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Companies across sectors, from services to heavy manufacturing, are adopting renewable energy as a lever for decarbonizing electricity-related emissions in their corporate carbon footprint and investing in the clean energy transition. RE100, the leading corporate renewable energy initiative, has over 400 members. Voluntary renewable energy procurement can take multiple forms, with most contracts delivering Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) to the consumer. These certificates convey the environmental attribute of renewable electricity generation, enabling consumers to claim the use of clean energy in their corporate carbon footprint and sustainability reports.  

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However, not every EAC can be matched to any MWh of electricity usage. Leading standards like the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) Scope 2 Guidance and RE100 establish criteria for vetting and matching EACs to electricity consumption. A key criterion is adherence to market boundaries: the geographic area from where you can purchase EACs to reasonably claim your electricity consumption at a particular location is renewable.

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Learning the rules of “market” matching is useful for any company or team undertaking a voluntary green power program. With a grasp on these mechanics, you’re better positioned to anticipate sourcing challenges and understand implications for your corporate goals.

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In this guide, we’ll explore how EAC markets are defined, their geographic boundaries, and how to navigate various limitations affecting sourcing.  

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Understanding EAC Market Boundaries

Market boundaries define the geographic areas within which EACs can be traded and retired to claim physical energy consumption as renewable. Standards like GHGP and RE100 impose market boundary criteria to ensure that a consumer’s clean energy investment supports renewables capacity in the same region where that consumer uses electricity. In other words, a consumer is supporting the greening of the grid they rely on.

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By sourcing and consuming EACs within the same market, financing is directed locally while risks of information loss, double-counting, and reporting inconsistencies are all minimized, driving credibility.

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Frameworks like the GHGP Scope 2 Guidance mandate that companies follow the market boundaries established by local regulations and the issuing body overseeing the EAC certification scheme to decide if an EAC can be used in accounting for electricity-related emissions at specific facility locations. RE100 is even more prescriptive; whereas GHGP leaves it up to organizations to choose the geographic extents of a market boundary, RE100 specifies these.  

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When consumers purchasing and claiming renewable energy follow these frameworks and local regulations on renewable energy attribute trading, market integrity is strengthened. Further, another benefit of adhering to market boundaries is that if the market spans multiple electricity grids, the purchase of low-cost EACs from one area to cover consumption in another sends a demand signal for more in-market grid interconnections, which can improve grid reliability and energy affordability.  

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Market boundaries often align with national borders but can also extend across regions. For example, under RE100’s criteria, the following geographic areas are each considered a single market:

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• The U.S. and Canada – both the US and Canada legally recognize Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) as tradable certificates and are considered a single market under GHGP and RE100, since electricity can flow cross-border within the Western and Eastern Interconnections that stretch across North America.

• Europe – the EU legally recognizes Guarantees of Origin (GoOs) as tradable certificates under RED-2, which mandated that all EU countries have a GoO registry. To enhance standardization, the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB) created and oversees the European Energy Certificate System (EECS). Within this framework, EACs issued by one AIB member country are recognized for making a renewable energy claim in other AIB member countries (note that RE100 has additional requirements). You can see a full list of AIB member countries here.

• Other Regions: Each country is its own distinct renewable electricity market.

• For example, in January, Kenya adopted I-RECs, governed by the International Attribute Tracking Standard, as the country’s recognized EAC, a move common among countries without their own standardized energy monitoring system in South America and parts of Africa and Asia.

• For example, in Australia, Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) are a recognized EAC and can be matched to electricity usage within Australia’s borders.

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It’s critical for businesses to verify the compatibility of EAC purchases with their operational locations. Misaligned certificates can lead to non-compliance with market boundary limitations, and in turn potential failure to meet corporate goals (SBTi, RE100, etc.).

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Navigating Sourcing Challenges

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Source: RE100 Annual Disclosure Report 2023. Note: The map above shows the top 20 challenging markets as identified by RE100 members in their annual reporting during the 2023 CDP disclosure cycle. Market conditions are always evolving, and additional markets facing shortages of supply as of January 2025 include Ireland (limited generation from facilities young enough to qualify for RE100 and big parts of the Caribbean and Africa (where grid infrastructure is lacking).

