GHG Protocol Corporate Standard

The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard is not a regulation — it is the accounting foundation that every major regulatory and voluntary emissions disclosure framework references or requires. California SB 253, the EU CSRD (via ESRS), IFRS S2, CDP, SBTi, and EcoVadis all require or reference GHG Protocol methodology. Understanding GHG Protocol is therefore prerequisite to complying with any of the mandatory frameworks on this list.

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The GHG Protocol defines the three emissions scopes that now appear in every sustainability questionnaire, investor request, and regulatory filing: Scope 1 covers direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company; Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heat, or cooling; and Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions that occur in a company's value chain, both upstream (suppliers, raw materials) and downstream (use of sold products, end-of-life treatment).

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Scope 3 accounting is the most complex and contentious category. It typically represents 70 to 90 percent of a company's total emissions footprint, yet it requires data from suppliers, customers, logistics providers, and other third parties over whom a company has no direct control. The GHG Protocol's Scope 3 standard is currently undergoing active revision, with updates expected to change how certain value chain emissions are allocated and attributed. Companies that have already built Scope 3 programs should monitor this revision closely.

 

For companies beginning their emissions journey, mastering the GHG Protocol methodology is the single most leveraged investment they can make — it simultaneously unlocks compliance readiness across SB 253, CSRD supplier requirements, EcoVadis scoring, CDP supplier questionnaires, and customer ESG data requests.