The Compliance Operations Group (COG) within Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is making major changes to the data management system and regulatory reporting processes. These changes will simplify and streamline the way dealers of regulated energy-using products do business with COG.
The new Compliance Regulatory Energy Efficiency Database (CREED) is a secure online system that dealers and authorized certification bodies associated with the energy efficiency verification/certification files will use to submit compliance and energy efficiency information to NRCan. This new system will provide users with pre-defined templates to create, submit and manage energy efficiency reports.
Modernization benefits
The new system will reduce workload for dealers, certification bodies, and NRCan. It will reduce administrative time and increase productivity by automating processes, validating submitted data in near real-time, and reducing back and forth with NRCan. The system will provide more useful digital tools and better functionality to users. This should allow for better alignment with provincial and international partners.
Users will be able to upload submissions directly into the system; create, submit, and manage reports using product or equipment specific templates; have full access to previous submissions; track the status of all submissions and receive automated message when the status changes; view reports and statistics; ask questions to program staff; and, run searches on their already submitted reports.
Upcoming access to CREED for submitting compliance reports
The new system is scheduled for a staged release starting in 2024. As it marks a significant advance, it will be rolled out in several phases with support to ensure that all stakeholders are fully familiar with CREED before it replaces the current system.
Progress updates
As the development of this new online system moves forward, we will continue to consult with stakeholders to ensure it meets the needs of dealers and certification bodies for regulated energy-using products.
The plan is to have multiple launch dates scheduled to migrate all regulated energy-using products to the new CREED platform. Launches 1 – 5 to be completed by January 31st, 2025, with launches 6 – 10 to be completed by March 31st, 2025. Please note that should the proposed schedule change, we will update this webpage and communicate directly with affected stakeholders.
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Launch 1
Beta-testing and the feedback period for lighting products was completed on September 27th, 2024. On October 23rd, 2024, the following products were migrated to the new CREED platform:
- Compact Fluorescent Lamps
- Exit Signs
- General Service Fluorescent Lamps
- General Service Incandescent Reflector Lamps
- General Service Lamps
- Traffic Signals & Pedestrian Modules
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Launch 2
Beta-testing and the feedback period for the second launch of products was completed on November 8th, 2024. On November 22nd, 2024, the following products were migrated to the new CREED platform:
- Clean Water Pumps
- Gas Fireplaces
- Microwave Ovens
- Refrigerators
- TVs
- Vending Machines
- Video Products
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Launch 3
The third group of products will not undergo beta testing and will be migrated directly to the new CREED platform on December 6th, 2024, and will include the following products:
- Air Conditioners – Portable
- Air Conditioners – Room
- Compact Audio Products
- Dehumidifiers – Portable
- Dehumidifiers – Whole home
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Launch 4
The fourth group of products will not undergo beta testing and will be migrated directly to the new CREED platform on January 9th, 2025, and will include the following products:
- Clothes Dryers
- Clothes Washers – Household
- Clothes Washers – Household-style Commercial
- Cooktops
- Dishwashers
- Freezers
- Integrated Washer/Dryer
- Miscellaneous Refrigeration Products
- Ovens – Electric
- Ranges - Gas
- Ranges - Electric
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Launch 5
The fifth group of products will not undergo beta testing and will be migrated directly to the new CREED platform on January 28th, 2025, and will include the following products:
- Boilers - Electric – Household
- Boilers - Gas – Household
- Boilers - Oil-fired -Household
- Commercial Pre-Rinse Spray Valves
- Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts
- Furnaces - Electric
- Gas Unit Heaters
- Walk-In Coolers & Freezers - Doors
- Walk-In Coolers & Freezers - Panels
- Walk-In Coolers & Freezers - Refrigeration Systems
- Water Heaters – Electric - Household
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Launches 6 and 7
The sixth and seventh groups of products will not undergo beta testing and will be migrated directly to the new CREED platform on March 14th, 2025, and will include the following products:
- Air Conditioners - Large
- Air Conditioners - Packaged Terminal
- Air Conditioners - Single Package single phase
- Air Conditioners - Single Package three phase
- Air Conditioners - Single Package Vertical
- Air Conditioners - Split System single phase
- Air Conditioners - Split System three phase
- Boilers - Oil-fired-Commercial
- Furnaces - Gas
- Furnaces - Oil
- Heat Pumps - Ground Source
- Heat Pumps - Large
- Heat Pumps - Packaged Terminal
- Heat Pumps - Single Package Vertical
- Heat Pumps - Single Package single phase
- Heat Pumps - Single Package three phase
- Heat Pumps - Split System single phase
- Heat Pumps - Split System three phase
- Water Heaters - Electric-Commercial
- Water Heaters - Gas-fired-Commercial
