Clean-fuel credit programs · Explained
California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) is the best-known version of this market, but it isn't the only one. Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Canada all run a similar program under a different name. Here's how the mechanics actually work.
The basic mechanism
Every fuel pathway is scored against a carbon-intensity standard that gets stricter each year. Fall above the standard and you owe a deficit. Fall below it and you generate a credit. One credit equals one metric ton of CO₂ avoided, and regulators certify every credit issued.
Refiners and importers whose fuel carries a carbon intensity above the program's standard accrue a deficit. To comply, they have to buy credits from generators that came in under the line.
Electricity used to charge forklifts and other equipment comes in well below the standard. Every verified kWh creates a credit that regulated suppliers need to buy — that's the revenue your fleet is sitting on.
The regulator sets a maximum credit price and audits the market. It's a regulated commodity, not a voluntary offset. This is why verified, device-level data is critical.
From forklift to credit
Generating and selling a credit is a defined, auditable process. The only step that's actually yours is the first one — everything after that is what Anvil's device and platform are built to handle.
Regulators require you to provide equipment information such as make, model, serial number and proof of ownership or leasing details to participate in their clean fuel programs.
The REM logs every kWh consumed. This automatically gets tied to a lift, making for easy, verified reporting.
Some programs let generators layer in additional environmental attributes to increase a credit's value. Anvil evaluates this for your fleet where it applies.
Anvil's platform files the required report to your regulator on schedule, pairing verified energy use with the applicable carbon-intensity value.
The regulator reviews the submission for completeness and issues credits in proportion to verified energy use and vehicle type.
Credits are sold into the regulated market to suppliers who need them to comply. Your share of that sale is your revenue.
What qualifies
Each program sets its own list of eligible equipment and its own ratio of energy used to credits generated, based on the vehicle's efficiency and the conventional fuel it replaces. Common eligible categories include:
One framework, several names
LCFS is the original and the most recognized name, but it's one program among several that all work the same way.
Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) · since 2015
Clean Fuels Program (CFP) · since 2016 · 37% reduction goal by 2035
Clean Fuels Standard (CFS) · 20% reduction goal by 2034
British Columbia LCFS (since 2010) and the federal Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR, since 2023)
*1 credit = 1 metric ton of CO₂ equivalent avoided. Reduction targets and credit values vary by program — see Markets for what applies to your fleet.
Every day a fleet runs without a REM installed is verified revenue it isn't collecting.