Methodology
RIV-BIOBM-01-CONST
V2.2
Overall Available Credits
67592
tCO₂eq
Overall forecasted delivery
372947
tCO₂eq
Most used mechanism
Removal
Last Update
August 7, 2024
using this methodology
10
Projects
Buildings are responsible for 21% of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), which can be divided into operational emissions (energy consumption during use) and embodied emissions (from the production, maintenance, and disposal of building materials). Embodied emissions in buildings account for 5-12% of national GHGs in Europe, primarily due to the energy-intensive production of cement and steel, the most widely used materials globally. Biobased construction materials, derived from biogenic sources, typically have lower embodied emissions as they are composed of renewable carbon with low or negative impacts and often involve less energy-intensive manufacturing. These materials can earn Riverse Carbon Credits for carbon storage if they last over 100 years and for avoidance if they have lower embodied impacts than conventional materials. The Riverse methodology for biobased construction materials focuses on the manufacture of biobased materials and their use in construction or renovation. This document is a concise presentation of this methodology.
The production of biobased construction materials involves several key processes:
The life cycle stages of a building material are presented, according to the norm EN 15804’s terminology using modules A-D.
The methodology quantifies carbon removals and GHG emissions avoided compared to baseline scenarios using the ISO 14064-2 standard. In this methodology, all projects must submit one or multiple Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) that follow EN 15804 (e.g., FDES in France), providing a detailed life cycle assessment.
Key aspects include:
This criteria is only required for projects that issue removal RCCs, where the biobased materials are expected to store carbon for 100 years or longer.
By default, the carbon storage duration is considered equal to the reference service lifetime declared in the material’s EPD.
Project Developers may provide justification that their product will store carbon for longer than the lifetime declared on their EPD. For example, hempcrete is expected to store carbon indefinitely, regardless of the EPD’s lifetime, because hempcrete is inert and won’t be incinerated or decompose at the end of the building’s life.
Project Developers must complete the Riverse biobased construction risk evaluation to assess the risk of carbon storage reversal, based on social, economic, natural, and delivery risks.
Each reversal risk with a high or very high score requires:
Riverse ensures that carbon financing spurs additional climate action by enabling solutions that wouldn't occur without carbon finance revenue. Carbon credits cannot be issued for activities that would have happened anyway.
Several regulations relate to or promote biobased construction, but none mandate it. The European Union’s (EU) Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the Circular Economy Action Plan promote the use of biobased materials. The EU regulation on the marketing of construction products (EU/305/2011) (CPR) lays out definitions for various construction products but does not mandate the use of biobased materials by construction companies.There are currently no regulations at the EU level requiring the manufacture or use of biobased materials. Thus, biobased construction material projects remain voluntary and are not obligatory for compliance.
Biobased materials projects typically prove their additionality using barrier analysis. This analysis demonstrates that they face financial, technological, or institutional barriers that threaten their operations and can only be overcome with solutions funded by carbon finance. For example:
In addition to barrier analysis, biobased materials projects may use investment analysis to justify their need for carbon financing to expand and scale up activities that would not otherwise be financially viable. For example:
Note that for investments in expansion, only the additional activities enabled by the expansion are eligible for Riverse Carbon Credits.
Each project must demonstrate it does not cause significant social or environmental harm in the following areas:
A risk matrix is used to assess these factors for all projects and is validated during VVB (Validation and Verification Body) audits.
The project’s avoided GHG emissions should not be indirectly transferred elsewhere. Project developers shall transparently evaluate the potential risks of leakage from activity shifting and from upstream/downstream emissions in the DPD. Note that due to the LCA approach for quantifying GHG reductions, most relevant upstream and downstream emissions are likely already included in the quantification. Any significant sources of leakage that cannot be mitigated shall be conservatively included in the GHG reduction calculations or the discount factor.
Examples of activity shifting leakage in biobased construction projects may include, but are not limited to:
To monitor projects and verify avoided and removed emissions, Project Developers must submit the following on a regular basis (at least annually):
For materials manufacturers:
For building developers:
We adhere to the ISO14064-2 standard to accurately quantify GHG emissions reductions and sequestration. Our approach ensures that all calculations are transparent, consistent, and reliable.
Every project undergoes rigorous validation and recurring verification/monitoring audits by accredited Validation and Verification Bodies (VVBs). This process guarantees the credibility and accuracy of our projects' emissions reductions.
Overall Available Credits
67592
tCO₂eq
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All projects must comply with the following eligibility criteria:
Specific scope for biobased construction materials project
Version management is handled through a system that ensures consistency and traceability of changes.
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