GHG Emissions Scope

From Open Risk Manual

Definition

GHG Emissions Scope is terminology introduced by the GHG Protocol to help delineate direct and indirect emission sources, improve transparency, and provide utility for different types of organizations and different types of climate policies and business goals.[1]

Three “scopes” (scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3) are defined for GHG accounting and reporting purposes. Scopes 1 and 2 are carefully defined in the standard to ensure that two or more companies will not account for emissions in the same scope. This makes the scopes amenable for use in GHG programs where double counting matters.

Companies shall separately account for and report on scopes 1 and 2 at a minimum.

GPC Protocol

The GPC Protocol scopes framework is derived from the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, where the scopes are considered to be operational boundaries based on an inventory boundary established by the company’s chosen consolidation approach. In the GPC, the Geographic GHG Boundary serves as the boundary.

References

  1. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol, A corporate accounting and reporting standard, Revised Edition 2008