- Water Heaters - Gas-fired-Household
- Water Heaters - Oil-fired-Commercial
- Water Heaters - Oil-fired-Household
- Water Heaters - Gas-fired Instantaneous-Household
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Launches 8 and 9
The eighth and ninth groups of products will not undergo beta testing and will be migrated directly to the new CREED platform in April 2025, and will include the following products:
- Battery Chargers
- Boilers - Gas - Commercial
- External Power Supplies
- Heat Pumps - Internal Water Loop
- Ice Makers
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Launch 10
The remaining groups of products will not undergo beta testing and will be migrated directly to the new CREED platform in April/May 2025 and will include the following products:
- Ceiling Fan & Ceiling Fan Light Kits & Ceiling Fan with Ceiling Fan Light Kits
- Chillers
- Heat/Energy Recovery Ventilators (HERV)
- Metal Hallide Ballasts
- Motors - Electric
- Motors - Small Electric
- Refrigerators - Commercial
- Refrigerators - Commercial Multi-Compartment
- Torchieres
- Transformers (Dry-type)
LINK TO CREED PORTAL
Step-by-Step Instructions
Registration
Learn how to register for the CREED by following the step-by-step instructions in this video. Whether you're a first-time user or need a quick refresher, this guide will walk you through the entire process to ensure your registration is smooth and hassle-free.
Transcript
Slide 1
The CREED portal is a new tool launched by Natural Resources Canada in 2024, that provides several capabilities to submit products for regulatory compliance, review, and approval. In this video, we will be discussing the registration process.
Slide 2
Several of you will receive an invitation to the NRCan CREED portal. Check your email inbox for the registration email and click the registration link to connect to the registration page.
Slide 3
To register with CREED, you will need to create a GCKey account.
A GCKey is a unique electronic credential that allows you to communicate securely with online enabled Government programs and services.
The Government of Canada, as the service provider, issues these unique credentials to individuals for use with Enabled Services. An Enabled Service is an online Government service that uses the security measures provided by your GCKey.
You can use one GCKey to access multiple Enabled Services, or you may choose to have a different GCKey for each Enabled Service. However, you will need to remember which GCKey was used to enroll with each individual service. If you forget, the GCKey service cannot assist you as it does not know which services you use or how many GCKeys you have.
Slide 4
You will be redirected to the GCKey sign in option page.
Sign-in partners are private sector companies and organizations that have partnered with Interac© Technologies to enable their customers to use their online credentials (e.g., card numbers or usernames and passwords) to access Government of Canada services.
It is highly recommended that you do not use a sign-in partner when registering with NRCan. The preferred method is to create a GCKey account. GCKey is a Government of Canada service that issues credentials (username and password) that are used to access (or log in to) federal government services online.
Slide 5
It is important to understand that the Government of Canada uses this GCKey system for multiple Government of Canada services, so we highly recommend that you create a new GCKey for your corporate submissions, and do not use any existing GCKey you have used in the past to access any other Government of Canada service. When you create your new GCkey, we also recommend that you can do so using your corporate email address, rather than your personal email address.
You are not permitted to share your GCKey login credentials with any anyone. This is a unique identifier for an individual. If your company requires multiple people to submit the data, they can each create a separate GCKey credential, and all of the data will be aggregated for your company.
If you already have a GCKey then enter your credentials, then click Sign In. This takes you to the two-factor authentication page, where you need to enter your passcode from your email to sign in.
Otherwise, click Sign Up to create a new GCKey account.
Slide 6
Once you have created your GCKey credentials, you will be redirected back to the CREED portal. The next step is to fill out your profile information.
If you received an invitation, then your profile will be partially completed, verify and modify the details of you profile and click Save.
If you did not receive an invitation, then you will have to complete your profile. You will need to select your company type. The company type selected will impact the user workflow as a dealer, brand owner or manufacturer is associated to a certification body or a laboratory during the submission process.
Slide 7
Manufacturers, dealers and brand owners can submit data for themselves and run reports on their data. A certification body or a lab may submit on behalf of a manufacturer, dealer or brand owner.
When data is submitted to NRCan, manufacturers, dealers and brand owners can run reports on data they submitted or was submitted by a third party on their behalf. Certification bodies and laboratories may run reports on data that they submitted and for products where they were specified as the Energy Efficiency Certifying Organization.
Slide 8
When you select a company type, you may then search for your company if is already registered with NRCan.
If your company has not yet registered with NRCan, you may register a new company.
Slide 9
Start typing in the text field Select a Company text field to filter the list based on your entry.
