete, then select Close
extract the INSTWRS.EXE file.
Go to your new folder WRS and double-click on INSTWRS.EXE to decompress data files
The icon produced is called WRS.EXE. Click-on the WRS.EXE icon to run the software.

Waste and Recoverables Guidance Document (.pdf file download)

Greenhouse Gas Reporting

1) NERM

The Chemistry Industry Association of Canada has been collecting GHG emission data through NERM since 1992. Reporting to NERM is completed through Environment Canada’s OWNERS system. The Association does not have access to GHG emission data reported through Statistic Canada.

The government-mandated GHG reporting thresholds vary between jurisdictions, between 10,000 tonnes CO2 equivalent (CO2e) and 50,000 tonnes CO2 equivalent (CO2e). The Chemistry Industry Association has not set a reporting threshold, and encourages members to report all GHG emissions.

2) Government of Canada

At the national level, all facilities with annual GHG emissions of 50,000 tonnes CO2 equivalent (CO2e) or more must report their GHG emissions to Environment Canada, in accordance with the requirements under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. This reporting is accomplished through the National Mandatory Reporting System for GHGs, operated by Statistics Canada on behalf of Environment Canada. The details of the reporting requirements and the reporting system are available on the GHG Reporting web site.

As per the Canada Gazette notice published on July 11, 2009, the next reporting deadline for the 2009 GHG emissions data is June 1, 2010. This notice includes a few key changes from previous years’ reporting requirements that will allow Environment Canada to obtain a better understanding of GHG emissions across Canada and improve alignment with existing data needs. These changes are:

Lower reporting threshold from 100,000 tonnes CO2e to 50,000 tonnes CO2e
Two separate reporting categories for venting and flaring and waste and wastewater

An important change in the reporting process is the transfer of the GHG data collection from Statistics Canada to Environment Canada, starting March 2010. This change will move forward Environment Canada’s plan to harmonize reporting requirements into one system.

Should you require additional information about the GHG Emissions Reporting Program, or if you have any questions regarding the publication of the GHG emissions data, please do not hesitate to contact the Greenhouse Gas Division, at (819) 994-0684, or by e-mail at ghg@ec.gc.ca.

3) Alberta

The Alberta GHG Reporting Program has harmonized with the national program, and accordingly the reporting threshold is now 50,000 tonnes CO2e of GHGs. The reporting deadline is also June 1, 2010.

Alberta facilities only have to report their GHG emissions once through the National Mandatory Reporting System for GHGs to satisfy both provincial and federal reporting requirements. Alberta facilities that exceed the reporting threshold must report their GHG emissions to Alberta Environment via this national system in accordance with the Climate Change and Emissions Management Act, the Specified Gas Reporting Regulation and the Specified Gas Reporting Standard. More information on the Alberta GHG Reporting Program can be found at the Specified Gas Reporting website of Alberta Environment.

4) BC

BC will start reporting in April 2011 for the year 2010. The reporting threshold is set at 10,000 tonnes CO2e, however organizations who emit greater than 25,000 tonnes CO2e per year will also be required to have 3rd party certification for their data. More information on the BC Reporting Regulation – Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Cap and Trade) Act can be found on the BC Reporting Regulation website.

5) Ontario

Ontario is continuing to establish a Cap and Trade system in Ontario for GHGs and as a first step it passed a GHG Reporting Regulation on December 1, 2009 that requires:

Annual reporting of specified GHG data by all facilities that are emitting 25,000 tonnes CO2e or more per year starting with 2010 emissions;
emission reports to be submitted on June 1 starting with 2010 emissions in 2011; and third party verification to be completed by September 1 starting with 2011 emissions in 2012.

The regulation is accompanied by a technical guideline that outlines mandatory standard quantification methods to be used to quantify emissions. More information can be found at the Ontario Ministry of Environment and the Climate Change section.

6) Quebec

In the absence of intervention by the federal government, Quebec will pursue its commitment under the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) and will implement its Cap-and-Trade system in 2012. Starting in 2010, the Department will also focus on the 2013-2020 Climate Change Action Plan, on which achievement of the Quebec target will depend. The Minister announced last week that a draft of this plan would be available for consultation in 2011. Quebec reporting will be basically done as per WCI reporting protocol. It will be mandatory to report emission over 10,000 tonnes CO2e per year and for emitters over 25,000 tonnes CO2e per year reporting must be done by certified external consultant. See the Quebec Ministry website and the Climate Registry website for more information.

IMPORTANT CHANGE FOR DSL CATEGORIZATION

On December 8, 2006, the federal government unveiled Canada's new Chemicals Management Plan. A key element in the Plan is that the Government intends to collect information on the properties and uses of the 193 chemical substances identified through the DSL Categorization process as high priorities for action. Chemistry Industry Association of Canada will track releases of these priority substances from member facilities through NERM. Members are encouraged to report ALL releases of these substances. See Question 11 in the NERM Reporting Guide for more information.

Guidelines

The Association has prepared a Guideline for Quantifying Emissions from chemical facilities to assist members in quantifying their emissions for reporting to NERM and NPRI. Section 17 of this guideline provides a QA/QC checklist to assist members in improving their data. We encourage members to use these guidelines as references while preparing their annual emissions reports.