Greenhouse Gas Protocol Explained: The Foundation of Transparent Carbon Accounting Services
Carbon footprint reduction is a huge priority for businesses; however, it’s still a relatively new one. It’s only over the last few years that environmental impact solutions have made their way to the forefront as businesses become increasingly aware of how their operations affect the planet. Since environmental performance improvement is a relatively new concept, it’s vital that businesses get the guidance and support they need to adhere to the GHG Protocol. This Protocol is comprised of various elements, which businesses can discover more about below.
The Protocol for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction
The GHG Protocol refers to the most prominent greenhouse gas accounting standards and guidance. These standards work to provide businesses, governments, and other organisations with a framework to carry out a carbon footprint analysis and report on the results. This framework is essential for helping these organisations achieve their environmental missions and goals.
The GHG Protocol Standards
The GHG protocol standards relevant to businesses are as follows:
Corporate Standard – Requirements and guidance for organisations preparing a corporate-level GHG emissions inventory.
Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard – Allows companies to assess their entire value chain's emissions impact and identify where to focus reduction activities.
Product Standard – Used to understand the full life cycle emissions of a product and focus efforts on the greatest GHG reduction opportunities.
GHG Emissions Reporting
When it comes to environmental impact analysis, there are three scopes in place to categorise various types of carbon emissions that a company contributes to via its own operations and in its overall value chain. The scopes are as follows:
Scope 1 – Scope 1 emissions are the greenhouse gases that a company directly produces (e.g., via its boilers, vehicles, etc.)
Scope 2 – Scope 2 emissions are those that a company indirectly produces (e.g., when the energy it buys is being produced on its behalf.)
Scope 3 – Scope 3 emissions are all those associated with the company, including those it’s indirectly responsible for throughout its value chain (e.g., buying products from its suppliers, customers using its products, etc.)
The Power of Scope 3 Emissions
Almost always, scope 3 emissions are the most significant. For instance, a number of companies don’t manufacture their own products or own their own fleets; as a result, upwards of 95% of their carbon emissions can fall under Scope 3. So, while it’s crucial to focus on Scope 1 and 2, it’s impossible to bring a net zero strategy to life without addressing Scope 3.
In order to measure and reduce Scope 3 emissions, businesses must assess the entire supply chain, which is by no means an easy task. Therefore, carbon management strategies need to be ongoing.
Make the Most of Sustainability Consulting Services
Although businesses can follow the published guidance to carry out their carbon accounting in-house, it’s far from a simple feat. As a result, Oakdene Hollins recommends that organisations opt for environmental compliance consulting services. This way, companies will be able to avoid mistakes and comply with regulatory and customer expectations with ease. With the help of our carbon and circular economy consulting, we’re confident that businesses will be able to make your corporate sustainability goals a reality.