The General Programme Instructions (GPI) of the International EPD System (IES) define the overarching rules for the administration and operation of the programme, in accordance with ISO 14025 for Type III Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).
Two key developments are particularly important:
- ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐-๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ
The 2025 EPD General Programme Instructions (GPI 5.0.1) and ECO Platform requirements reinforce the need to use market-based methods when modelling grid electricity. They also require that any contractual instruments used meet strict quality criteria, including reliability, traceability, and avoidance of double counting. These requirements closely align with the design principles of the BraveTrace NZECS (New Zealand Energy Certificate System), supporting robust and credible electricity attribute tracking. - ๐ ๐ฝ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐ ๐ถ๐
๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐
A publicly available residual grid mix is essential to ensure consistent and transparent life cycle assessment (LCA) outcomes. Without it, practitioners may be forced into overly conservative assumptions that effectively exclude renewable contributions from the national electricity mix. In a highly renewable electricity system such as New Zealandโs, this can materially distort emissions reporting and undermine comparability between EPDs.ย To address this, BraveTrace publishes a Residual Supply Mix (RSM) for the country to enable consistent, transparent, and internationally aligned modelling practices.