CarbonCount®
“Investors need to measure the efficiency with which capital is reducing climate change, which is why we use a straightforward ratio to measure the GHG reduction per dollar of investment. The concept is simple: if carbon counts and capital is scarce, we ought to prioritize the most impactful investments for mitigating climate change.”
Jeffrey W. Eckel
Executive Chair
Carbon Confidence in Climate Finance
CarbonCount is a decision tool that evaluates investments in U.S.-based renewable energy, energy efficiency, and climate resilience projects to determine how efficiently they reduce CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions per $1,000 of investment. CarbonCount produces a quantitative impact assessment for investments’ carbon avoidance by integrating forward-looking project assumptions, emissions factors, and capital investment.
Methodology
Starting in 2023, HASI updated the CarbonCount methodology to utilize location-specific hourly grid emissions factors, known as locational marginal emissions factors.
CarbonCount Helps
| 1. | Investors assess and compare opportunities for quantifiable carbon impact |
| 2. | Developers site projects to maximize carbon impact |
| 3. | Corporate buyers ensure that the projects with which they contract more accurately mitigate the carbon impact of their consumption |
| 4. | Policymakers spur the regulations and infrastructure required to achieve net zero targets |
| 5. | Other stakeholders detect and prevent greenwashing and hold all of us accountable for our quantified carbon impact |
The Value of CarbonCount Reporting
Key Differentiators
Comparability: An intentionally simplified solution to a complex problem produces a concise and comparable metric of avoided carbon emissions
Transparency: Illustrating the true cost and potential impact of clean energy and infrastructure investments gives investors and stakeholders confidence in project performance
Accountability: A simple metric removes the ambiguity of what is implied by the words “green” and “sustainable” for more objective, credible reporting
Impact: CarbonCount encourages capital flow to the most impactful climate-mitigating building and energy infrastructure projects