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While many regions have established EAC markets, others face limitations that constrain supply, drive up costs, or discourage investment. For instance:

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• Market Immaturity: In countries with a vertically integrated electricity industry or nascent EAC system, the absence of modern market frameworks limits private investment in renewables capacity and thus voluntary EAC supply. For example, Indonesia, with the third-highest solar potential in Southeast Asia is considering a mechanism for “power wheeling” to unlock private investment in renewables capacity. This mechanism would allow renewable energy producers to sell directly to consumers (effectively a PPA) by “renting” grid space from the national utility to deliver clean power.

• Credibility Concerns: Some countries have EAC registries that are not aligned with international systems such as the I-REC Standard. For example, in China, where carbon credits (China Certified Emission Reduction, or CCER) can also be issued for renewable electricity generation, RE100 requires increased scrutiny of GECs, the EACs issued in China, to prevent double-counting of GECs and CCERs. While, in China, new policy is anticipated to assuage these credibility concerns, countries with unaligned or inconsistent national EAC standards are at risk of reducing buyer confidence in the use of EACs from their country and inhibiting cross-border trade.

• Mixed Regulatory Signals: Some countries have proposed or passed laws funding fossil fuel plants or limiting private sector investment in renewables, even while they set ambitious goals for renewables capacities (e.g., Mexico). This inconsistency in regulatory signals disincentivizes investment.

• Policy Barriers: Some markets have policies that hinder liquidity and cost-effectiveness for renewable energy generators and consumers. For example, China’s GECs (a type of EAC) can only be traded once, which limits EAC tradability. RE100 identifies Japan as one of the toughest markets for buying clean electricity. In 2024, they formed a Policy Working Group to push for change. In Japan, several policy barriers converge including land protections, slow and uncoordinated approval processes, and information (e.g., pricing) opacity that reduce developable area, drive up time and costs of construction, and limit fair market competition. These barriers are compounded by issues like outdated grid technology (frequent renewables curtailment wastes energy), multiple EAC schemes with unharmonized tracking systems, and a lack of incentives for renewables projects outside the Feed-in-Tariff program.

• Physical Constraints: The availability of EACs depends on physical factors like weather conditions (is the wind blowing or sun shining?), natural resource availability, and grid capacity. Resource scarcity can constrain EAC availability; ageing and undersized grids (e.g., South Africa, Indonesia) can’t handle additional renewable capacity, reducing supply. Singapore, for example, has limited land for renewable energy production. To address this, the country has experimented with installing solar panels on high-rises and even water surfaces.

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In regions lacking an EAC scheme or facing supply shortages, companies can choose to select EACs sourced from neighboring countries. These are referred to as “Next Best Options” (NBOs). This practice is not equally accepted across all initiatives. RE100 does not permit use of NBOs. The stance of various initiatives on the use of NBOs is summarized below.  

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Source: South Pole

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Key Considerations for EAC Procurement

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When procuring EACs, organizations should consider the following factors to maximize the impact of their investments, both for achieving their corporate goals and advancing the clean energy transition:

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1. Regulatory Compliance: Verify that the EACs you purchased to cover operations in a particular geographic area are legally recognized within that area. For instance, if your organization operates in Europe, ensure that certificates were issued (and redeemed, either by you or, more typically, and intermediary) on an EECS registry.

2. Supply Availability: Understand the supply of EACs in your region. In areas with few renewable energy projects or in underdeveloped markets, sourcing EACs may require creative partnerships with local governments (e.g., Delta Group’s efforts in Thailand) and longer-term procurement methods like PPAs.

3. Environmental Integrity: Choose EACs from credible, verified sources that are recognized by your relevant sustainability initiatives (e.g., RE100) and gold standards for corporate carbon footprinting (GHGP) to ensure your organization is audit-ready while demonstrating meaningful environmental leadership.

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How Green Project Simplifies EAC Sourcing

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Navigating the complexities of EAC procurement requires efficient tools built on industry best practice. Green Project, an ACT Commodities company, offers a streamlined solution for organizations to access a global supply of EACs, match EACs to their usage in line with market boundary limitations, and make GHGP and RE100-aligned renewable energy claims. Backed by ACT Commodities’ fifteen years of experience in EAC markets, with Green Project’s decarbonization platform, you can simplify renewable energy adoption for your business and accelerate your journey toward a greener future.

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