GHG Protocol
The GHG Protocol is the world's most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standard, providing the frameworks and guidance for businesses, governments, and cities to measure and manage their emissions.
What is GHG Protocol?
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol — commonly known as the GHG Protocol — was established in 1998 as a partnership between the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). It has become the global standard for greenhouse gas accounting, underpinning nearly every major climate reporting framework and regulation worldwide.
The GHG Protocol provides several key standards. The Corporate Standard (revised 2004) is the foundational document for company-level GHG accounting. It establishes the principles of relevance, completeness, consistency, transparency, and accuracy, and introduces the three-scope framework (Scope 1, 2, and 3) that has become the universal language of carbon accounting. The Scope 2 Guidance (2015) introduced the dual-reporting requirement for location-based and market-based Scope 2 accounting. The Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard (2011) defines the 15 categories of value chain emissions and provides detailed calculation methodologies for each. The Product Standard provides guidance for calculating the lifecycle emissions of individual products.
The GHG Protocol covers all seven greenhouse gases regulated under the Kyoto Protocol: carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃). All emissions are reported as carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂e) using global warming potential (GWP) values, typically from the IPCC's assessment reports.
The framework requires organisations to define their organisational boundary using either the equity share approach (based on ownership percentage) or the operational control approach (based on which facilities the organisation has operational control over). Most companies use the operational control approach because it aligns more intuitively with their ability to influence emissions.
Almost every major reporting framework builds on the GHG Protocol. SECR in the UK references it directly. The CSRD's European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) are aligned with it. The ISSB's IFRS S2 standard is built on its foundations. CDP questionnaires follow its structure. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) requires GHG Protocol-aligned inventories as the basis for target setting.
Practical Examples
A multinational company uses the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard with the operational control approach to define which global facilities fall within its reporting boundary, then calculates Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions across all operations.
A UK-listed company follows the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance to report both location-based and market-based electricity emissions in its annual sustainability report.
A consumer goods company applies the GHG Protocol Product Standard to calculate the cradle-to-gate carbon footprint of its best-selling product line, informing eco-labelling decisions.
How Climatise Helps
Climatise is built on the GHG Protocol framework from the ground up. The platform automatically applies the correct scope classification, supports both equity share and operational control boundaries, calculates dual Scope 2 (location-based and market-based), and structures outputs to align with CDP, SECR, CSRD, and SBTi requirements.
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