About the 1605(b) Program

History

Established by Section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program (also known as the 1605(b) Program) encourages corporations, government agencies, non-profit organizations, households, and other private and public entities to submit annual reports of their greenhouse gas emissions, emission reductions, and sequestration activities. The Program provides a means for voluntary reporting that is complete, reliable, and consistent.

The Voluntary Reporting Program began operations in 1994 under the auspices of the Energy Information Administration, the statistical branch of the Department of Energy. Under the original guidelines, the Program released annual reports and a public database for each reporting cycle from the 1994 through the 2005 data years.

The Enhanced 1605(b) Program

In February 2002, the President directed the Department of Energy, together with other involved Federal agencies, to recommend reforms to enhance the Voluntary Reporting Program. Following extensive public review, the Program’s guidelines underwent an extensive overhaul with the focus of reporting shifting away from individual projects to emphasize entity-wide emissions inventories and emission reductions. For more information on revisions to the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program, visit the Changes to Revised Form EIA-1605 page.

The revised 1605(b) Program will begin collecting reports under the revised guidelines for the 2006, 2007 and 2008 reporting years in 2009.