Commonly Asked Questions
What is the database's purpose?
Carbon Project Manager North America offers an interactive database of hard-to-find information about carbon offset projects in North America. This package includes in-depth information for each project including: detailed description, stage of development, partners/contacts, emission reduction projections, methodologies, standards, registries, and verifiers.
This information is tracked on an ongoing basis, and the database will continue to evolve along with the market. Carbon Project Manager North America provides a key tool in understanding the ever-changing North American Carbon Project landscape.
Users can:
I. Query the data using a search engine by:
2) Project stage
3) State or Country
4) Offset project type
III. Locate a verifier or evaluate a project using a verification report.
IV. Calculate statistical estimates of supply by project type or state.
V. Calculate statistical estimates of carbon price.
VI. Utilize contact information to expand client base, develop partnerships, evaluate competition, make strategic hires, find conference speakers, etc.
Who are its primary users?
I. Carbon Funds (E.g. Private Equity, Hedge Funds)
II. Project Developers & Aggregators
III. Government Purchasing Programs
IV. Academia
V. Non Government Organizations (NGOS)
VI. Private Asset Management
How do users access the system?
Data is accessible via the internet with an approved user name and password.
Data Collection
How and where are data collected?
The data is collected through a variety of public, semi-private (membership based), and confidential sources that includes, but is not limited to, market reports, public offset registries, national and regional CO2 reduction partnerships, extensive phone interviews, non-disclosure agreements (data is then filtered in some fashion to protect aspects of the data and/or it remains confidential external to Point Carbon), client information exchanges, academic publications, etc.
Who is responsible for data entry and management?
Carbon Offset specialists in North America and Kiev manage the database, with a core of 2 dedicated analysts as well as leadership from the Program Manager and technical support from the Point Carbon office in Kiev.
I. Directed by Program Manager (Washington DC)
II. 1 Senior Analyst (Washington DC)
III. 1 Junior Analysts (Washington DC)
IV. Interns (Washington DC)
V. IT Data Manager (Kiev)
VI. IT support (2 technicians) (Kiev)
How frequently does the team update the data?
Data is updated on an “ongoing” basis, focusing on the following trigger events:
I. when projects shift from project development to commercialization
II. commercialization to production emission reductions
III. emission reductions produced to emission reductions verified
IV. emissions reductions verified to certified
V. project termination
VI. credit retirement
Who has access to enter or update information in the database?
Data entry access via internet is available only by permission of the program manager and changes to data are tracked in the database (name and date).
Data Quality
What procedures ensure that the data system consistently captures all data occurrences (records, observations) and all data elements? Does the system have any edit checks or controls to help ensure the data are entered accurately? How are duplicates prevented?
An application level of the database helps to consistently capture all data. It checks incoming data from user for syntax (e.g. valid emails, no duplicate projects, lower vs. higher margins, non-null entries, positive numbers for volumes etc.). A second layer at the database level checks for foreign keys, not-null constraints, checks, and unique columns. A third layer is a test suite that runs on regular basis and detects workflow errors. This helps to generate reports that analysts will check manually (like registered reductions on the project that is on the demonstration stage, verifier report for project on the ER’s produced stage, etc.)
Is there written documentation of these procedures?
Written documentation of the procedures is available via scripts and schema but this process is highly confidential and only available via written request and granted only for very specific instances.
Are any tests (e.g., spot checks, systematic reviews, exception reports) conducted to assure that the data were entered accurately? What are the tests? How frequently are they done? By whom? What are the procedures for follow-up if any errors are found, and who is responsible for correcting the errors?
The true test of the data is that Point Carbon does not make assumptions – all data stems from public, confidential, or semi-confidential sources and sources are cited. Source information is located in the project summary, URL, or available in downloadable PDF. Contact information is also provided, so the client can verify the accuracy of the information. Analysts at Point Carbon review the data once when entered, once again and/or twice during a Quality Assurance (Q&A) process to make sure it is current, updated and or accurate. Due the rapidly changing marketplace, Point Carbon cannot guarantee the data is up-to-date but attempts to capture changing shifts between major stages of the project. However, these shifts are only captured when marketplayers disclose those details, which does not always happen. We encourage clients to inform us when data changes, is not current or is inaccurate and welcome all comments and suggestions via CPMNAContact@pointcarbon.com. Analysts will address the issues as they arise. Please note that IT programmers work in Kiev, may not be able to accommodate the problem until the following business day – due to the six hour to nine hour time difference between North America and the Ukraine.
Has the system had problems that would affect the quality of the data, such as system crashes during which data was lost? How do we use back-up servers or back up the database?
The system behind "Carbon Project Manager North America" does not have problems that could affect the quality of the data per se, but Point Carbon has had availability problems related to several downtimes not related to the application, but to the server. The situation has improved, as the application no longer runs on a production quality server. Databases are backed up to prevent data losses at multiple levels.
How are duplicates prevented?
Project names are checked for uniqueness.
Are there any limitations of the data, such as data elements that are often incomplete or incorrect?
The data is currently incomplete. The data is provided on a voluntary basis. There are no federal mandatory reporting requirements, and the data is often confidential.
When clients purchase a subscription, they acknowledge that Point Carbon owns all rights titles and interests in Carbon Project Manager North America "CPM NA", including, without limitation, the contents and/or results contained in or derived from the CPM NA and all intellectual property and proprietary rights related to CPM NA or contained therein.
Furthermore the client acknowledges that it acquires no rights in CPM NA except for the right to use CPM NA as expressly agreed upon (to be determined), and agrees never to contest any of the rights of Point Carbon in and to CPM NA.
The client will not, without the prior written consent of Point Carbon, reproduce, summarize, incorporate into a report or other document, publish or otherwise distribute, in any form or by any means, whether internally or externally, any data, information, analysis, calculations, models, forecasts and systems contained in or derived from CPM NA to persons who have not paid for CPM NA.
The client will not, without the prior written consent of Point Carbon, redistribute CPM NA or any part thereof.
Lastly, the client would be prohibited from using or allowing the use of, CPM NA or any part thereof or in any way communicating the contents and/or results contained in or derived from CPM NA as part of a competing service or product.
When appropriate Point Carbon estimates blanks based on simple calculations and/or imputation. Often Point Carbon will use numbers based on projects of similar size. For example,
2) When tracking project volume Point Carbon will assess herd units, capacity, acreage and other various values that provide a general ball park for an estimate. In an effort to not overestimate the size of the market, it should be noted that Point Carbon relies on minimal not maximum estimates.
Why use Carbon Project Manager to track trends in the marketplace over previously published reports?
Several attempts have been made to model offset supply using theoretical methods using government inventories of voluntary emission reductions using agricultural and industrial data.1 This perspective is undoubtedly useful but not necessarily realistic. Several barriers prevent projects from developing or delivering offset credits for a variety of reasons – issues with up-front investment or on-going financing, price signals, registration approval, transaction costs, bureaucracy of detailed monitoring and verification, technology failure, socio-politics, internal and external competition in the market, etc. Accommodating for this reality, offset supply is presented here based on real projects in various stages of the pipeline and tracked on an ongoing basis. The rapidly evolving marketplace comprises the ability to account for every project. A conservative estimate calculated this way and tracked in real time, however, is an effective measure for tracking key trends in market activity, project performance, VERs delivered and price discovery.