Low-Carbon IT Certificates
A Low-Carbon IT Certificate is the verified instrument for claiming the environmental attributes of circular IT activity. Issued by the Bloom Registry and independently verified under ISO 14064, Low-Carbon IT Certificates cover four sub-products, each serving a distinct function in corporate sustainability accounting.
I-TEC (IT Asset Reuse Certificate)
An Environmental Attribute Certificate (EAC) representing the verified carbon intensity of 1 kg of IT hardware processed through a certified refurbishment pathway. The carbon intensity of refurbished IT hardware is up to 90% lower than equivalent new manufacture. I-TECs are the primary Low-Carbon IT Certificate sub-product and the only one with a defined compliance pathway under the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 (criteria C21 through C28).
See the full CNZS V2.0 alignment guide →
I-MAT (Materials Recovery Certificate)
An Environmental Attribute Certificate (EAC) providing verified proof that 1 tonne of materials has been produced from recycled rather than mined raw materials. I-MAT Certificates enable corporates to make credible circular sourcing claims within their value chains, supporting materials-based Scope 3 disclosures.
I-MAT AE Certificate (Materials Avoided Emissions)
An avoided emissions certificate representing the avoidance of 1 tonne of CO₂e from materials recovery activity. I-MAT AE certificates are aligned with the ICVCM Core Carbon Principles, ensuring avoided emissions claims meet the highest standards of additionality, permanence, and independent verification.
See Core Principles Commitment →
Avoided Emissions Certificate (Reuse)
An avoided emissions certificate representing the kgCO₂e avoided when an IT asset is reused rather than replaced with new manufacture. This sub-product appears as Impact Reporting in corporate-facing materials. It is a legacy product maintained for clients who require avoided emissions reported in certificate form rather than through activity-based accounting. Aligned with the ICVCM Core Carbon Principles.
See Core Principles Commitment →
Guidance on Issuance and
Use of CE Certificates
- Eligibility for Issuance
- Measurement
- Issuance Process
- Retirement and Trading of CE Certificates
- Reporting and Transparency
Eligibility for Issuance
- Low-Carbon IT Certificates are issued to entities that engage in verified IT asset refurbishment, materials recovery, or circular reintegration activities.
- To be eligible, assets must undergo a certified testing, refurbishment, or recovery process that generates quantifiable carbon intensity data or demonstrates recovery of raw materials. This includes material recovery, refurbishment for reuse, and secondary use of electronic assets or components.
- Entities must submit documentation to an approved certifying body, including proof of processing volumes calculated against an approved methodology.
Measurement:
I-TEC and I-MAT
Carbon intensity is calculated using the Bloom methodology “Estimated Emissions Intensity From Circular Re-Use and Recycling Activities,” independently verified to the ISO 14064 standard. For I-TECs, each certificate conveys the verified emissions intensity of 1 kg of IT hardware processed through a certified refurbishment pathway, expressed in kgCO₂e per kg. For I-MAT, the certificate confirms the verified recycled materials sourcing per tonne of metal recovered.
I-MAT AE and Avoided Emissions Certificate (Reuse)
Avoided emissions are calculated using the same ISO 14064-verified methodology, measured against the baseline of primary production from mined raw materials (I-MAT AE) or equivalent new manufacture of the same hardware (Avoided Emissions Certificate, Reuse). Both satisfy the ICVCM Core Carbon Principles requirements for additionality and conservativeness.
Issuance Process:
- Once carbon intensity or avoided emissions data is verified by an accredited third party, the Low-Carbon IT Certificate is issued to the processor via the Bloom Registry at registry.bloom-esg.com.
- Each certificate is tagged with key metadata including: date of issuance, sub-product type, processing volume, the verified carbon intensity or avoided emissions figure, and the issuing processor. I-MAT certificates additionally include proof of recovered materials information.
Retirement and Trading of CE Certificates:
- Retirement: Once a Low-Carbon IT Certificate is purchased or claimed, it is retired in the Bloom Registry, ensuring the environmental attribute cannot be claimed by more than one party.
- Trading: Low-Carbon IT Certificates can be traded on the platform, allowing organisations to transfer verified environmental attributes within and across corporate value chains, in line with Supply Shed guidance.
Reporting and Transparency:
- Entities holding or retiring Low-Carbon IT Certificates must ensure that usage is transparently reported, with no double-counting or misrepresentation of the environmental attribute claimed.
- The Bloom Registry maintains a publicly accessible record of all issued and retired certificates.
- Corporates retiring Avoided Emissions Certificates (Reuse) should note that these appear as Impact Reporting in Bloom corporate-facing materials and reporting templates.
The Low-Carbon IT Certificate Architecture
Low-Carbon IT Certificates are modelled on the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) system, which tracks the environmental attributes of renewable energy generation. Where RECs convey the attribute of renewable electricity, Low-Carbon IT Certificates convey verified environmental attributes from circular IT and materials recovery activity, verified at the processor order level rather than derived from sector averages.
I-TECs, as the primary sub-product, are Environmental Attribute Certificates, not offsets. They convey a verified product attribute: that the hardware an I-TEC represents was produced through a certified refurbishment pathway, with a carbon intensity of up to 90% lower than new manufacture. They do not neutralise emissions elsewhere in a corporate inventory.
Avoided emissions sub-products, including I-MAT AE and the Avoided Emissions Certificate (Reuse), quantify the CO₂e avoided through circular activity and are governed by the ICVCM Core Carbon Principles.
For ITADs and processors, Low-Carbon IT Certificates create a new, auditable revenue stream from verified refurbishment and recovery activity. For corporates, they provide the evidence base for activity-level Scope 3 reporting, third-party assurance, and SBTi CNZS V2.0 compliance documentation.
