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06) Does your organisation measure its scope 1, scope 2, or scope 3 emissions as per Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol standards?

July 30, 2023
Environmental, Social and Governance

Answer yes if your organisation measures your scope 1, scope 2, or scope 3 emissions as defined by Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol. If you only measure your scope 1 or 2 emissions, please still answer yes and provide the relevant information in the following questions.

Measuring your greenhouse gas emissions helps you and your customers understand the current environmental impact of your activities and therefore supports reduction of this impact in future.

Many organisations will now require suppliers to report on their greenhouse gas emissions through a Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) or similar.

If your customers have made a public commitment to reduce their emissions, for example, through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), they will need to report regularly on their emissions, which includes understanding emissions within their supply chain.

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol is a global organisation working with international bodies to develop and establish global frameworks for measuring and managing GHG emissions. They have defined scope 1, scope 2 and scope 3 emissions in their Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard:

Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions

Direct GHG emissions occur from sources that are owned or controlled by the company, for example, emissions from combustion in owned or controlled boilers, furnaces, vehicles, etc.; emissions from chemical production in owned or controlled process equipment. Direct CO2 emissions from the combustion of biomass shall not be included in scope 1 but reported separately.

Scope 2: Electricity indirect GHG emissions

Scope 2 accounts for GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity consumed by the company. Purchased electricity is defined as electricity that is purchased or otherwise brought into the organizational boundary of the company. Scope 2 emissions physically occur at the facility where electricity is generated.

Scope 3: Other indirect GHG emissions

Scope 3 is an optional reporting category that allows for the treatment of all other indirect emissions. Scope 3 emissions are a consequence of the activities of the company, but occur from sources not owned or controlled by the company. Some examples of scope 3 activities are extraction and production of purchased materials; transportation of purchased fuels; and use of sold products and services.

Accurate measurement of GHG emissions in this way can be difficult and is not yet expected of all organisations. If you do not yet measure your greenhouse gas emissions in this way, please respond with ‘No’.

How to implement the control

Whilst measuring scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 emissions is relatively new, there are a number of resources available to support you. A good place to start is the The Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard from GHG Protocol. GHG Protocol have also developed a suite of calculation tools to help.

We encourage you to speak openly with your clients and customers about measuring greenhouse gas emissions, if it is something they request of you. There is a lot of work to be done in this space and it is expected to mature over time through cross-sector collaboration.

If you would like to contribute to this article or provide feedback, please email knowledge@riskledger.com. Contributors will be recognised on our contributors page.

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