GHG Protocol: Definition
The GHG Protocol provides widely-used greenhouse gas accounting standards, serving as the foundation for numerous corporate reporting programs worldwide.
For Sustainability Managers
Understanding GHG Protocol helps you select the right frameworks and meet evolving disclosure requirements.
For CFOs
GHG Protocol shapes mandatory reporting obligations that carry financial and legal consequences for non-compliance.
For Sustainability Reporting
GHG Protocol is a core element of sustainability reporting that auditors and regulators expect to see addressed.
Related Terms
ACCU
Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) are financial instruments awarded to eligible projects involving energy efficiency, renewable energy generation, and carbon sequestration. Each ACCU represents the avoidance or removal of one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2-e) GHG emissions. ACCUs are traded or sold on the national environmental commodity market through carbon market agents, allowing organisations to offset their carbon footprint or fulfil emissions reduction obligations.
Activity-based method
Activity data specifies the quantity of a particular product or material a company has purchased, enabling more precise emissions estimates than spend-based data. This method employs emission factors obtained from scientific studies.
Additionality
Additionality is a principle applied to carbon removal projects, signifying that a project is additional if it leads to emissions reductions that would not have occurred otherwise.
Base year
Setting emission reduction targets entails specifying a base year and establishing annual reduction goals as a percentage of emissions from the base year.
Cap and trade
Cap and trade is a market-based approach to lowering GHG emissions, where authorities allocate permits for a limited amount of emissions, enabling trading among companies to meet their emission limits.