Madison, WI – April 28, 2010 – Following a significant outreach effort to notify stakeholders and interested parties about the opportunity to participate in the development of the Emissions Inventories, Offsets, and Reduction Credits Standard (LEO-5000), the Standards Committee that will develop the standard under the rules of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has been selected.

The standard development committee will be charged with developing a comprehensive framework and common set of sustainability metrics that (1) Provide transparent reporting of the scope of emissions sources being addressed and how emissions, sequestration, and offsets are calculated, (2) Help companies and consumers to make sense of claims made by businesses about their emission reduction and offset achievements, (3) Avoid the traditional one-dimensional approach of targeting single emissions by addressing the full range of emissions types, including those that negatively affect climate and those that negatively affect human health, and (4) Fill in the gap left by current climate emissions standards by addressing existing forests.

Leonardo Academy, the ANSI-accredited organization facilitating the LEO-5000 development process and author of the draft standard, received committee membership applications ranging from individuals and organizations that create, inventory, reduce or sequester, or offset emissions to individuals and organizations that work to preserve and improve the environment to government representatives, labor groups and academics. The list of applicants selected to serve on the Standards Committee is available at: http://sites.google.com/site/emissionsstandard/

“Many different methodologies are being utilized to track emission inventories, offsets, and reduction credits,” said Michael Arny, President of Leonardo Academy. “However, current methodologies cover a far too narrow range of emission types and sources of emission reductions. This standard will provide a multi-pollutant approach and assist companies and organizations that implement energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other emission reduction actions, such as forest carbon sequestration initiatives, to calculate and earn reduction credits for all types of pollutants reduced.”

The next step in the standard development process for LEO-5000 will be the first Standards Committee meeting, held via teleconference on Wednesday, May 19th. One of the first orders of business for the Committee will be to review the Draft Standard for Trial Use for Emissions Inventories, Offsets, and Reduction Credits authored by Leonardo Academy and to begin identifying key issues for consideration during the standards writing process.

It is anticipated that the final draft standard will be available for public comment by Spring 2011.

Opportunities for Participation
Interested parties can: (1) Apply for membership on the standard development committee, (2) Apply to be an observer of the standard development process, (3) Sign up to pilot test the draft standard, (4) Sign up to use the standard once it is approved as an American National Standard and (5) Make a charitable donation to support the development of the standard.

About Leonardo Academy
Leonardo Academy is a charitable nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing sustainability by leveraging innovative tools and information to motivate the competitive market. We develop integrative sustainability solutions designed to enhance the environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic prosperity of organizations, corporations and individuals. Our services include sustainability assessments and strategies; LEED implementation and certification for buildings; emissions inventories,  reduction, and offset strategies; and sustainability training. By utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to sustainability education and implementation, we strive to make sustainability practical for everyone.

About Leonardo Academy Standards Development
Leonardo Academy is developing five Leonardo Academy/ANSI sustainability standards, which address emissions, sustainable gaming, sustainable organizations, sustainable vehicles and sustainable events. Leonardo Academy is also providing ANSI process support for two standards being developed by Scientific Certification Systems: the Sustainable Agriculture Standard (SCS-001) and the Type III Life-Cycle Impact and Profile Declarations for Products, Services, and Systems Standard (SCS-002). Learn more about these standards, or sign up to follow each of these standard development processes, on the Leonardo Academy web site at:  http://www.leonardoacademy.org/programs/standards.html.