“Carbon neutrality of the products in scope achieved by Castrol in accordance with PAS 2060 at 31st December 2021 with the commitment to maintain to 31st December 2022, for the period commencing 1st January 2022, DNV certified”– Castrol’s Carbon Neutrality Declaration as documented in its PAS 2060 Qualifying Explanatory Statement - Castrol Carbon Neutral Products.
In accordance with PAS 2060 Castrol provides a qualifying explanatory statement (QES) that includes the evidence substantiating the declaration in respect of carbon neutrality. Castrol’s QES (PAS 2060 Qualifying Explanatory Statement - Castrol Carbon Neutral Products) includes, in Annex A, the checklists of criteria for substantiating evidence for the declaration of the commitment to and achievement of carbon neutrality in accordance with PAS 2060. These checklists (Tables A.1 (commitment) and A.2 (achievement)) include the full description of the criteria and the specific locations within the QES where the supporting evidence for each can be found. The criteria checklists require evidence on the application of PAS 2060 and it’s four-stage process as summarized below in the section: CARBON NEUTRAL PRODUCTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH PAS 2060.
PAS 2060 specifies a four-stage process to demonstrate carbon neutrality which includes:
Castrol’s application of PAS 2060 involves two external independent third parties; one to do the assessment of GHG emissions and a second to do the verification and assurance of carbon neutrality.
Castrol assesses, identifies, and measures CO₂ emissions throughout each product’s life cycle.
The figure below is derived from the GHG Protocol’s Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard, It demonstrates the key activities that make up a product’s life cycle.
To quantify the GHG emissions of the product, primary activity data (process-specific data obtained by direct measurement of the energy or business activities) and secondary data (data obtained from sources other than direct measurement of the emissions from processes included in the life cycle of the products) is collected for each activity and used in conjunction with emissions factors (coefficients) to convert activity data into GHG emissions.
Table 3.2 of the QES provides a description of each lifecycle stage shown above and the key inclusions and exclusions used to quantify GHG emissions have been summarized below:
| Lifecycle Stage | Inclusions | Exclusions |
| Material acquisition & pre-processing | raw material extraction and processing to produce components (e.g., base oils and additives) and packaging | capital goods and infrastructure (i.e., manufacture and maintenance of machinery and buildings) personnel activities (e.g., commuting to and from work) storage at distribution warehouse |
| production | blending of components (base oils and additives) and filling into product packaging (plastic bottles, steel drums, Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs), etc.) | |
| distribution and storage | distribution of packed products from Castrol blending sites to customers (e.g., dealerships and retailers) | |
| use | filling of product (e.g., vehicles, equipment, and machinery) leakage of product during use where applicable, combustion of product during use |
draining of product from product application system as this is a manual operation.
the beneficial greenhouse gas emission impacts of the product in use (e.g., fuel savings from reduced friction, raw material saved due to durability/extended drain, etc.) |
| end-of-life | transportation of used product to a waste management facility
used product incineration with and without energy recovery, landfill, or re-refining, where only incineration without energy recovery and landfill have GHG emissions impacts within the Castrol boundary
treatment of waste packaging to recycling, incineration with energy recovery, incineration without energy recovery or landfill |
in line with the recycled content method (Chapter 9 of the GHG Product Protocol), the following processes are not included in the boundary of this life cycle stage:
processes that transform waste to a useful material in another process (e.g., re-refining of used oil and recycling of plastic) |
Castrol’s carbon management plan is a global program encompassing activities across Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions in support of its aim to halve the net carbon intensity of its products sold by 2030 or sooner, vs the 2019 baseline (measured in 2020). Castrol’s carbon reduction activities are not limited to its carbon neutral portfolio, but the impact of its carbon reduction activities is assessed in relation to both the carbon neutral portfolio and the overall carbon footprint (Scope 1,2 and 3 emissions). Castrol’s carbon reduction plan includes activities across each lifecycle stage, but its key focus areas (beyond its Scope 1 and 2 emissions) are its raw material purchases and what happens to products at the end of their use, working to transform the lifecycle of lubricants from linear to more circular.
Castrol purchases and retires (destroys) carbon credits, from carbon reduction projects, to offset residual product carbon emissions.
Castrol has purchased its offset credits from a portfolio of projects provided by bp Target Neutral. bp Target Neutral are a member of ICROA (The International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance). This means its portfolio of carbon reduction projects comply with the requirements of ICROA’s Code of Practice and bp Target Neutral are independently audited against it annually. All carbon credits used are from projects that meet recognized industry standards from international offset registries, including the UN CDM and the Verified Carbon Standard. After purchase, sufficient carbon credits are retired (destroyed) to balance the emissions associated with the Carbon Neutral claim. See http://www.bptargetneutral.com for more details.
Table 6.1, extracted from PAS 2060 Qualifying Explanatory Statement - Castrol Carbon Neutral Products, contains the list of carbon credits retired in relation to 2021 products and more information about the projects they are from. Since the inception of its carbon neutral program in 2014, Castrol has offset (through the purchase and retirement of carbon credits) more than 4.6 million tons of GHG emissions.
The Qualifying Explanatory Statement (QES) is a requirement of PAS 2060 and demonstrates that (and how) Castrol has achieved carbon neutrality for its Carbon Neutral Products:
