機構可以通過購買綠色電力作為更廣泛的環境管理策略或計劃的一部分，以及為進行獨立審核、認證、背書和最低購買基準與第三方組織合作，來確保其綠色電力採購的可信度。
採購綠色電力的機構可能會經歷公共關係及內部挑戰，這些挑戰可分為以下幾類：
觀念上的。有些人可能難以理解，REC市場工具代表了電力的無形環境屬性。RECs是天然的獨立商品，並且與電分開交易。但是，RECs是美國市場自願使用和採購綠色電力的合法核算工具，並且在溫室氣體核算指南和州可再生能源配額制政策中得到支持。判例法還確立了RECs對傳遞綠色電力的環境屬性的有效性。讓利益相關者了解在電力市場中是如何購買特定電力的會有所幫助，並且從機構項目所在的本地電網內獲得綠色電力有助於減少困惑。採購可靠性。通過提高透明度能夠輕鬆解決關於機構是否真正收到的是它聲稱購買的的問題。對提高可信度和透明度所做的努力包括購買經過第三方認證計劃認證並驗證的可再生能源，以及使用在獨立電子跟蹤系統中跟蹤產生的RECs的設施。市場影響。一些利益相關者可能難以理解或認可國家可再生能源市場的收益，在該市場中，可再生能源新的發展和產生將取決於足夠的需求。鑑於當前全國RECs的供需水平，他們可能會擔心從現有的可再生能源設施採購綠色電力對可再生能源的整體供應影響不大。如果這些問題對機構很重要，則會想要強調從新設施購買或利用其資源來幫助建立新的可再生能源設施。這樣，除了提供所有基於REC的綠色電力供應選項的可再生能源使用和減排的核心效益之外，還將帶來額外的聲譽效應14。
Public Relations Considerations
Organizations can ensure the credibility of their green power purchase by buying green power as part of a broader environmental management strategy or program, as well as by working with third-party organizations for independent auditing, certification, endorsement and minimum purchasing benchmarks.
Organizations purchasing green power can experience public relations and internal challenges, which can fall into the following categories:
Conceptual. Some people may struggle to understand that the REC market instrument represents theintangible environmental attributes of generation. RECs are an inherently separate commodity and also tradeseparately from physical electricity. Nevertheless, RECs are the legal accounting instrument in the U.S. marketfor voluntary green power use and purchasing, and they are supported in GHG accounting guidance and stateRPS policies. Their validity to representing the conveyance of environmental attributes of green power is alsofounded in case law. Educating stakeholders about how purchases of specified electricity work in electricitymarkets can help, and sourcing green power from projects within the organization’s local electricity grid mayhelp minimize confusion.
Purchase credibility. Questions about whether an organization really receives what it claims it bought can beeasily addressed through greater transparency. Example efforts to improve credibility and transparency includepurchasing renewable energy that is certified and verified by third-party certification programs and use offacilities whose RECs are tracked in independent electronic tracking systems.
Market impact. Some stakeholders may struggle to understand or accept the benefits of a national renewable energy market in which new development and generation of renewable energy will depend on sufficient demand. They may be concerned that purchasing green power from existing renewable facilities does not have a big enough impact on the overall supply of renewable energy due to current national levels of supply and demand of RECs. If these concerns are important to an organization, it may want to emphasize purchases from new facilities or leverage its resources to help a new renewable facility get built. This may offer added reputational benefits beyond the core renewable energy usage and emissions rate offered by all REC-based green power supply options.14
14 Center for Resource Solutions. (2016). How renewable energy certificates make a difference: The impacts and benefits of buying renewable energy. Retrieved from https://resource-solutions.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/How-RECs-Make-a-Difference.pdf