GHG Protocol, CSRD, ISO 14064 or GRI — which framework should you pick?
The honest answer: you do not pick one, you pick a stack. Here is a decision tree for mid-market companies.
Always: GHG Protocol
Every other framework references the GHG Protocol Scope 1/2/3 structure. If your inventory is not GHG-Protocol-compliant, nothing else will be. This is the foundation — not optional.
If you are an EU large company: CSRD / ESRS
CSRD is mandatory if you meet wave 2/3/4 thresholds. ESRS is the technical specification. Build your data model around the ESRS topic codes (E1, S1, G1, etc.) and you can satisfy most other frameworks too.
If you sell into the EU but are not in scope: GRI + GHG Protocol
Wave 4 (FY2028) brings in non-EU groups with significant EU revenue. In the meantime, GRI is the most widely-recognised voluntary baseline and maps cleanly onto ESRS impact-materiality topics.
If you need third-party assurance: ISO 14064-3
When a customer or bank asks for a 'verified' inventory, they usually mean ISO 14064-3. It is the conformity-assessment standard verifiers use, and it sits naturally on top of a GHG Protocol inventory.
If you are not in EU and not in regulated sectors: CDP + GHG Protocol
CDP's questionnaire is the lingua franca for procurement teams and investors outside the EU. It rides on GHG Protocol data and asks targeted governance questions.
Rule of thumb
Build the data model once, output to multiple frameworks. That is the only way mid-market companies survive the next five years of disclosure escalation.
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