Context

Since the publication of Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (2004), Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard (2011), Scope 3 Calculation Guidance (2013), and Scope 2 Guidance (2015), there have been many important developments in greenhouse gas accounting and reporting. Among these are the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the trend toward net-zero targets, mandatory climate disclosure regulations, use of the standards by thousands of companies, and academic research on their use and impact.   

Between November 2022 and March 2023, the public was invited to provide feedback on the current suite of corporate standards and guidance and provide suggestions for either maintaining current practices or developing updates and new additional guidance. This feedback covers GHG Protocol’s Corporate Standard, Scope 2 Guidance, Scope 3 Standard, and supporting documents, and will inform the scope of the updates that GHG Protocol makes to its standards and guidance.

All material related to the survey process can be found here. 

The aim of any updates will be to align with best practice approaches to ensure GHG Protocol standards for scope 1, scope 2 and scope 3 are effective in providing a rigorous and credible accounting foundation for businesses to measure, plan and track progress toward science-based and net-zero targets in line with the global 1.5°C goal. Any future updates will seek harmonization and alignment with accounting rules under development through major disclosure initiatives. 

As with all Greenhouse Gas Protocol standards, any updates or development of additional guidance will be subject to an inclusive, global, multi-stakeholder decision-making process, with participation from business, NGOs, academia, and government worldwide.

Where We Are Now

GHG Protocol announced the membership of its new Steering Committee (SC) and Independent Standards Board (ISB). GHG Protocol also announced the members of the four Technical Working Groups that will support the process to revise and update the suite of corporate standards.  

Terms of reference for the three bodies can be found in our Standard Development and Governance Repository. Members' information can be found here: Our Governance.

GHG Protocol’s Technical Working Groups are convening on a regular basis and meeting materials are available in the repository, which is updated weekly and is the best way to follow the process.  

GHG Protocol is currently holding two public consultations. One consultation focuses on updates to the Scope 2 Guidance (2015) which addresses inventory accounting, while the other seeks feedback on consequential accounting methods for estimating avoided emissions from electricity-sector actions. The 60-day public consultation period for both began on October 20, 2025 and ends on December 19, 2025.  To learn more about the process, please refer to this page.

The other documents that are available in the repository for reference:  

• Governance Overview, which details GHG Protocol’s decision-making criteria and hierarchy
• Standard Development and Revisions Procedure, which specifies the procedures to develop, revise, approve and maintain standards owned by GHG Protocol
• Standard Development Plans for each workstream, detailing each workstreams’ scope of work and timeline
  • Corporate Standard
  • Scope 2
  • Scope 3
  • Actions and Market Instruments

Looking Forward

Please refer to the January 2025 update from GHG Protocol’s Steering Committee Chair and Vice Chair detailing key milestones in the standard development and revision process.

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