GHG Protocol — Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting + Reporting Standard
GHG Protocol — the global standard for corporate GHG emissions accounting, structured around the Scope 1 / Scope 2 / Scope 3 model.
Definition
The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol is the world’s most widely used set of accounting and reporting standards for measuring an organisation’s greenhouse gas emissions. Developed jointly by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), it was first published as the Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard in 2001 (revised in 2004) and has since become the de facto global reference for corporate GHG accounting.
The Protocol’s foundational contribution is the Scope 1 / Scope 2 / Scope 3 classification — the mental model now embedded in virtually every corporate sustainability report, regulatory disclosure framework (including BRSR Core, ISSB IFRS S2, and CSRD), and assurance standard (including ISAE 3410 and ICAI’s SAE 3410). When a finance team or assurance practitioner refers to “Scope 3 Category 1” or “market-based vs location-based Scope 2,” they are invoking GHG Protocol terminology.
The GHG Protocol standards family
The GHG Protocol is not a single document but a suite of standards and guidance, each addressing a different reporting need:
| Standard | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (2004 revised) | Foundational standard — defines organisational boundaries, operational boundaries, base year, Scope 1 + 2 accounting principles |
| Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard (2011) | The 15-category Scope 3 framework that organisations use to identify and account for value-chain emissions |
| Scope 2 Guidance (2015 amendment) | Mandates dual reporting of Scope 2 under both the location-based method and the market-based method |
| Product Life Cycle Standard (2011) | Methodology for product-level GHG accounting (cradle-to-grave) |
| Project Protocol (2005) | Quantifying emission reductions from specific projects |
| GHG Protocol for Cities (2014) | City-level inventories aligned with CDP and ICLEI frameworks |
| Land Sector and Removals Guidance (2024) | The latest addition — guidance on carbon removals and the land sector for corporate inventories |
The Scope 1 / 2 / 3 framework — the GHG Protocol’s biggest contribution
The Protocol divides an organisation’s emissions into three categories (“scopes”) based on who controls the emission source:
- Scope 1 — Direct emissions: from sources owned or controlled by the reporting organisation. Includes fuel combustion in owned vehicles, on-site boilers, refrigerant leakage, fugitive emissions from process equipment.
- Scope 2 — Indirect emissions from purchased energy: electricity, steam, heating, and cooling purchased from third-party utilities. Reported under both location-based (grid-average emission factor — e.g., CEA-published India grid factor) and market-based (supplier-specific factor reflecting any green tariffs / PPAs / RECs procured) methods.
- Scope 3 — All other indirect emissions: the entire value chain (15 categories) — purchased goods and services, business travel, employee commute, use of sold products, end-of-life treatment, financed emissions (Category 15, the PCAF standard governs this for financial institutions).
Boundary-setting under the GHG Protocol
The Protocol prescribes that organisations define two distinct boundary types before computing emissions:
Organisational boundary — defines which entities (subsidiaries, joint ventures, leased assets) are inside the inventory. The Protocol offers three consolidation approaches:
- Equity share — emissions reported proportional to ownership percentage.
- Financial control — full emissions for entities the parent financially controls (typically aligned with consolidated financial statements under Ind AS 110 / IFRS 10).
- Operational control — full emissions for entities where the reporting organisation directs operating policies. Most common choice in practice.
Operational boundary — defines which emission sources within the consolidated entity are included (Scope 1, Scope 2 mandatory; Scope 3 categories selected based on materiality).
The chosen boundary must be applied consistently across reporting years and disclosed. The choice is governance, not regulation — different companies pick different bases, and the Protocol does not prescribe one.
GHG Protocol in the Indian BRSR context
BRSR Core does not formally adopt the GHG Protocol — it is a SEBI-prescribed format with its own metric definitions. However, in operational practice, Indian listed entities preparing BRSR Core disclosures routinely apply GHG Protocol methodologies to compute the Scope 1, Scope 2, and (for the Top 250 listed entities under comply-or-explain from FY 2024-25) Scope 3 figures that BRSR Core requires.
Where SEBI prescribes the disclosure (e.g., “GHG emissions intensity per rupee of turnover” under BRSR Core Attribute), the underlying numerator is typically computed using GHG Protocol-aligned activity data and emission factors. The CEA-published grid emission factor used for location-based Scope 2 in India is itself GHG-Protocol-compatible.
Assurance interplay: the ICAI’s SAE 3410 (and its IAASB analogue ISAE 3410) provide assurance over GHG statements that are themselves prepared per the GHG Protocol or other recognised methodologies. The assurance opinion typically references the entity’s stated methodology — most commonly the GHG Protocol — as the criteria.
GHG Protocol vs ISO 14064
GHG Protocol and ISO 14064-1 are the two leading corporate GHG accounting standards globally. They are largely compatible — ISO 14064-1:2018 was deliberately revised for harmonisation — but differ in emphasis:
| Aspect | GHG Protocol | ISO 14064-1 |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | WRI + WBCSD | International Organization for Standardization |
| Cost | Free | Paid ISO standard |
| Boundary classification | Scope 1 / 2 / 3 | Direct / Indirect (further subdivided into 5 categories) |
| Industry uptake | Most common in voluntary corporate reporting (CDP, ISSB) | Common in regulated / certified reporting (especially EU) |
| Verification | Compatible with ISAE 3410 / SAE 3410 | Compatible with ISO 14064-3 verification standard |
In practice many Indian entities prepare GHG inventories that are simultaneously GHG-Protocol-compliant and ISO 14064-1-compatible.
Related terms
- Scope 1 Emissions / Scope 2 Emissions / Scope 3 Emissions — the three scopes the GHG Protocol defines
- PCAF — the financed-emissions methodology aligned with GHG Protocol Scope 3 Category 15
- ISAE 3410 — IAASB assurance standard typically used to assure GHG-Protocol-prepared inventories
- BRSR Core — India’s mandatory disclosure scope, where GHG Protocol methodologies are operationally applied
- IFRS S1 / TCFD — sustainability disclosure frameworks that incorporate GHG Protocol concepts