Carbon Measurement
GHG Protocol
Is the most widely used international accounting standard for quantifying and managing greenhouse gas emissions. It was established in 2001 through a partnership between the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
Scope 1, 2, and 3
The concepts of emissions boundaries were developed by the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, the leading international standard for measuring carbon footprints. The scopes were defined as follows:
Scope 1
Direct emissions from operations a company owns or controls. Like fuel burned in company vehicles or manufacturing processes or methane leaks from an oil well.
Scope 2
Indirect emissions from the electricity a company purchases. Generated at power plants but enabled by the company’s energy consumption.
Scope 3
All other indirect emissions across the company’s entire value chain. Such as supplier mining/farming, logistics, business travel, product use & disposal, etc.
Upstream
Refer to indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur in the supply chain feeding into a company’s direct operations.
Downstream
Represent releases taking place subsequently after a reporting company’s owned operations in the external distribution and usage of products manufactured.
Operational boundaries
The emissions sources from operations that a company counts when quantifying its greenhouse gas inventory based on a defined degree of control or ownership. Determines which direct/indirect emissions get included.
Organisational boundaries
The entities like subsidiaries and joint ventures whose emissions a company accounts for and reports on when disclosing total greenhouse gas outputs. Defines which operations fall under the corporate umbrella.
Equity share approach
A way of consolidating emissions where a company accounts for them in proportion to its percentage ownership share in various operations. Offers an economic, investment-focused perspective.
Control approach
Consolidating 100% of emissions from operations a company fully controls or owns over 50% of, regardless of share owned. Follows governance and policymaking hierarchies.
Carbon footprint
The amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted by an individual, organisation, product, or event.
Carbon accounting
Measuring and recording the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.
Carbon credit
Permits that allow the holder to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. Credits can be traded if the holder emits less than their allowed amount.
Carbon offset
Reducing carbon dioxide emissions in one place to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. Companies can buy offsets to make their activities “carbon neutral”.
Conservative approach
An approach that reduces the risk of emissions being underestimated in the carbon account.
Environmentally-Extended Input-Output (EEIO)
EEIO uses economic data on the dollar amounts of transactions between industries to determine emissions by asking, “how polluting on average are the sectors where an entity is spending money along its supply chain?”
Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO)
MRIO tracks financial flows between industrial sectors located in separate economies to calculate embodied emissions in traded products and services. This offers visibility into the pollution from fragmented global production chains.
Greenhouse Gasses
Greenhouse gases are emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere, causing temperatures to rise. The main greenhouse gases of concern are:
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Released mainly by burning fossil fuels and through deforestation. The primary human-driven greenhouse gas.
Methane (CH4)
Emitted from agriculture, decaying organic matter, landfills and wastewater. Natural gas extraction also releases a large amount of methane.
Nitrous oxide (N2O)
Released from agriculture (fertilisers and manure), vehicle emissions, and industrial processes.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Industrial chemicals are mainly used for refrigeration and air conditioning. They are regulated because they destroy the ozone layer, but they are also potent greenhouse gases.
Ozone (O3)
Formed naturally and by reactions between other pollutants. Contributes to the greenhouse effect when high up in the atmosphere.
GWP – Global Warming Potential
A metric was created to compare the heat-trapping effects of different greenhouse gases to carbon dioxide. Used to convert emissions data to standardised carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) values. For example, methane (CH4) traps 84 times more heat than carbon (CO2)
To convert this to CO2e: 5 tons CH4 x 84 GWP = 420 tons CO2e
Conversion factors / Carbon equivalents (CO2e)
Originally formulated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate science agency in the early 1990s as a unified greenhouse gas impact metric. By assigning carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) values based on warming potential, different gases could be consistently compared.
The IPCC manages this framework, publishing updated global warming potentials and carbon equivalent factors for key emissions like methane approximately every 5-7 years. Revisions incorporate the latest climate modelling and align with evolving science.
Emissions databases like IELab regularly adopt these carbon accounting guideline changes in their calculators and databases. Standardised IPCC CO2e scoring allows transparent business/product footprint benchmarks following global best practices.
Routinely updating factors as new discoveries emerge ensures users accurately convert inventories into current carbon equivalents that responsibly communicate full climate impacts. Companies can then target mitigation strategies at the most significant greenhouse gas contributors.
Environmental claims & terminology
Sustainability
Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable activities have a minimal long-term impact on the environment.
Renewable energy
Energy from sources that regenerate and do not run out, like sunlight, wind, waves, and geothermal heat. Produces much less greenhouse gases than fossil fuels.
Reforestation
Planting new trees in areas that were previously forested. Trees absorb and store carbon as they grow.
Carbon neutral
Reaching net zero carbon emissions by calculating total greenhouse gas impacts from operations and offsetting that amount through purchasing credits to fund equivalent emissions reductions elsewhere. A starting point for many climate commitments.
Climate positive
Going a major step further than carbon neutrality by actively removing additional greenhouse gases from the atmosphere through investments in techniques like direct air capture or scaling nature’s own carbon absorption through significant tree planting. Enabling net negative emissions overall to help cool the planet.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Comprehensively tally the environmental impacts of a product from cradle to grave – from extracting raw materials to manufacturing, distribution, use, and end-of-life disposal.
Circular economy
An economic model focused on recycling resources, reusing materials and reducing waste at every stage. From durable product design to composting food scraps to returning nutrients to the soil. Closing loops to eliminate environmental harm from resource extraction and disposal.
Decarbonisation
The urgent process of phasing out fossil fuel usage across electricity, transportation, buildings, factories and more while ramping up energy efficiency. Switching to renewables like wind, solar, and green hydrogen allows deep emissions cuts on the required scale.
Environmental justice
A movement highlighting that marginalised communities often face disproportionate environmental burdens like pollution while having less access to decision-making power and clean energy solutions. True climate action must, therefore, empower and be accountable to these groups equitably.
Organisations
SBTi – Science Based Targets initiative
A body enabling companies to set emissions reduction goals in line with climate science. Provides standards and validates corporate net zero strategies.
CDP – Formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project
An international nonprofit running a global environmental reporting system for companies, cities and governments to manage impacts.
TCFD – Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
A framework improving climate risk reporting by financial firms and other companies to support resilience.
GRI – Global Reporting Initiative
An independent organization creating sustainability reporting standards for economic, environmental and social impacts.
WRI – World Resources Institute
A global nonprofit research group focused on sustainable resource usage and conservation to protect human wellbeing.
WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development
A CEO-led global association of over 200 international companies collaborating on corporate sustainability, ecology and inclusive economies.
