We are excited by the release of the first draft of the Global Protocol for Community-Scale GHG Emissions (GPC) to help cities around the world measure and report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using a more consistent protocol. Today begins a one-month public comment period on the protocol to ensure it will fit the needs of those who will be implementing it.

The use of standards to account for corporate greenhouse gases is increasingly common in developed countries – but it is emerging in developing countries as well. In India, companies’ focus on value chain inventories and life cycle thinking is in nascent stages. 

What do Apple, HP and Dell have in common – apart from making computers? They all source electronics from Foxconn, the beleaguered Chinese company under fire for working conditions at its factories. There is a clear lesson to be drawn from the ongoing Foxconn furor.

Following the launch of the Product Life Cycle and Corporate Value Chain Accounting and Reporting Standards in New York City, London, Beijing, and Tokyo, the GHG Protocol will be launching the standards in India on March 15, 2012. The event will be hosted by the World Resources Institute (WRI), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). The launch event will take place in the morning and be followed by training workshops on the new standards in the afternoon.

The GHG Protocol periodically assesses the need for GHG accounting guidance within different business sectors and organizational types. We are currently scoping the GHG accounting needs associated with film and television production activities internationally, and are seeking stakeholders expert in this field to help illuminate the issues relating to GHG emission sources and accounting questions. Some of these potential issues include:

On October 4th the GHG Protocol launched the new Product Life Cycle and Corporate Value Chain Standards with events in New York City and London. The global press launch of the Standards in New York City occurred in conjunction with WRI’s Corporate Consultative Group (CCG) fall meeting. CCG is a group of 150-200 representatives of large corporations, mainly sustainability managers, who are coming to engage with WRI experts – and with each other – to access environmental intelligence in order to protect and grow shareholder value and steer business to better protect the environment.

Today the GHG Protocol launches two new global greenhouse gas accounting standards - for corporate value chains (scope 3) and product life cycle emissions. Janet Ranganathan, WRI's Vice-president for Science & Research, and Pankaj Bhatia, WRI’s Greenhouse Gas Protocol Director since 2004, describe the 12-year program's critical role in business and government efforts to address climate impacts