Instruments represent environmental attribute certificates, such as renewable energy credits (RECs) or renewable fuel certificates, that a project can claim against its emissions. Mangrove tracks these as inventory in dedicated system ledgers, with balance and consumption tracking to prevent double-counting.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mangrovesystems.com/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
What are environmental instruments?
In carbon accounting, a book-and-claim model allows projects to purchase environmental certificates and apply them to reduce reported emissions, even when the renewable energy or fuel was not physically delivered to the project site. Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) represent proof that electricity was generated from a renewable source. A project that purchases RECs can claim its grid electricity consumption as renewable, reducing the grid emission factor applied in its LCA calculations. Renewable fuel certificates represent the environmental benefit of using renewable fuel (such as biomethane or renewable diesel) instead of fossil fuel. These certificates track the carbon intensity reduction from the fuel substitution. Both types must be tracked carefully to prevent double-counting. The same certificate cannot be claimed by multiple batches or projects. Mangrove’s instrument ledgers enforce this through balance tracking and consumption accounting.Instrument types
Mangrove supports two instrument types, each tracked in its own system ledger:| Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) | Renewable Fuel (RF) | |
|---|---|---|
| Unit | kW.h | kgCO₂e |
| Use case | Offset grid electricity emissions | Claim renewable fuel environmental benefit |
| Required fields | Amount, External ID, Geography | Amount, External ID |
| Optional fields | Generation tech (wind/solar/other), issuance date, purchase date | Mass of fuel (t), energy intensity (gCO₂e/MJ), lower heating value (MJ/kg) |
| Validity dates | Valid from / valid to | Valid from / valid to |
How it works in Mangrove
Each project can have up to two instrument ledgers: one for RECs and one for Renewable Fuel. Each instrument entry represents a purchased certificate with an amount and a unique external identifier. As instruments are allocated to production batches, the consumed amount increases and the balance decreases. The ledger prevents over-consumption: you cannot allocate more than the remaining balance.Add an instrument
Open the instrument ledger
Navigate to your project’s ledger list and open either the REC or Renewable Fuel BCU ledger.
Enter the external ID
Provide the certificate’s External ID, the unique identifier from the issuing registry. This must be globally unique across all accounts.
Enter the amount
Enter the certificate Amount in the appropriate unit: kW.h for RECs, kgCO₂e for Renewable Fuel.
Fill in type-specific fields
- RECs: Enter the Geography (required) and optionally the Generation Technology (Wind, Solar, or Other), Issuance Date, and Purchase Date.
- Renewable Fuel: Optionally enter Mass of Fuel (t), Energy Intensity (gCO₂e/MJ), and Lower Heating Value (MJ/kg).
Set dates and evidence
Set Valid From and Valid To dates if applicable, and attach evidence such as certificate documents, purchase receipts, or registry URLs.
The external ID must be globally unique because it represents a specific certificate. If you get a uniqueness error, verify the certificate hasn’t already been registered in another project or account.
Track balance and consumption
Each instrument shows three key metrics in the ledger view:- Amount: The original certificate value as entered
- Consumed to date: The total amount that has been allocated to production batches
- Balance remaining: What is left for future allocation
An instrument’s amount cannot be reduced below its consumed-to-date value. If you need to correct an amount, you may need to regenerate affected batches first. An instrument with any allocations cannot be deleted. Remove the allocations before deleting the instrument.
Connect to your production model
To include instrument deductions in batch calculations, wire the instrument ledger into the production model.Add an instrument input node
Add a node that references the instrument ledger’s output data point type.
Connect to emissions calculation
Connect this node to your emissions calculation:
- RECs: Typically deducted from grid electricity emissions (reducing the effective grid emission factor)
- Renewable Fuel: Typically deducted from fuel-related emissions
Evidence
Each instrument can have supporting evidence attached, including files or URLs that document the certificate’s provenance. This creates an audit trail from reported batch values back to the original certificates. Common evidence includes:- Registry certificate documents
- Purchase receipts or invoices
- Transfer documentation
- Registry URLs linking to the certificate record