The World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WRI/WBCSD) released draft Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standards November 4th. The protocols, unveiled for now-closed public comment, are a component of WRI/WBCSD’s ongoing efforts under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol to develop “real-world solutions” to GHG emissions.
The updated standards are expected to complement the increased capacity of industry to develop, track and address indirect GHG emissions, as well as an increasingly popular shift to comprehensive GHG assessments. Beginning in January, the standards underwent a 6-month test run by 62 volunteer companies who submitted reviews of the protocols’ feasibility, to be incorporated in the final standards.
Scope 1 includes on-site GHG emissions and scope 2 includes emissions produced off-site from the generation of energy which is purchased by the company. Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions. The Corporate Value Chain standards were accompanied by the release of Product Accounting and Reporting Standards, both supplementing the widely-used framework for global private sector GHG reporting, the Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard.
