GHG Protocol Opens Technical Working Group Applications for Standards Update

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol issued a simultaneous call for expressions of interest to join its Technical Working Groups, the bodies that will develop the technical content of updated GHG accounting standards. The call was issued alongside recruitment for the Steering Committee and Independent Standards Board, with all Technical Working Group applications due by 31 January 2024.

Technical Working Groups under the new GHG Protocol governance structure are responsible for developing the substantive technical content of updated standards, including the Corporate Standard, Scope 2 Guidance, Scope 3 Standard and related documents. These groups operate under the oversight of the Independent Standards Board and report through it to the Steering Committee. Review Groups, open to all stakeholders, will provide commentary on draft standards before adoption. Pilot Testing Groups may also be convened for specific technical areas as needed.

The call for Technical Working Group members is significant because the bodies will determine how core GHG accounting rules evolve in response to the emergence of carbon markets, market-based accounting instruments, land-sector guidance and scope 3 measurement challenges. For Indian companies, including those in energy-intensive sectors such as cement, steel and refining, the outcome of Technical Working Group deliberations will shape the accounting frameworks they must comply with under national and international mandatory disclosure regimes.

GHG Protocol confirmed that Technical Working Groups are expected to be constituted by the end of Q1 2024. Applicants could apply to both the governance bodies and Technical Working Groups, but would be selected for no more than one position. The governance launch follows a May 2022 strategy review and represents the most significant structural overhaul of GHG Protocol's operations since the Corporate Standard was published in 2001 and revised in 2004.

Key figure — Q1 2024 — target date for GHG Protocol Technical Working Groups to be constituted