The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is an initiative that serves to determine a universal standardized measurement by which companies and organizations can be evaluated on their output of emissions.
The GHG Protocol is responsible for creating the global standard frameworks to measure and dictate how greenhouse gas emissions should be handled for other entities such as public and private sectors and value chains.
Known as the world’s most widely used framework for measuring and managing greenhouse gas emissions, the GHG Protocol was developed through a partnership with the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
Ultimately, the GHG Protocol provides standardized methods and guidelines to allow organizations, whether public, private, or part of a supply chain – method to account for, report, and reduce their emissions consistently with transparency.
The GHG Protocol’s standards are designed to ensure that emissions data is accurate, comparable, and credible. This allows businesses, governments, and other entities to understand their climate impact, track progress toward reduction goals, and report to stakeholders and regulators.
The GHG Protocol is important because without standardized methods such as the GHG Protocol can help to ensure that emissions reporting remains consistent, and makes comparing results or tracking global progress toward climate goals more accessible to all.
No, the GHG Protocol is a voluntary standard, but many governments and companies align themselves with it in order to meet regulatory or investor expectations – making the GHG Protocol a well known “guideline” for organizations.
The GHG Protocol relates to carbon dioxide equivalents as it measures all greenhouse gases and then expresses them as CO₂ equivalents to allow for easy comparing and contrasting.
Several different organizations use the GHG Protocol, including worldwide corporations and businesses, NGOs, cities, and national governments across the globe.
Most organizations measure emissions under the GHG Protocol annually, but some organizations may aim for quarterly emissions measurement for internal progress tracking – as this can ensure their robust carbon reduction strategies remain intact.
The GHG protocol is the most widely used standard of emissions accounting in the world.
The protocol is partnered with various organizations around the world such as:
Through these partnerships, they produce the Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, which provides the basis for virtually every official GHG measuring service globally. In addition to providing the measurement standards, the GHG protocol also offers reporting standards, sector guidance and training tools for businesses and governments to reduce their emissions.
Check out their website for more information.
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