Erb Institute Speaker Series

Robert Kuhn speaks about Value Chain GHG Emissions Accounting February 7, 2012  as part of the Erb Institute's Speaker Series

The talk will set the context for corporate value chain GHG emissions accounting and reporting as it relates to corporate sustainability goals. A significant portion of the presentation will review requirements for adhering to the Standard. The talk will also outline how companies are gearing up to use the Standard as a part of their sustainability program and the challenges they face in accomplishing this goal. For more details, click here.

Corporate greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions comprise a significant percentage of global greenhouse gas emissions. Companies today have become concerned about this impact, and are learning that gathering and communicating data about their GHG emissions is important.

Since 2004, companies have had a tool to measure and report GHG emissions from their operations and energy purchases: the GHG Protocol’s “Corporate Standard for Accounting and Reporting.” In an effort to give companies a tool that can help them quantify and report GHG emissions in areas of their value chain outside of their own operations, in October 2011 the GHG Protocol published a new standard, the “Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard for Accounting and Reporting.” This new standard covers those areas of corporate business activity that create an “indirect” carbon footprint; experts believe that it will rapidly become the de facto tool of choice for companies that want to collect and report data so that they can improve their value chain processes and their products to lessen environmental impacts.