Measure · 01
GHG accounting
The audited emissions baseline every target, disclosure and carbon claim is built on.
In short
A GHG inventory measures every greenhouse gas your organisation is responsible for, in tonnes of CO₂-equivalent, split into Scope 1 (direct), Scope 2 (purchased energy) and Scope 3 (the value chain, across 15 categories). Everything else — targets, disclosure, carbon claims — refers back to it.
What it is
GHG accounting measures every greenhouse gas your organisation is responsible for, in tonnes of CO₂-equivalent, organised under the GHG Protocol into three scopes: Scope 1 (direct emissions), Scope 2 (purchased energy), and Scope 3 (all other value-chain emissions across 15 categories). It is the foundational inventory everything else refers back to.
Why it matters
You cannot set a credible target, report under any framework, or make a defensible carbon claim without an accurate footprint first. A weak baseline quietly undermines everything built on it and is the first thing an auditor tests. Built once, properly, it serves every framework at once.
Scope 3 is where the footprint really sits: supply-chain (Scope 3) emissions are, on average, around 26× a company’s operational emissions (CDP & Boston Consulting Group, 2024). IFRS S2 references the GHG Protocol and requires Scope 1, 2 and 3 disclosure, so a GHG-Protocol inventory is the foundation of mandatory reporting (ISSB, 2026).
What & how we do it
The work, in the order we do it.
- Set organisational and operational boundaries
- Collect activity data across all sites and the value chain, replacing industry averages with primary data where it moves the number
- Calculate to the GHG Protocol, with Scope 2 both location- and market-based and all 15 Scope 3 categories screened for materiality
- Quality-control and ready for assurance
- Build the data systems that make next year’s inventory cheaper than this year’s
Standards & frameworks
- GHG Protocol (Corporate · Scope 2 · Scope 3)
- ISO 14064-1
- Aligned to IFRS S2, BRSR, CDP and SBTi
The rules, as they stand
What the regulation actually says.
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Standards | GHG Protocol (Corporate, Scope 2 and Scope 3 standards) and ISO 14064-1GHG Protocol; ISO |
| Scope 3 categories | 15, each screened for materialityGHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard |
| Scope 3 vs operations | Supply-chain emissions average around 26× a company’s operational emissionsCDP & Boston Consulting Group, 2024 |
| Scope 2 method | Both location-based and market-based are requiredGHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance |
| Feeds directly into | IFRS S2, BRSR, CDP and SBTi — IFRS S2 references the GHG Protocol and requires Scope 1, 2 and 3ISSB, 2026 |
Common questions
Direct emissions, purchased-energy emissions, and value-chain emissions. Scope 3 is usually by far the largest — supply-chain emissions average around 26 times operational emissions.
It varies by jurisdiction, but the question is increasingly academic. IFRS S2 requires Scope 1, 2 and 3, and Indian listed companies with global investors, EU buyers or export exposure report being asked for Scope 3 whether or not SEBI has mandated it.
Accurate enough to defend. Spend-based proxies are accepted in early years and increasingly are not later; primary supplier data replaces them where it materially moves the number. Screening all 15 categories for materiality is what tells you where that effort belongs.
The GHG Protocol requires both a location-based figure, reflecting the grid you sit on, and a market-based figure, reflecting the energy you have contracted. They answer different questions and disclosure frameworks ask for both.
It depends almost entirely on how much activity data already exists and how many sites are involved. Send us last year’s energy bills and a site list and we will tell you what yours actually takes.
Build your baseline.
Send us last year’s energy bills and a site list and we will tell you what a defensible baseline actually takes.
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