Subject: Letter of opinion concerning the inventory report on greenhouse gas for Les Aliments Glutino Inc.

Transcription

1 Saint-Lambert, October 10th,2007 Les Aliments Glutino Inc. Att : Mr. David Miller 2055 West Dagenais Blvd Laval, Québec H7L 5V1 Subject: Letter of opinion concerning the inventory report on greenhouse gas for Les Aliments Glutino Inc. Period: For the year ended December 31 st 2006 Mr. Miller, As requested, we have verified the inventory report on greenhouse gas for Les Aliments Glutino Inc.for the year The mandate was performed in partnership with Mr. Paul Aucoin from Plasdev International and our verification was done in conformity with the International Standard Organisation (ISO) publication We have verified in depth the inventory report annexed and have corroborated the information included by asking the necessary questions and we have obtained all the answers to our questions, and this, to our entire satisfaction. Also we visited the company and observed the important elements of greenhouse gas. This report indicates that the greenhouse gas produce for 2006 are 1555 tco2eq. To our knowledge this report represent faithfully the greenhouse gas produced by Les Aliments Glutino Inc. for the year ended December 31 st Please take note, for this letter to be valid it must be included with the inventory report on greenhouse gas delivered by Mr. Paul Aucoin from Plasdev International. Fondation Carbon Quantum Foundation 6 Blv. Desaulniers, Bureau 600 St-Lambert, Quebec, J4P-1L3, Canada Phone: Fax:

2 For more information, please consult the attached report from Mr. Paul Aucoin from Plasdev International and the attached inventory report from Lagacé & Legault International. Roger Fournier CA President Fondation Carbon Quantum Fondation Carbon Quantum Foundation 6 Blv. Desaulniers, Bureau 600 St-Lambert, Quebec, J4P-1L3, Canada Phone: Fax:

3 for Glutino Inc. Plasdev International Inc. Specialized consultant for GHG Project Verifications Presented to: Mr. Roger Fournier Carbon Quantum Group, S.E.N.C. 6 Desaulniers Blvd., Suite 600 Saint-Lambert, Québec J4P 1L3 The company is hereby represented by M. Claudio Spina, CA Glutino Inc 2055 Dagenais Blvd. Laval, Québec H7L 5V1 Prepared by: Paul Aucoin, B.Sc. specialized physics Auditor, Plasdev International Inc paucoin@plasdev.com 368 Murray, Greenfield Park, Québec J4V 1N7 Page 1 of 13

4 Table of content Executive Summary page 3 1. Objectives, criteria and level of confidence of the Verification page 4 2. Verification Team page 4 3. Information on the company s organisation related to the verification page 4 4. Overall perspective, general application and verification procedures page 5 5. Evaluation of concept used for determining the GHG emissions inventory page 7 6. Verification notification of GHG emissions page 10 Annexe 1 Verification Plan Annexe 2 Glutino s GHG quantification report Annexe 3 Certificat of GHG verification of Paul Aucoin Page 2 of 13

5 Executive summary: This audit report was prepared for Glutino whose food preparation activities are located at 3750 Francis Hughes, Laval Qc H7L 5A9 and their warehouse and offices are located at 2055 Dagenais Blvd. W, Laval, Qc. H7L5V1. This audit report has been compiled and edited to meet the guidelines of ISO standards for the validation and verification of greenhouse gas assertions. It has been designed to suit the needs of CSA-Climate Change, when rendering a decision on a claim to either make an initial deposit of primary GHG offsets or include new GHG offset in a commercial market. This GHG Executive Verification reports facts and evidence collected during the audit of the GHG project offset at Glutino on the 11 th day of April The objective of this report is to confirm the total amount of emissions calculated after a quantification of GHG emissions by Glutino and executed by Lagacé Legault International Inc. The scope includes interviews with the company s executive management, a visit and observation of the entire plant, review of records of reception and expedition of goods, review energy consumption documents, verification of procedures to monitor production volume. All data included in the GHG report is historical in nature. These criteria having been met and verified, it is my opinion that the quality and fairness of the GHG declaration made by Glutino presented sufficient evidence and answers allowing us to be very confident that 1555 metric tons of CO2eq has been generated from operations in Page 3 of 13

