Tim Kelly
Adelaide South Australia
3 June 2012
National GreenPower Steering Group (NGPSG)
greenpower@sustainability.vic.gov.au
Re: Public Consultation on Marketing Guidelines May 2012
Thank you for providing the opportunity to comment on the draft Marketing Guidelines (2012)
In this submission, I focus on the greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity consumption,
the GreenPower premium, and how greenhouse aspects are communicated to customers via the
Guidelines.
GENERAL
The marketing Guidelines should communicate that:

GreenPower is a premium whereby electricity customers can donate extra for more renewable
electricity to be produced – increasing Australia’s renewable energy generation.

GreenPower is not a carbon neutral product as ‘lower emissions’ are allocated across all
electricity customers under Australia’s greenhouse accounting frameworks.

GreenPower does not reduce the emissions of an individual or entity. This is not an electron
counting issue, it is a decision made by the Government on how GreenPower attributes are
allocated in its accounting frameworks and standards.

GreenPower is not an offset as the ‘reduced emissions’ and ‘renewable energy use’ attributes
are already allocated across all electricity consumers so they cannot be allocated to individual
electricity customers contributing to GreenPower a second time. GreenPower is also not
recognised as an offset under Australia’s National Carbon Offset Standard (which makes no
mention of renewable energy or GreenPower)

A customer contributing to 100% GreenPower has no entitlement to be protected against any
carbon pass through costs associated with their electricity account.

GreenPower providers do not acquire additional renewable energy on behalf of an individual
customer (for an individual customer); rather they purchase additional renewable energy on
behalf of all consumers in response to the GreenPower premium paid by an individual
customer.
SPECIFIC COMMENTS
In the following section, extracts from the draft Guidelines are shown in shaded text boxes. Feedback
is provided in plain text.
2.2 RULES ON WHAT LANGUAGE CAN BE USED TO DESCRIBE GREENPOWER
ACCREDITED PRODUCTS
6 All carbon related claims are to be in accordance with the Australian Consumer Law – part of the
Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (the Act), and the latest guidelines and publications
published by the ACCC. The GreenPower Marketing Manager will provide links on the GreenPower
website under the Business Centre Section, to ensure the information is clear, relevant, and easily
accessible.
The latest ACCC Guidelines do not provide clarity relating to GreenPower with respect to carbon
emissions and carbon price exposure.
The ACCC guidelines are currently targeted towards businesses making claims beyond their carbon
exposure. In the case of GreenPower however the situation is that customers do have carbon liabilities
that they may be unaware of because of marketing which suggests that their emissions are low or zero.
7 Statements relating to a carbon price must meet the requirements of the ACCC “Carbon Price
Claims” including but not limited to:
7.1 Claims must not wrongly suggest that the carbon price will affect the price of Provider’s product or
services prior to 1 July 2012.
Section 7.1 is not relevant to the GreenPower situation. GreenPower customers need to know that their
emissions are not zero and are rightly subject to carbon pass through costs under current frameworks.
7.2 Claims must not wrongly suggest that the carbon price has directly affected the price of the
GreenPower accredited portion of the product (even though it may or may not affect the unaccredited
portion of the product sold to a GreenPower customer and, therefore, the overall package price).
Section 7.2 is misleading.
The GreenPower accredited portion is a donation or a premium. GreenPower is not a true product as
such and therefore cannot be subject to a carbon price. The electricity component is however fully
subject to a carbon price. The entire electricity component is unaccredited.
7.3 Claims must not wrongly suggest that price increases due to other circumstances are attributable to
a carbon price.
Agreed
7.4 Where the grid electricity component of the product includes a carbon price, this must as a
minimum be communicated to the customer when requested. Statements relating the grid electricity
component of the product which includes a carbon price must be free from false, deceptive or
misleading claims and:
The Guidelines must clarify that the electricity component is always 100% of the electricity provided.
It must communicate that 100% of every electricity account is subject to carbon pricing. The wording
is confusing as it could suggest that there may be a proportion of the electricity component that is less
than 100% which is not possible.
As a start, it is welcome that the Guidelines require carbon pricing to be communicated to GreenPower
customers on request. However, any carbon pricing applied to a GreenPower account should be
communicated to these customers at all times, not simply on request.
Keep in mind that the popular perception created by GreenPower over many years is that 100%
GreenPower contributing customers have no emissions associated with their electricity use. These
customers deserve clarity and transparency in relation to their electricity accounts at all times
7.4.1 Specify that it is only the grid electricity component of the product that attracts a carbon
price
The marketing Guidelines should specify that:
 100% of the electricity provided attracts a carbon price (regardless of whether retailers
actually charge this carbon price).

The GreenPower donation or premium does not attract a carbon price.
7.4.2 Briefly explain the distinction between the GreenPower premium and the grid electricity
component of the product or refer the customer to the GreenPower website for assistance
The Guidelines do not make it clear that the grid electricity component is always 100% of
electricity use, and that the donation or premium is simply to drive additional renewable
electricity for all customers.
8 Statements relating to greenhouse gas emission reductions must meet the following
requirements:
8.1 Individuals and entities: - An individual or entity may claim to have reduced its own emissions
associated with the generation of electricity through the purchase of GreenPower.
The above statement (section 8.1) is false.
Australia’s NGER legislation, key greenhouse accounting frameworks and standards simply do no not
support this concept. Indeed the NGER Determination (Chapter 7) does not permit this approach and
National Greenhouse Accounts (NGA) includes all renewables within the factors, such that the
‘reduced emissions’ attribute has already been allocated across all electricity customers.
GreenPower publications and this proposed guideline should not promote concepts that are not covered
by legislation or standard.
The Guidelines can instead promote that when individuals or entities support GreenPower they are:


Driving additional renewable energy generation
Reducing Australia’s emissions

Reducing the emissions of all customers rather than reducing their own individual greenhouse
gas emissions
An individual should not be referred to as an “it” Suggest using the word ‘their’.
8.2 Aggregate level: - Any claim made in relation to GreenPower’s role in reducing Australia’s
emissions must adequately explain that this can only be achieved through the retirement of AAUs
under the Kyoto Protocol.
The GreenPower marketing advice should not be so specific until the Federal Government finalises its
arrangements for retiring AAUs and reducing the availability of permits to preserve the greenhouse
reductions of GreenPower in the national context.
The retirement of AAUs is not the likely to be the only way to reduce emissions nationally. Why have
actions in non covered sectors if not to reduce emissions? It is also arguable that if everyone is
voluntarily more efficient and switches to lower emissions goods and services, that this makes it easier
for the Federal Government to tighten Australia’s national target and scheme caps through time –faster
than carbon pricing acting alone).
It is suggested that the Marketing Guidelines simply state that the Federal Government has committed
to ensuring that Australia’s National Target and scheme caps are progressively tightened to reflect
GreenPower sales.
9 Any claim of environmental benefit must be backed by sound research and clarity of what
those benefits are to avoid misleading consumers.
Agreed
I trust that these comments can assist in providing greater clarity for GreenPower contributing
customers.
Kind regards
Tim Kelly