GHG Protocol Aligns Land Sector Work with SBTi FLAG After ISSB Launch

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol updated stakeholders in July 2023 on progress of its Land Sector and Removals Guidance, confirming coordination with the SBTi's Forest, Land and Agriculture Guidance and discussing the implications of the ISSB's new climate disclosure standards. The GHG Protocol also announced the removal of its GHG Emissions Calculation Tool after a beta review found it was not fit for purpose.

GHG Protocol team members attended the Indigo Science and Policy Forum in Boston and the Land and Carbon Lab Summit in Brussels in June 2023, engaging stakeholders on land sector accounting in agricultural value chains. At the Brussels summit, GHG Protocol participated in a panel alongside the Accountability Framework initiative, SBTi FLAG and Science Based Targets Network, discussing alignment on definitions, data boundaries and interventions for deforestation-free supply chains. The four bodies confirmed coordination on key accounting and target-setting elements.

Following the ISSB's release of IFRS S1 and S2, the GHG Protocol Director Pankaj Bhatia issued a statement welcoming the Scope 3 disclosure requirement in IFRS S2, describing it as setting a global precedent. The GHG Protocol has withdrawn its beta GHG Emissions Calculation Tool and replaced it with a link to the US EPA Simplified GHG Emissions Calculator as an interim resource for US-based small businesses. The secretariat also welcomed three new staff members including a Scope 3 Senior Associate and a Corporate Standard Associate seconded from Deloitte's Sustainability and ESG Services practice.

The GHG Protocol is recruiting for multiple roles including a Market-Based Accounting Manager, Research Analyst, Senior Associate for the Corporate Standard and a Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator, signalling an organisational expansion to meet rising demand for standards development support. A World Resources Institute Climate Watch webinar was scheduled for 25 July 2023 to train stakeholders in using the open-source GHG emissions data platform, which underpins many national and corporate climate target tracking exercises.

Key figure — July 25, 2023 — GHG Protocol Climate Watch training webinar date