To retain integrity and help prevent fraudulent activity, Ecocycle will issue digital signatures for VEU and ESS recycling certificates.
The Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program* (formerly called the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target, or VEET) is a scheme in which ‘accredited persons’ replace energy-inefficient products with more efficient ones in homes and non-residential premises.
They are then able to create a number of Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificates (VEECs) that reflect the magnitude of the future energy savings.
VEECs can be sold to large energy retailers, offsetting some or all of the cost of the upgrades. A similar program, the Energy Savings Scheme (ESS), operates in New South Wales.
Numerous activities are eligible for the program, including a range of lighting upgrades.
To ensure that gains on the energy efficiency front aren’t offset by environmental losses elsewhere, a key condition of lighting replacement is that all old, mercury-containing lighting equipment be recycled through a facility licensed to treatment code R4. This helps protect our environment from mercury contamination.
Certified destruction
As Australia’s leading recycler of both mercury and non-mercury containing lighting waste, Ecocycle performs an important function under the VEU program.
Our recycling certificates document that the decommissioned lighting has been physically destroyed (and recycled), which in turn provides the evidence necessary to allow creation of the relevant number of VEECs.
Unscrupulous players
Unfortunately, whenever there’s an opportunity to manipulate programs like the VEU program there will be players who are more than willing to do so.
On occasion, our recycling certificates have been fraudulently altered to increase the apparent quantity of material we have processed, thus allowing a greater number of VEECs to be created.
Not only does this add to the cost borne by the purchasers of VEECs, it also affects the viability of the many principled businesses that undertake energy efficiency upgrades. Potentially, this puts the whole program at risk.
Digital integrity
Naturally, Ecocycle is committed to ensuring the integrity of the VEU and ESS programs by helping to prevent fraudulent activity.
To that end, we are adding digital signatures to our recycling certificates to provide assurance that the documents were created by us and were not subsequently altered.
Energy efficiency programs such as VEU and ESS are playing a vital role in reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. Any attempts to cheat the system reduce the effectiveness of these programs, and that, ultimately, hurts us all.
If you’d like to find out more about Ecocycle’s VEU and ESS programs, give us a call on 1300 32 62 92 or fill in the contact form below and we’ll be happy to answer your questions.
