Morgan Stanley Announces Creation of Carbon Bank

Will offer clients first fully-integrated carbon auditing and offsetting service based on highest international standards

Aug 14 2007, London -- Morgan Stanley announced today the creation of the Morgan Stanley Carbon Bank to assist clients seeking to become carbon neutral. The new service, which leverages Morgan Stanley’s expertise in carbon trading, is being offered in conjunction with Det Norske Veritas (DNV), a leading international provider of emissions data certification. It is the market’s first broadly offered service providing integrated carbon verification and offsetting capabilities based on the highest recognized international standards.

Commenting on the new service, Simon Greenshields, Managing Director and Global Head of Power, Power Fuels and Carbon Trading at Morgan Stanley, said, "We are pleased to offer clients a transparent and credible way to verify and offset greenhouse gas emissions by leveraging the expertise of two firms with a wealth of experience in the carbon market. Many companies have begun seeking ways to reduce their direct greenhouse gas emissions; our new service will help them more easily and reliably take the next step to achieve a zero carbon footprint. This is the first service we have seen giving clients a single source for everything from certifying emissions to buying and cancelling carbon credits, all in accordance with the highest international standards.”

Luc Larmuseau, Global Director of Climate Change Services at DNV, said, “Our highly trained professionals have provided expertise in greenhouse gas verification and certification to a wide variety of companies, governments and international organizations worldwide. We serve companies across the carbon market, from checking the number of emission reductions delivered by projects under the Kyoto Protocol to verifying companies' annual greenhouse gas emissions under mandatory emissions trading programmes. We are pleased to build on those capabilities by now partnering with Morgan Stanley, which has been an important leader in the carbon markets, to offer companies an innovative way to reduce their carbon footprint through a single, one-stop service.”

David Yarnold, Executive Vice President, Environmental Defense, said, “Today's announcement reinforces the need for market-based solutions to meet the challenge of climate change. Although the regulated carbon market is based on environmentally effective and standardized procedures, it has been difficult for companies to find a high-quality, standards-based service to offset their emissions in the voluntary market. By offering this new service to companies in the voluntary carbon market, Morgan Stanley is not only helping to meet a growing need for many companies, it also is supporting a significant, credible and responsible expansion of the carbon market itself.”

Morgan Stanley-DNV Partnership Provides End-to-End Offsetting Service for Clients
Under the new service, clients will compile their emissions inventory and calculate their carbon footprint by applying the monitoring standards of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative, which has provided the accounting framework for many mandatory greenhouse gas programs across the world, including the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. DNV will then verify these emissions inventories and calculated carbon footprints. Carbon quantification, monitoring and verification will be conducted consistent with ISO 14064 standards. Morgan Stanley’s Commodities Group will procure and cancel carbon credits equivalent to a client’s verified carbon footprint. Clients will be able to select their preferred sources of carbon credits, although all carbon credits will be generated according to the standards of the Kyoto Protocol. Carbon credits will be procured from various sources including from Morgan Stanley’s own direct investments in emission reductions as well as those of MGM International, one of the carbon market's largest developers of emission reduction projects. Morgan Stanley last year acquired a 38 percent stake in MGM.

Clients utilizing the service of the Morgan Stanley Carbon Bank will receive a “carbon zero” certificate from Morgan Stanley and DNV.

Morgan Stanley’s Commitment to the Environment
As part of Morgan Stanley’s commitment to advancing sustainable global development, the Firm has done extensive energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reductions to date, including committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7-10 percent below 2006 levels by 2012 through new green buildings and additional energy use improvements. Morgan Stanley is committed to being globally carbon neutral by 2008 by offsetting the greenhouse gases emitted from its worldwide offices and employee business travel through the purchase of carbon credits, which meet the standards of the Kyoto Protocol.

Morgan Stanley also believes markets must play a critical role in addressing the various challenges facing the environment. To that end, the Firm actively engages with clients, regulators and policy makers to establish and enhance strong and well-structured global markets for environmental commodities. The members of the Firm’s carbon trading team, through the diversity of their career experiences, have been involved in designing, implementing and trading in the carbon market from its very beginning. Building on that leadership, in October 2006, Morgan Stanley announced plans to invest approximately $3 billion in initiatives related to greenhouse gas emission reductions over the next five years.

For further information about Morgan Stanley and its commitment to the environment, please visit MorganStanley.com.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 600 offices in 32 countries.

For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com

Established in 1864, DNV is a global provider of risk-management services. With 7,400 employees in 300 offices in 100 countries, DNV is one of the world's leading certification bodies/registrars offering the latest in certification services. With more than 65,000 certificates issued worldwide, the DNV name evokes a strong commitment to safety, quality, and concern for the environment. DNV has specialized in delivering independent, third-party services for climate change activities, and has over the last eight years been engaged in a wide range of diverse validation, verification, and certification activities.

DNV has been a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) since 1999 and is a signatory to the Global Compact. With its objective of safeguarding life, property and the environment, DNV is committed to its clients’ work towards sustainable products and systems, offering a wide range of services under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) umbrella. In addition to these external services, DNV’s own CSR performance is a corporate priority area. As part of DNV’s CSR efforts, a partnership has been established with the Red Cross, which was chosen as partner in a corporate web-based poll among DNV employees worldwide, providing financial support as well as cross-fertilization of ideas to address complex problems.

For further information about DNV please visit www.dnv.com

Source: Morgan Stanley

Bookmark/Search this post with:

 •    •    •    •    •    •    •    •    •    •    •    •