GHG Protocol
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is the global accounting standard for corporate emissions. It is the foundation almost every other framework — CSRD, SBTi, CDP, ISO 14064 — builds on.
Who maintains it
Developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The Corporate Standard was first published in 2001; the Scope 3 Standard followed in 2011.
Scope 1 — direct emissions
Emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company: combustion in owned boilers, furnaces and vehicles, and fugitive emissions from refrigerants. Reported in tCO₂e.
Scope 2 — purchased energy
Indirect emissions from generation of purchased electricity, steam, heat and cooling. Reported under both location-based (grid average) and market-based (contractual, e.g. renewable PPAs) methods.
Scope 3 — value chain
- Upstream: purchased goods and services, capital goods, fuel- and energy-related activities, upstream transportation, waste, business travel, employee commuting, upstream leased assets.
- Downstream: downstream transportation, processing of sold products, use of sold products, end-of-life treatment, downstream leased assets, franchises, investments.
- Scope 3 is usually the largest category — and the hardest to quantify — for most companies.
Why it matters
Almost every disclosure framework (CSRD ESRS E1, SBTi, CDP, GRI 305, ISO 14064) explicitly references the GHG Protocol Scope 1/2/3 structure. Getting your inventory right against this standard means your data is reusable across every other regime.
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