Greenhouse Gas Accounting:

GHG Protocol Initiative and ISO

World Resources Institute

GHGProtocol/ISOComparison
GHG Protocol
History

ISO

Launched in 1997, Corporate

Launched in 2002
standard published in 2000,
revised edition in 2004. Project
standard being road tested

Scope of work Corporate and project

Corporate, project &

verification

Level of detail Standards, guidance &

electronic calculation tools

Standards and some guidance

Adoption

Not yet completed but other

ISO standards have high
adoption rates by business

Corporate standard widely

adopted by governments,
NGOs, industry, and industry
associations

GHG Protocol/ISO Comparison

GHG Protocol
Decision
making

Consensus within multistakeholder groups

ISO
?

Practical Testing Road testing before completion

of Standards

None

Relevance

Policy and program neutral

Policy and program neutral

Types of
Participants

Multi-stakeholder/ many
perspectives/inclusive
Typically experts/practitioners

Typically generalists with

history in developing ISO
standards
Business-dominated

Cost

Free no certification
requirements

Fees for standards and

certification process

Keymessages
Avoid creating competing standards
Dont reinvent the wheel!

Base organization/project parts on GHG Protocol

Use GHG Protocol terminology to avoid confusion

Form follows function

Define the purpose of the standards first and design accordingly

Keymessages
Separate project, corporate & verification standards
Verification standard should be stand-alone
Project standard needs to be on a slower track

A good process is crucial

Get the balance of participants/decision makers right e.g., business, NGOs,
governments, North/South, others
Understanding of issues and concepts is a pre-requisite for informed decision
making - this is an iterative process

Keep communication channels open with GHGP

The AdoptionoftheCorporateStandard
GHG Protocols impact on GHG
accounting practice

California Climate Action Registry

French REGES Protocol
Carbon Disclosure Project
Chicago Climate Exchange
Dow Jones Sustainability Index
EU- ETS
GRI
METI, Japan
Northeast Registry (NESCAUM)

Respect Europe Business Leaders Initiative for Climate

Change (BLICC)
Industry Associations (Aluminum, IPIECA, ICFPA,
Cement, Iron and Steel)
UK-ETS
U.S. EPA Climate Leaders Initiative

GHG Protocol
Corporate
Standard
GHGP Project
Standard

ISO 14064 is on a good track

World Wildlife Fund Climate Savers

World Economic Forum Global GHG Register
Setting the scene

Adoption
by businesses (those that we know of)
Adoption
by businesses
Automobile Manufacturers
Ford Motor Company, USA
Volkswagen, Germany

IBM, USA
IKEA International, Sweden
Johnson & Johnson, USA
Miller Brewing Company, USA
Nike, USA
Norm Thompson Outfitters, USA
Cement
Pfizer Inc., USA
Cemex, Mexico
Raytheon, USA
Cimpor, Brazil
Heidelberger Cement, Germany SC Johnson, USA
Sony Electronics, Japan
Holcim, USA (and worldwide
Starbucks Coffee, USA
Holcim facilities)
Staples Inc., USA
Italcementi, Italy
Sun Microsystems
Lafarge, France and North
Target Corporation, USA
America
Unilever HPC, USA
RMC, UK
United Technologies Corporation,
St. Lawrence Cement Inc.,
USA
Canada
Siam Cement, Thailand
Taiheiyo, Japan
Votorantim, Brazil
Energy Services
Birka Energi, Sweden
Cinergy, USA
Edison Mission Energy, USA
Consumer Goods
ENDESA, Spain
Manufacturers
Exelon Corporation, USA
Bank of America
FPL Group, Inc., USA
Body Shop, UK
General Electric, USA
Cargill, USA
Green Mountain Energy, USA
Eastman Kodak, USA
Kansai Electric Power, Japan
Fetzer Vineyards, USA
Mirant, USA

N.V. Nuon Renewable Energy,

Netherlands
PSEG, USA
Seattle City Light, USA
Tokyo Gas, Japan
Wisconsin Electric, USA
We Energies, USA

Lockheed Martin Corporation, USA

Philips & Yaming, China
Simplex Paper & Pulp, India
STMicroelectronics, Switzerland
StoraEnso, Finland
Tata Steel, India
United States Steel Corporation

Oil and Gas

BP, USA
Norsk Hydro, Norway
Shell Canada, Canada
Suncor, USA

Non-Government Organizations
World Business Council for
Sustainable Development, Switzerland
World Resources Institute, USA

Industrial Manufacturers/ Mining

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
Alcan Aluminum Corporation, USA
Alcoa, USA
Ball Corporation, USA
Baltimore Aircoil, USA
Baxter International, USA
Bethlehem Steel Corporation, USA
CODELCO, Chile
DuPont, Inc.
Interface, Inc., USA
International Paper, USA
ITC Inc., India

Services
500 PPM GmbH, Germany
AstraZeneca, UK
Casella Waste Systems, Inc., USA
DHL, USA
European Bank for Reconstruction &
Development
PE Europe, Germany
PowerComm, Canada
Price Waterhouse Coopers, New
Zealand
Verizon Communications, USA

Corporate Standard: whats in it?

Standards
Organizational
Boundaries
Operational
Boundaries
Historic Datum
Reporting GHG
emissions

Calculation tools
Guidance
Business goals and
inventory design

Web-based, user-friendly,
step-by-step guidance
Build on IPCC methodologies
Sector-specific tools

Accounting for GHG reductions developed in industry-led

Identifying GHG sources

efforts (e.g. cement, pulp &

paper, aluminum)

Managing inventory quality

Verification of GHG emissions
www.ghgprotocol.org

Revised edition of Corporate Standard

To be published early next year, now in final review and design stage
The water is cleaner, and the baby is still in the bath!
Main changes to the first edition

More verification-friendly language (shall), which also aims to increase clarity as to

what is required to produce a report in accordance with GHG Protocol (this does not
affect the structure of the document)

Increased flexibility in choosing Organizational Boundaries

More specificity for indirect emissions from purchased electricity (still a required category)

Improved guidance

New case studies reflect how accounting practice has advanced in the meantime

New guidance chapter: Voluntary Corporate GHG targets

New Appendix: Issue piece for companies wishing to account for sequestered carbon

Projectstandard:whatisit?

Tool to help project developers to account

for GHG reductions made by means of
specific reduction projects (offsets/credits)

ProjectAccountingPrinciples
1. Relevance
2. Completeness
3. Consistency
4. Transparency
5. Accuracy
6. Conservatism

TheProjectQuantificationStandard
Consists of:
i. Introduction to GHG accounting
ii. Quantification steps
iii. Baseline procedures
iv. Annexes
v. Glossary
vi. References
vii. List of contributors
Project Typology sector-specific guidance

II:EightQuantificationSteps
1: Describe the project and primary effect(s)
2: Check the eligibility of the primary effect
3: Check the primary effect is additional to legal requirements
4: Undertake a preliminary evaluation of secondary effects
5: Select the baseline scenario
6: Identify and assess the relevance of secondary effects
7: Calculate project reduction and classify based on ownership
8: Develop a monitoring plan (still to come)

III:BaselineProcedures

Three Baseline Procedures

Project Specific
Procedure

Performance Standard
Procedure

Retrofit
Procedure

Additionality
Uses a three-fold approach
1.

2.

Initial Additional to Legal

Requirements Screen
Tests:
Barriers, Investment Ranking

Project specific
Performance Standard
Retrofits

3.

Additional

Stringency
level

Only remaining life of

equipment

Project GHG Emission less than Baseline GHG Emissions

GHGProtocolInitiative

Thank You
www.ghgprotocol.org