When you see your company, select it, then connect it to the account.
Slide 10
After you have selected your company, it will be automatically entered on your profile page.
Complete your profile ensuring you enter your email address and then click Save.
You will then be redirected to the Program Selection page. If you are not redirected, you can access the Program Selection page from the dropdown menu by clicking My Program.
Slide 11
You must now verify your email address before you can register for the Regulatory Compliance program.
Your email address will likely be one of the ways that your compliance officer will verify you, so that you may perform submissions, so you need to ensure that it is your correct email address.
Go to your email application and click the verification link.
Slide 12
Once you have verified your email address, you may now select a program.
Select Regulatory Compliance.
Slide 13
Before you register, you must agree with the compliance statement.
Please review the compliance statement, then enter your name in the text box, and click I Agree.
Slide 14
If you were not sent an invitation, a compliance officer will verify your profile information and approve or deny your request. If your request is denied, you will be notified by email of the reasons your request was denied. Typically, the reason for denial is an error in the profile information, which you can correct and reapply immediately.
Slide 15
For new companies, approval requires review by Regulatory Compliance. However, for registered companies, your profile can be approved by other approved users in your organization.
Slide 16
In the next video we will discuss managing accounts and contacts.
Manage Accounts and Contacts
Learn how to manage users and accounts. This video provides step-by-step instructions to help you navigate the process of adding, or removing users, as well as managing account settings to ensure everything is organized and secure.
Transcript
Slide 1
The CREED portal is a new tool launched by Natural Resources Canada in 2024, that provides multiple capabilities regarding submission of products for regulatory compliance, review, and approval. In this video, we will be discussing how to manage accounts and contacts.
Slide 2
When you first login, after approval, you will see the option for a drop-down menu. There are different menu item selections for a manufacturers, dealers or brand owners than there are for certification bodies and labs. We will explore what is common to both, and what is exclusive to each, in turn.
Slide 3
There are 5 common links, the Home link, the My profile link, the Program link, the Approve New Users link and the Logout link.
Slide 4
Since the home and logout links are self-explanatory, and we have already discussed the My Profile and My Program links in the registration video, we will now discuss the Approve New Users link.
Slide 5
The Approve New Users page provides a means to approve or deny new user requests by people within your organization. When new users request access to the program, existing approved users can review and approve or deny the request. You will be able to see details on the requester, including their email address, so you can contact them directly. Based on your investigation, you may approve or deny access from the submenu. The new approval status will be updated.
Slide 6
A certification body or a lab has specific menu items for associating manufacturers to their account.
A certification body or lab must request approval to submit on behalf of the dealer, brand owner or manufacturer, and will require an authorization to submit. There are two menu items associated with this process. A certification body or lab can manage their list of dealers, brand owners or manufacturers from the Manage Manufacturers link and may search for Manufacturer IDs using the Search Manufacturers link.
Slide 7
The Search Manufacturers link provides the full list of NRCan registered dealers, brand owners and manufacturers. This table provides the Manufacturer ID, a unique identifier for the account. You may filter on this list by typing into the search text box.
Slide 8
The Manage Manufacturers allows CBs and labs to add associations for manufacturers, dealers or brand owners or for whom they may submit. They may also remove existing associations that may be pending or have already been approved.
Slide 9
To create a new association, click New, then follow the prompts.
Click Search for a new Manufacturer and use the text field to filter the list of manufacturers, select and then click Connect.
Click Create Request, upload your authorization form and click Finish. Then click Done to complete the request. Your request is pending review by the Compliance Team.
Slide 10
Dealers, brand owners and manufacturers are also able to manage the associations with certification bodies and labs. The process to manage these associations is simpler, as these accounts own the data, and therefore control who may submit on their behalf.
To associate a certification body or a lab to their account, select Manage Submitters.
Slide 11
The Manage Submitters allows dealers, manufactures and brand owners to select who may submit on their behalf. There are four tabs associated with the Manage Submitters page. The CB/Lab tab allows for the adding and removing of certification bodies and labs, while the remaining three tabs are associated with other individual submitters that do not work for this user’s company, or a certification body or a lab.
To add a certification body or a lab, click the CB/Lab tab. To add a new association, select the account from the left menu and then click top move icon.
To remove an association, select the account from the right menu and then click the bottom move icon. When the list of associations is completed, click Save.
Slide 12
To add an Other submitter, click the New/Pending tab.
To add a new submitter, click Invite. The new submitter will be sent an email asking them to register, until then, the account is pending. When the user registers, they will move to the Approved tab. Fill out the First Name, Last Name and Email address and then click Send Invite. If you delete a user using the submenu they will move to the Recycling Bin where they may be restored, otherwise their association will be removed and the account locked
Slide 13
In the next video we will discuss performing submissions and running reports.
