GHG Protocol
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What Is the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol?
In today’s push toward net-zero, understanding your organisation’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is essential. The GHG Protocol has become the global benchmark for businesses seeking to measure, manage, and report their carbon footprints with credibility and consistency.
What Is the GHG Protocol?
The GHG Protocol is a globally recognised set of standards that guide organisations in calculating, categorising, and reporting their greenhouse gas emissions. Developed through a partnership between the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the GHG Protocol ensures that emissions reporting is transparent, accurate, and comparable across industries.
It provides the foundation for carbon accounting worldwide — underpinning disclosure systems like CDP, GRI, and regulatory initiatives such as the EU’s CSRD and the SEC’s climate disclosure rules.
Why Was the GHG Protocol Created?
Before the GHG Protocol, there was no consistent way for companies or governments to measure emissions. This inconsistency made comparisons — and real climate action — extremely difficult.
The Protocol was developed to:
- Support efforts to limit climate change, aligning with targets like the Paris Agreement.
- Provide a robust framework for corporate responsibility and climate risk transparency.
- Enable organisations to track progress toward net-zero goals in a credible, verifiable way.
Today, it is the most widely used emissions accounting framework across the world.
How Does the GHG Protocol Work?
The GHG Protocol organises emissions into three categories known as Scopes:
Scope | Definition | Example |
Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. | Company vehicles, onsite boilers | |
Indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heat, or steam. | Office electricity use | |
All other indirect emissions across the value chain. | Supplier emissions, employee commuting |
Understanding and categorising emissions this way helps businesses identify hotspots, set reduction targets, and report more transparently.
Main Standards Under the GHG Protocol
The Protocol comprises several key standards:
- Corporate Standard: The foundation for measuring and reporting emissions from company operations.
- Scope 3 Standard: A guide for reporting value chain (upstream and downstream) emissions.
- Product Standard: Measures the carbon footprint of individual goods or services.
- Project Protocol: Used to quantify emissions reductions from specific climate initiatives.
Organisations can choose the standards relevant to their reporting needs — or combine them for a full emissions picture.
Why Companies Use the GHG Protocol
Adopting the GHG Protocol offers multiple benefits:
- Regulatory alignment: It supports compliance with frameworks like the CSRD and SEC rules.
- Investor confidence: Investors increasingly demand credible emissions data.
- Strategic advantage: Understanding emissions hotspots helps organisations prioritise energy efficiency, supply chain improvements, and innovation.
- Climate leadership: Transparent reporting boosts brand reputation among customers, employees, and partners.
In short, the GHG Protocol is not just about reporting — it’s about building a climate-resilient business.
How to Implement the GHG Protocol
Getting started involves a few clear steps:
- Set your boundaries: Define organisational and operational boundaries for reporting.
- Collect activity data: Gather data for Scopes 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
- Apply emission factors: Use credible sources to convert activity data into CO₂e values.
- Calculate and categorise emissions: Group emissions into the relevant scopes.
- Report transparently: Disclose methodologies, assumptions, and results.
Organisations often use carbon accounting software aligned with the GHG Protocol to streamline this process.
FAQs
What are Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions?
They classify emissions by source: direct (Scope 1), purchased energy (Scope 2), and value chain (Scope 3).
Is the GHG Protocol mandatory?
No — but it is referenced or required by many regulatory frameworks globally.
How is the GHG Protocol different from ISO 14064?
The GHG Protocol provides broad guidance for carbon accounting, while ISO 14064 sets specific requirements for GHG validation, verification, and reporting.
GHG Protocol: A Global Language for Climate Action
The GHG Protocol empowers organisations to take control of their carbon footprint with rigour and credibility. By measuring emissions consistently, companies can not only comply with evolving regulations but also build stronger, more sustainable business models for the future.