(TN) Enel Trading, the Enel Group’s trading company, has facilitated the acquisition of carbon credits from Enel Green Power plants by CBO Group (Companhia Brasileira de Offshore), a company in the maritime support segment. The company signed a contract to offset emissions from its vessels, via carbon credits, and from three administrative units, via I-RECs (International Renewable Energy Certificates), located in Niterói, São Gonçalo and Macaé. The new commercial agreement expands the sustainability actions of CBO Group, which in 2023 had already signed another contract with Enel to acquire carbon credits, with the aim of offsetting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its vessels.
In addition to carbon credits, the new contract provides for the acquisition of 1,944 I-RECs, which certify that the energy supplied to the CBO Group comes from a non-polluting source. I-RECs are a global system for tracking environmental attributes of energy, designed to provide transparency and reliability in carbon accounting. These certificates are the only ones that guarantee the traceability of energy. Therefore, only by possessing them can companies that purchase energy on the free market certify that they use renewable sources to meet their demands. As a market differentiator, the Enel Group, through the IRECs of its generation plants, can guarantee that all energy sold on the free energy market comes from a renewable source, linking the consumption of partner companies to the issuance of I-RECs.
“Enel is looking for business partners like the CBO Group, who demonstrate a firm commitment to the ESG agenda and are aligned with the actions needed in all sectors of the production chain to reduce emissions. Climate change is an urgent reality for society as a whole. Enel is committed to supporting companies on their decarbonization journeys, reconciling sustainability and economic competitiveness,” says Matteo de Zan, Head of Enel’s Sales and Trading activities.
“At CBO, we have a public commitment to offset all atmospheric emissions from ships by 2025 and the partnership with Enel will be essential to achieving this goal. In 2023, CBO recorded a 13% increase in CO2 offsetting for vessels through carbon credits and began operations with the first hybrid battery-powered vessel to operate in offshore support in Brazil, the PSV Delta Commander, another important step forward in terms of innovation and sustainability for our group and another example of our commitment to decarbonization in the shipping sector,” said Marcos Tinti, CEO of the CBO Group.
Carbon credit agreement
The carbon credits traded between the CBO Group and Enel totaled 95,493 CERs (Certified Emissions Reductions), attesting that the company offset its emissions in 2023 and certifying CBO as a company committed to offsetting its emissions, moving towards carbon neutral vessels.
Companies that acquire carbon credits attest that they have offset and even zeroed their GHG emissions into the atmosphere. The purpose of carbon credits is to offset emissions from the three scopes of the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program, which is responsible for adapting the GHG Protocol method to the Brazilian context and developing calculation tools for estimating GHG emissions. The first scope concerns direct GHG emissions, which belong to or are controlled by the company. The second scope also includes indirect GHG emissions from energy consumption. The third scope also refers to indirect GHG emissions that do not belong to or are not controlled by the company, such as those from suppliers and partners.
Carbon credits guarantee the issuance of “avoided carbon” certificates, which prove the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions somewhere in the world. In addition to contributing to a more sustainable future, companies that acquire carbon credits strengthen their positioning in the market in favor of actions linked to the ESG agenda.
Enabling the sale of carbon credits from Enel Group generation plants is one of Enel Trading’s activities aimed at companies seeking to meet their environmental commitments. As a market differentiator, Enel Comercialização e Trading offers its customers carbon credits whose compensation is guaranteed 100% through the generation of clean energy in wind farms of Enel Green Power, the renewable generation arm of the Enel Group. Currently, the Curva dos Ventos, Modelo and Cristal wind projects of Enel Green Power are registered under the CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) certification standard, meaning they are eligible to generate carbon credits.
Through EnelGreen PowerBrasil, the renewable generation arm of the Enel Group, the company is one of the largest solar and wind operators in terms of installed capacity in the country, with more than 6.1 GW, of which more than 3.3 GW are from wind power, more than 1.5 GW are from solar power and around 1.3 GW from hydro. The company built and operates the largest wind farm in South America in Brazil, the Lagoa dos Ventos complex, located in the state of Piauí.
Enel also operates in the country through EnelX, a business line that offers services to accelerate innovation and drive the energy transition, including energy management, efficient public lighting projects and infrastructure for electric mobility.
About CBO – The CBO Group is the second largest company in the world in terms of number of vessels, being the largest Brazilian company and a Top-10 in the world ranking. It has 45 medium and large-sized maritime support vessels. The fleet includes specialized vessels with full navigation capacity and larger vessel models, which are best suited for deep-water oil exploration and production, such as pre-salt. CBO is positioned among the industry leaders with a strong growth plan to expand its number of vessels and technology.
Brazil Energy Insight 
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