6 1. Objectives, criteria and level of confidence of the Verification The verification process realised April 11 th at Glutino had as its main objective to permit Plasdev to issue an opinion in regards to the report prepared by Lagacé & Legault International Inc for Glutino in reference to greenhouse gas emissions inventory with a reasonable level of confidence. The verification was made for the year ending December 31, The company s goal is to be able to declare itself Carbon neutral and the verification efforts that were made are based on reaching this goal. This verification was accomplished by following ISO / requirements entitled: Specifications and Guidelines for the validation and verification of greenhouse gas declarations. This notice of verification is formally presented in section 6.0. However, it is important that the entire document, including the quantification report prepared by Lagacé & Legault, be reviewed and considered for any decision taken and related to the GHG inventory. 2. Verification team The verification was made by Paul Aucoin, B.Sc. specialized physics and principal auditor. Roger Fournier CA, president of Carbon Quantum, assisted during the meetings with Glutino s personnel and the visit of the facilities. 3. Information on the company s organisation related to the verification 3.1 Facility The verification done at Glutino is mainly concerned with the production facility located at 3750 Francis Hughes in Laval where the company s products are prepared and cooked. The facility located at 2055 Dagenais Blvd in Laval is not taken into account since no production takes places at this facility and is used only for storage. Transport of product from one facility to the other was quantified and verified. 3.2 Company s activities Les Aliments Glutino is a Canadian company specialized in manufacturing gluten-free food. The company has on average 70 employees and the company manufactures, repackages and distributes over fifty different products. Page 4 of 13

7 3.3 Company s goals Further to its greenhouse gas inventory for 2006, the company wishes to subscribe to the current developed countries environmental trend and acknowledge its atmospheric emissions. To intensify its energy efficiency efforts concomitantly with a carbon credit purchase policy to obtain the carbon neutral status, the company wishes to form a part with the companies that contribute to the control of global warming and is taking concrete measures to evaluate its emissions and also take measures to reduce emissions and request its employees to cooperate in achieving these goals. 3.4 This audit s objective is to validate the quantification and analysis of the GHG report prepared by Lagacé & Legault as well as the inventory of GHG emissions caused by the operations at the production plant. The GHG inventory at Les Aliments Glutino indicate that the company s total emissions for 2006 were 1555 mt CO2 eq. according to the consolidation method based on the control and procedures presented in the ISO standards entitled: Specifications and guidelines for companies, for the quantification and declaration of emissions and eliminations of greenhouse gases. 3.5 Determination of the relative importance of inventory. A fixed value was not determined for the relative importance of this inventory. The uncertainty related to the quantification of the activities and to the coefficient of emissions was considered as a whole. The notification of certainty is described in more detail in section Overall perspective, general application and verification procedures. Carbon Quantum has mandated Plasdev to verify Les Aliments Glutino s GHG emissions based on a report submitted to Plasdev by Carbon Quantum, report which was prepared by Lagacé & Legault International Inc February 27, The facilities were visited April 11 th 2006 and it was understood that the auditor would submit a notice of verification by April 25, This notice of verification was delayed due to data related to product deliveries which was not received. The available documentation was reviewed prior to the visit and an audit plan for the verification of GHG inventory at Les Aliments Glutino was prepared and discussed between Roger Fournier and Paul Aucoin prior to presenting the plan to Les Aliments Glutino and visiting the facilities April 11, Though no immediate action or corrective measures were needed at that time, the auditor reserved the right to request more details if needed after the visit. Page 5 of 13

8 The audit plan is therefore attached in Annexe On site verification procedures: - Initial meeting and interview with Claudio Spina, CA, responsible for the emissions evaluation project, and overview of the company s activities and review of the days scheduled activities. - Visit of the offices and warehouse facilities at 2055 Dagenais Blvd. Laval - Visit of the production facilities at 3750 Francis Hughes, Laval accompanied by Bernard Nadeau, plant manager. - Return to the main offices and review of documentation related to purchases of hydro electricity, natural gas and transport. Meeting and interview with Brian P. Perry, Director Supply Chain. Additional information and documents requested related to product distribution in North America and importation of different ingredients from overseas. OVEN Controls OVEN 4.2 Preparation of the verification report The verification report was prepared following the visit and the review of all documentation. Some delays were incurred due to not having yet received information related to overseas transport and distribution of product to determine GHG emissions related to transport. Once this information was received it was possible to finalize the verification. Once the results were received we were able to verify and confirm the calculations that were done by Lagacé & Legault Page 6 of 13

9 5. Evaluation of concept used for determining the GHG emissions inventory 5.1 Reference for the inventory The inventory quantification report was prepared based on ISO standards and the elements required by these standards can be found in the report. Though certain items were only discussed very briefly, this is understandable by the fact that the sources of emissions are simple to identify due to the simplicity of the company s operation and process. Since the audit s objective was not to verify conformity with ISO standards this verification was only briefly reviewed. The notion of uncertainty and the mathematical methods of quantification of inventory described in section (5.3), as well as the quality determination of GHG inventory was also treated as needed. 5.2 Types of emissions, exclusions and quantification methods The quantification method adopted by Lagacé & Legault is based on the requirements of ISO Standards: Specifications and guidelines pertaining to quantification and greenhouse gas emissions and phasing out. This is an acceptable procedure. We have based our understanding of the method used on this reference. Even though there is reference to the purchase of credits on the OTC market to achieve a carbon neutral status, this does not hinder the quantification method and results obtained. The company s activities were evaluated by the quantifier from all invoices related to natural gas and hydro power consumed at the facilities and from transport of finished goods to the customer, which covers all of the potential emissions at the facility. As a precaution we have also verified the possibility that various refrigerants may have been consumed by Glutino for its refrigerators and independent maintenance and verification reports confirm that no refrigerants were used or lost from the equipment, in any of the facilities, and therefore having no impact on the final quantification. Page 7 of 13

10 In addition, the company uses only electric lift trucks in their facility since propane or other fuels would cause a serious risk of contamination to the food in the warehouse, as well as the production facility; therefore, any GHG related to internal handling of the products is automatically quantified through the hydro power consumed within the facilities. The choice of the emissions factors are supported by known references supplied by the Chicago Climate Exchange which is justified by the conservative nature of this factor and due to the fact that Glutino intends to purchase credits on the OTC market which is more familiar with CCX references. The only other sources of emissions are related to the vacuum packaging operations which use a mixture of N2 and CO2 gases. Verification of all purchases related to these two industrial gases were made and fully considered in the quantification. Finally, emissions from transportation between the two facilities, from plant to warehouse and from the port to the plant for imported food and ingredients, were fully considered, including GHG emissions related to product delivery to customers. These emissions account for a total of 456 mtco2 eq. 5.3 Evaluation of uncertainties and mathematical methods of quantification of inventory The uncertainty concept associated with the different values that were used to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions are based on values related to consumed natural gas and electricity which remain the most important GHG emissions for Glutino and are estimated at 1%. In addition, uncertainties related to operation data collection estimated at 2% are very realistic. Considering that production related energy consumption is by far the most important emission of GHG s, this level of uncertainty is acceptable. The largest uncertainty is found in the calculations of emissions related to transport. The 10% level of uncertainty which was used is accurate considering that our cross referencing data matches L & L s calculations. Considering that the overall inventory consolidation has been conservative, and in some cases overestimated, the calculated emissions for 2006 are more likely to be overestimated than underestimated. We are confident following this verification that evaluation of the total value of GHG emissions for 2006 will more than cover all real emissions generated by Glutino. Page 8 of 13

11 5.4 Inventory quality control and securing documents GHG Verification Report for Glutino Inc. All of the needed documentation to verify Glutino s quantification of greenhouse gas emissions was readily available. Considering that this is Glutino s first quantification and audit for GHG emissions, the measures taken by Glutino to accurately document all data and prepare for this process have been more than adequate. For future quantifications, I would recommend that the company immediately proceed with establishing monitoring procedures related mainly to the transport of incoming and outgoing goods since this emission source is the one with the highest uncertainty. Monitoring of natural gas, electricity and packaging gases remains important but is already very well recorded with existing accounting procedures. Page 9 of 13

