What is book-and-claim?
Book-and-claim separates a verified sustainability characteristic from the physical material. A programme records a certified production quantity and issues certificates for that quantity. The certificate buyer may receive conventional material from another supply chain, so the certificate does not prove what is physically inside a delivered product.
Why does book-and-claim matter to you?
A customer may ask you to support certified production when segregated supply is unavailable. Before answering, check whether the request accepts book-and-claim and which programme, product group, geography, production period, unit and claim wording it permits. An invoice alone does not prove retirement or identify the characteristic you may claim.
How does book-and-claim work?
A certified producer registers an eligible quantity. The programme verifies it and issues certificates in a registry. When certificates are sold, the producer must sell the corresponding physical quantity without the certified claim. The buyer records the transfer and retires the certificates before claiming them. Keep the registry record showing the certificate IDs, quantity and unit, production period, retirement date, retirement status, and your company as the named beneficiary.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Saying the delivered material physically contains the certified characteristic.
- Claiming more units than the registry shows as retired for your company.
- Using certificates from the wrong product group, period or geography.
- Letting the producer and certificate buyer claim the same characteristic.
Is book-and-claim the same as mass balance?
No. Mass balance reconciles certified and non-certified inputs within a defined physical system. Book-and-claim removes the physical connection and transfers the characteristic through certificates.
What should you send when a customer asks for proof?
Send the programme name and rules, then the registry record showing the certificate IDs, quantity and unit, characteristic covered, production period, retirement date, retirement status, and your company as the named beneficiary. Use the programme's approved claim wording.