The GHG Protocol is one of the best known standards for calculating an organisation’s Carbon Footprint. There are multiple methodologies, but in this article we summarise what the GHG Protocol methodology consists of and how you can apply it in your organisation.
WHAT IS THE GHG PROTOCOL?
The GHG Protocol is a standard for calculating the carbon footprint of an organisation. The GHG Protocol allows accounting for the six types of GHG gases (CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs and SF6) with a unique focus on emissions accounting and reporting.
This protocol was developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), in cooperation with private companies, governments and environmental groups, publishing its first edition in September 2001.
A wide variety of calculation standards, including the GHG Protocol, are available for the calculation of an organisation’s Carbon Footprint.
The basic principles of the GHG Protocol are: Relevance, Completeness, Consistency, Transparency and Accuracy.
This GHG Protocol standard also allows external verification of the organisation’s carbon footprint calculation and GHG emissions reporting by an external entity. Verification of the entire GHG inventory or specific parts of it is also possible.
GHG PROTOCOL METHODOLOGY
The steps to follow within the GHG Protocolmethodology to carry out the quantification of the organisation’s GHG emissions are as follows:
Determination of Operational Limits
When calculating an organisation’s emissions, a distinction is made between direct emissions, which are emissions from sources owned or controlled by the organisation, and indirect emissions, which are generated as a consequence of the organisation’s activity, but are produced by sources owned or controlled by another organisation.
Whether emissions are categorised as direct or indirect depends on the consolidation approach (organisational boundaries) chosen.
The setting of organisational boundaries is limited to selecting whether, within the calculation, only Scope 1 and 2 are intended to be included or whether the organisation also wishes to consider Scope 3.
- Scope 1, Direct GHG emissions: These emissions occur at sources owned or controlled by the company. Emissions from the combustion of boilers, vehicles, etc., as well as emissions from the organisation’s manufacturing process can be considered within this scope.
- Scope 2, Indirect GHG emissions associated with electricity: This scope only includes emissions associated with the generation of electricity purchased and consumed by the organisation.
- Scope 3, Other indirect emissions: This scope is optional and would include emissions resulting from the company’s activity, but occurring at sources not owned or contracted by the company.
According to the GHG Protocol, companies that choose to include this scope can limit themselves to accounting and reporting emissions from activities that are relevant to their organisation and for which they have reliable information. In this sense, given that each organisation decides which categories to report, scope 3 may not be useful for cross-organisational comparisons.
Determining Organisational Boundaries
The second step in the GHG Protocol is the establishment of organisational boundaries that allow the organisation to select the approach they wish to follow to consolidate their GHG emissions. Specifically, organisational boundaries can follow two types of approach:
- Shareholding Approach: Based on the proportion that the company owns in the structure.
- Control approach: Emissions attributable to operations over which the company exercises control are accounted for. It can be of two types:
- Financial control: In this type of control, the company has the power to direct financial and operational policies with the objective of obtaining economic benefits by being part of the corporate group or a subsidiary of it.
- Operational control: The company or one of its subsidiaries has full power to introduce and implement its policies.
Except in specific situations, this is the most common approach to calculation.
Establishing the base year
In order to be able to track, meaningfully and consistently compare the evolution of GHG emissions over time, it is necessary to set a base year against which to compare current emissions, which is the next step in the GHG Protocol methodology.
The determination of the base year according to the GHG Protocol should be done considering that reliable emissions information is available for this time period, and the reasons for choosing this year should be detailed in the GHG emissions reporting report.
Furthermore, for consistent monitoring of emissions over time, it may be necessary to recalculate base year emissions when the organisation undergoes major structural changes, changes in calculation methodology or significant errors are detected. The organisation shall therefore establish, in accordance with the GHG Protocol, the rationale and criteria for such recalculation by defining any thresholds that determine the need for recalculation.
Identification and calculation of GHG emissions
Once the inventory boundaries (operational boundaries, organisational boundaries and base year) have been set, the steps to be followed within the GHG Protocol standard for the identification and calculation of emissions are as follows:
- Identification of GHG sources
- Selection of GHG calculation method
- Data collection and selection of emission factors
- Application of calculation tools
The GHG Protocol standard breaks down the steps to be followed within each of the above steps, making it easier for the organisation to understand them and to prepare an inventory management system for calculation in future years.
GHG Emissions Reporting
The final step in the calculation of the organisation’s GHG emissions according to the GHG Protocol is the preparation of the report that will gather all the accurate information considering the five principles of the GHG Protocol for at least scopes 1 and 2.
In this sense, the GHG Protocol standard differentiates between required and optional information for inclusion in the report.
As can be seen, the GHG Protocol standard is largely in line with what was established in the former UNE EN ISO 14064-1:2012 standard for the calculation of an organisation’s carbon footprint, maintaining the differentiation by scopes and allowing the exclusion of scope 3, one of the scopes that involves more difficulties when compiling the necessary data and which implies greater uncertainty.
The GHG Protocol also provides very clear guidelines on how to account for GHG emissions while leaving a wide margin for decision making to facilitate the calculation.
Although, like other international standards, the GHG Protocol implies a direct involvement of the organisation that intends to perform the calculation from the approach to the issuance of the final report, at Eurofins Control Ambiental we believe that it can be a good alternative to the UNE EN ISO 14064-1:2012 standard.
If you wish to carry out your HC calculation, we remind you that at Eurofins Control Ambiental we have an area specialised in sustainability with a team of consultants specialised in the subject. Do not hesitate to contact us by telephone on 985 98 00 50 or via the following form.
If you would like more information about this protocol, here is the link to the GHG protocol.org page.