Submissions and Reports
Learn how to submit energy efficiency reporting templates and review submitted reports. This video provides step-by-step instructions on how to fill out and submit your templates, as well as how to access and review the reports to ensure accuracy and compliance.
Transcript
Slide 1
The CREED portal is a new tool launched by Natural Resources Canada in 2024, that provides multiple capabilities regarding the submission of products, for regulatory compliance, review, and approval. In this video, we will be discussing how to submit products for regulatory compliance and run reports on submitted products.
Slide 2
Once registered, you will be presented with the home page. There are two buttons on the right side of the page, one links to the product submission page, and the other links to the product reports page.
Slide 3
The My Submissions page allows you to view your submissions and download submission templates.
You may select the appropriate template by selecting the product and language, and by clicking the appropriate download button.
Slide 4
From the My Submissions page, you scroll through your submissions, which provides details on the equipment type, file names of the submitted templates, the date the submission was uploaded and the status of the submission.
The status of a submission can be:
Processing which means the system is working on the submission
Pending Approval which means an officer is reviewing your submission
Failed Validation which means a submission contained errors and could not be processed
Approved which means the submission has been accepted by NRCan
Rejected which means that an officer has reviewed the submission and has found issues
Slide 5
To perform a submission, click New Submission.
Slide 6
Click Upload Files or drag your product list template onto the drop files area.
When selecting a manufacturer, certification bodies and labs may select any dealer, brand owner or manufacturer for whom they are authorized to submit whereas a dealer, brand owner or manufacturer may only select themselves.
You must then select the equipment type followed by the language of the template being uploaded.
Finally, upload the template file and click Next.
Slide 7
If you have supporting documents, you may add them. It is not mandatory that your submission include supporting documents. Click Upload Files or drag your supporting documents onto the drop files area.
Slide 8
To view the details of a submission, click the Submission Name.
Slide 9
When opening a submission, you will find important information on details of the submission.
The Details tab provides information on the submission, this includes the equipment count and the number of processed items.
The status bar provides a quick view of the current state.
If there are any errors, the number of errors is shown, and you can view the details of those errors in the Validation Errors tab.
The submission file details are found in the right column, and you can download the submitted template using the download button.
Slide 10
The Supporting Documentation tab allows you to review and modify a submission’s supporting documentation before it has been fully processed
Slide 11
The Validation Errors tab allows you to review any errors found in the submission.
Only 20 errors are viewable from this tab; however, the ability to download the full error report will be available soon.
The cell column shows the location of the error. The value column shows the erroneous value. The Message column provides a description of the error found.
You may download the submitted template, modify and resubmit, or delete the submission and start over.
Slide 12
The Compliance Summary only appears after a submission is accepted or rejected.
It provides a count of the products processed, compliant, non-compliant and non-regulated.
It also shows the products that were added, modified or deleted from the Searchable Product List.
Slide 13
The Compliance Results tab provides the compliant, non-compliant and non-regulated products in the submission.
This list is limited to 1000 rows, but the ability to download this report will be available soon.
Slide 14
The Questions/Comments tab allows you to see the officer’s comments and provides the ability to ask questions.
For example, this submission was rejected by the compliance team.
The comments from the compliance officer is displayed in this history log and you can ask questions by writing a comment.
Slide 15
My Reports provides you with the ability to create product submissions, using the latest template.
As this data is updated continually, and the report is only current up to the time it was run, these reports are only available for download for 7 days.
As with performing a submission, you must select the manufacturer. A certification body or a lab may select any dealer, brand owner or manufacturer for whom they are authorized to submit, and a dealer, brand owner or manufacturer may only select themselves.
The select the product, the report type, such as compliant, non-compliant, or both, and finally the language.
Then click Generate Report to create the prefilled template.
While processing, the link will display as N/A. When completed you may download the report.
Canada’s Energy Efficiency Act and Energy Efficiency Regulations
All regulated products must meet federal energy efficiency standards to be imported into Canada or shipped from one province to another for the purpose of sale or lease. The Regulations continue to apply to these products if they are incorporated into a larger unit or machine, even when that unit or machine is an unregulated product.
Learn more about the Act and Regulations
Contact us
If you have questions, contact us at: CREED-BDCREE@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca
Related Links
- NRCan's Guide to Canada's Energy Efficiency Regulations
- Canada’s Energy Efficiency Regulations – Justice Canada
- Energy Efficiency Act – Justice Canada
- Energy-efficient searchable products list
- What’s New? Energy Efficiency Regulations at NRCan