12 6. Verification notification of GHG emissions In reference to Glutino s declaration of GHG inventory and all that precedes this verification, we conclude with a high level of confidence that all the information supplied to us is real and accurate and, as auditors, we are confident that total emissions for the year 2006 have been 1555 mt CO2 equivalent. Page 10 of 13

13 Annexe 1: Annexe 2: Verification plan Glutino s GHG quantification report Annexe 3: Certificat of GHG verification of Paul Aucoin Page 11 of 13

14 Note importante : L entreprise est priée d aviser l auditeur responsable de Carbon Quantum avant la tenue de la vérification de tout problème relatif à la mise à disposition des ressources requises. OBJECTIFS DE L AUDIT ET NIVEAU D ASSURANCE Fournir une lettre d opinion concernant le rapport de l inventaire des gaz à effets de serre Des Aliments Glutino, située au 2055 Blvd. Dagenais Ouest, Laval, Québec, H7L 5V1 et ce, suite à la visite des lieux. REFERENTIEL D AUDIT DOCUMENTS DE RÉFÉRENCE IMPORTANCE RELATIVE ISO : 2006 Rapport d inventaire des GES, envoyé à Carbon Quantum le 29 avril 2007 DOMAINE D APPLICATION DE L AUDIT ET PÉRIODE COUVERTE PAR LES RÉDUCTIONS Fabrication d aliments ADRESSE DU SITE COUVERT PAR L AUDIT 2055, Boulevard Dagenais Ouest, Laval, Québec, H7L 5V1 3750, Avenue Francis Hugues, Laval, Québec ACTIVITÉS DE SUIVI DE L AUDIT La lettre d avis sera transmise pour le 25 avril 2007 CONFIDENTIALITÉ Carbon Quantum assure la confidentialité des renseignements qui lui seront communiqués au cours de l audit et des documents fournis par l entreprise q Plan préparé par :.. Date : Version : 1 Roger Fournier, CA, Tél. : HEURE AUDITEUR RÉPONDANT ACTIVITÉS DE VÉRIFICATION ET MOYENS DE VÉRIFICATION MOYENS DE VÉRIFICATION 10H00 Réunion d ouverture avec les membres de la direction de l entreprise Retour sur le procédé, identification des aspects environnementaux correspondants Visite des lieux; entrevues; documents Page 12 of 13

15 Opération des équipements, surveillance du procédé et des paramètres opératoires Visite des lieux; rencontre personne responsable; documents; enregistrements 13h00 Engagement de l entreprise face à la réduction des émissions de GES et aux objectifs visés par celuici; mise en disponibilité des ressources pour l inventaire et formation de ces ressources Entrevue avec la direction Gestion de l inventaire, personnes impliquées, formation, communication de l information du projet Audit interne ou autre type de vérification du fonctionnement adéquat de l inventaire; bilan aunnuel, fréquence des rapports d inventaires Identification des équipements critiques et programme d entretien préventif et correctif Vérification des équipements de surveillance et de mesurage (si applicable pour l inventaire) Identification des sources d émission pour l inventaire Référence utilisées Sélection et gestion des données et informations (collecte, traitement informatique ou autre, analyse, conservation, traçabilité, protection) Notions de contre vérification, d exactitude et d incertitude Méthode de quantification des émissions (choix des hypothèses de travail, logiciels de calculs, vérification des résultats et références utilisées) Programme de surveillance des données de l inventaire Notion de fiabilité des données en continu Entrevues; documents Questionnement pour le responsable de l inventaire; documents; enregistrements Rencontre du planificateur; enregistrements Visite des lieux; rencontre personne responsable; documents; enregistrements Questionnement pour le responsable de l inventaire et le quantificateur; documents; enregistrements Questionnement pour le responsable de l inventaire et le quantificateur; documents; enregistrements Questionnement pour le responsable de l inventaire et le quantificateur; documents; enregistrements Questionnement pour le responsable de l inventaire; documents; enregistrements 15h00 Rencontre de fin de journée avec l entreprise Page 13 of 13