On July 29, 2026, Greenhouse Gas Protocol announced a series of updates related to its corporate standards as it continues to strengthen its governance, leadership, and institutional capacity to meet growing global demand for trusted, interoperable greenhouse gas accounting standards. The series of updates to its corporate standards includes the following:  

1. GHG Protocol and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) will combine their corporate carbon accounting standards into a single, harmonized global corporate standard,
2. GHG Protocol is publishing the results of its public consultation on scope 2 accounting, and
3. GHG Protocol is sharing preliminary feedback from the Request for Information on its Actions and Market Instruments workstream.

1. GHG Protocol and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) will combine their corporate carbon accounting standards into a single, harmonized global corporate standard.

What standards are being integrated into the consolidated GHG Protocol-ISO corporate standard?

The updated standard will consolidate GHG Protocol's corporate level standards—Corporate Standard (2004), Scope 2 Guidance (2015), Scope 3 Standard (2011) and Actions and Market Instruments workstream—and ISO's 14064-1 standard.

Why have GHG Protocol and ISO chosen to develop a single, consolidated corporate standard rather than multiple corporate accounting and reporting standards, as is the case for GHG Protocol today?

The aim is to reduce fragmentation, increase interoperability, and provide organizations worldwide with a single trusted foundation for climate reporting and decision-making. A harmonized corporate standard can help reduce duplication, improve consistency, simplify reporting and support more effective decision-making by companies, investors, policymakers and other stakeholders. The new standard is expected to be published in a two-part structure, with additional guidance documents provided to assist users with implementation.

Is the standard development timeline changing? When will the final corporate standard be published?

Yes, to achieve harmonization under the ISO partnership, GHG Protocol and ISO's governance bodies approved a new timeline which includes a consolidated public consultation in Q2 2027 and publication of the consolidated joint corporate standard in Q4 2028.

Where can I learn more about the new consolidated standard and timeline?

GHG Protocol published a new Standard Development Plan which details the scope of work, process and timeline for developing the consolidated corporate standard.  

2. GHG Protocol is publishing the results of its public consultation on scope 2 accounting.

What are the topline takeaways from the scope 2 public consultation feedback?

The consultation highlighted a range of stakeholder perspectives on how corporate electricity procurement contributes to decarbonization and how those outcomes should be reflected in greenhouse gas accounting and reporting. While stakeholders expressed different views on specific approaches, the feedback demonstrated strong interest in improving transparency and ensuring that reported outcomes and associated claims are aligned. Overall, the feedback suggested that different stakeholders often have different objectives for scope 2 reporting and different views about how electricity procurement can drive climate impact.  

What are the next steps now that the feedback has been analyzed?

In response to the public consultation feedback, GHG Protocol will revise the consultation draft with the Independent Standards Board (TWG) and TWG (Technical Working Group). The ISB and TWG will explore whether offering multiple reporting approaches that reflect different theories of change could best respond to the diverse views represented in the public consultation feedback. Any further proposals will follow GHG Protocol's standard development process including development by the Technical Working Group and review and approval by the Independent Standards Board.

Where can I learn more about the scope 2 consultation findings?  

GHG Protocol has published:  

• A full summary of the scope 2 public consultation feedback  
• An executive summary of consultation findings  
• The underlying consultation survey data  

These materials provide additional detail on stakeholder feedback and the range of perspectives received during the consultation process. 

What about the Electricity-Sector Consequential Methods public consultation held at the same time as the scope 2 public consultation?

Alongside the scope 2 consultation, GHG Protocol sought feedback on approaches for estimating the broader emissions impacts of actions taken in the electricity sector. Feedback from that consultation is summarized here. It will help inform future work under the Actions and Market Instruments workstream’s proposed multi-statement reporting framework, including consideration of how organizations may report the greenhouse gas impacts of actions using consequential accounting methods.

How does Scope 2 connect to Actions and Market Instruments (AMI)?  

Scope 2 and AMI are separate workstreams, but they address related questions about how organizations account for climate actions and market instruments in GHG reports. Together, these workstreams are helping shape a more integrated system that links emissions reporting with climate actions and outcomes. 

3. GHG Protocol is sharing preliminary feedback from the Request for Information on its Actions and Market Instruments workstream.

What are "actions" and "market instruments"?

An "action" is an intervention—such as a project, investment/financing, production/sale of products, purchase/consumption of products or other activity—that leads to changes in GHG emissions and removals.  A "market instrument" falls under the broader category of "action" and refers to a contractual arrangement between two or more parties that enables the creation, transfer, or claiming of GHG-related environmental attributes. The actions and market instruments workstream, launched in 2024, explores how organizations can report the impacts of actions and market instruments alongside physical greenhouse gas emissions inventories as part of a multi-statement reporting structure.

What feedback did GHG Protocol receive on AMI via the Request for Information?  

Preliminary feedback from the AMI Request for Information indicates strong support for expanding GHG reporting to additional statements alongside physical emissions inventories. Feedback showed significant support for:  

• A multi-statement reporting structure
• A market-based inventory approach
• A statement for reporting the greenhouse gas impacts of actions  

A full summary of stakeholder feedback is forthcoming.  

What is a multi-statement reporting structure?

A multi-statement GHG reporting structure allows organizations to report different types of climate information separately and transparently rather than combining them into a single statement.

The intent is to distinguish between:

• Physical inventory emissions
• Market-based or contractual inventory emissions
• Emissions impacts resulting from actions companies take

This approach is expected to provide greater transparency around what is being measured, how it is being measured and what claims the reported information is intended to support.

What guidance can GHG Protocol provide companies about AMI before the consolidated corporate standard is finalized?  

While the consolidated corporate standard is still under development, companies can be confident that credible actions and market instruments that deliver real, verifiable decarbonization outcomes will be reflected in the future reporting framework. Organizations that wish to begin adopting a multi-statement approach should report physical inventory emissions, market-based emissions, and the impacts of climate actions separately and transparently, without netting between categories, while the detailed reporting requirements continue to be developed through the standard-setting process.

What are the next steps for the AMI workstream?  

The AMI Technical Working Group will continue to develop the draft standard, including, among others: accounting and reporting requirements, quality criteria, and eligibility considerations for actions and market instruments. A public consultation on the draft standard will take place in Q2 2027.

What is the role of target-setting and disclosure programs?  

Target setting, disclosure programs and regulators will continue to make their own decisions regarding which reporting elements are relevant for target-setting, disclosure requirements and compliance purposes. GHG Protocol is engaging with these organizations throughout the standards development process to support alignment and interoperability across the broader climate reporting ecosystem.

What guidance can GHG Protocol provide companies about AMI before the consolidated corporate standard is finalized?  

While the consolidated corporate standard is still under development, companies can be confident that credible actions and market instruments that deliver real, verifiable decarbonization outcomes will be reflected in the future reporting framework. Organizations that wish to begin adopting a multi-statement approach should report physical inventory emissions, market-based emissions, and the impacts of climate actions separately and transparently, without netting between categories, while the detailed reporting requirements continue to be developed through the standard-setting process.

What are the next steps for the AMI workstream?  

The AMI Technical Working Group will continue to develop the draft standard, including, among others: accounting and reporting requirements, quality criteria, and eligibility considerations for actions and market instruments. A public consultation on the draft standard will take place in Q2 2027.

What is the role of target-setting and disclosure programs?  

Target setting, disclosure programs and regulators will continue to make their own decisions regarding which reporting elements are relevant for target-setting, disclosure requirements and compliance purposes. GHG Protocol is engaging with these organizations throughout the standards development process to support alignment and interoperability across the broader climate reporting ecosystem.