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What’s the story?
Last week, ISO and the GHG Protocol announced a partnership to align their greenhouse gas (GHG) measurement and reporting frameworks. This agreement will see ISO and the GHG Protocol co-develop a new global standard with shared terminology, methodology, measurement, and reporting guidance.
Why is this important?
Until now, GHG standards have been developed separately, with differing methodology and guidance. This fragmentation has created confusion and acted as a major barrier to effective climate action. A unified standard will simplify the process for companies and bring greater consistency for policymakers.
Wait, but what are ISO and the GHG Protocol?
ISO and the GHG Protocol are the two leading frameworks for GHG accounting. Both aim to standardise GHG accounting, categorise emissions into three scopes, and require clearly defined organisational boundaries for emissions reporting.
However, they differ in approach. ISO is more procedural, focusing on steps for quantifying, reporting, and verifying GHG emissions. THe GHG Protocol offers detailed guidance on calculating emissions but lacks formal verification requirements. Other differences include treatment of value chain emissions, avoided emissions and carbon removals.
What’s next?
At this stage, neither body has provided a timeline for when this joint framework will be completed and rolled out. Still, the announcement last week has been positively received by the carbon accounting community. This much-needed collaboration is expected to simplify and clarify a notoriously complex field… Whenever it’s published!
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