GHG Protocol opens public consultation on Scope 2 and electricity accounting

**The GHG Protocol opened a public consultation on proposed updates to its Corporate Standard, including revised Scope 2 guidance and a separate consultation on consequential electricity-sector emissions. The revisions could reshape how Indian companies account for indirect emissions from purchased electricity in their voluntary and BRSR-linked disclosures. **

The GHG Protocol launched a public consultation on proposed updates to its Corporate Standard and related guidance, targeting corporate greenhouse gas reporting integrity. Revisions to the Scope 2 Guidance refine both the Location-Based Method and Market-Based Method for reporting indirect emissions from purchased electricity, establishing a clearer emission-factor data hierarchy for the LBM and new quality criteria for the MBM covering temporal correlation and deliverability. A simultaneous consultation addresses Consequential Electricity-Sector Emissions Impacts, foundational to the emerging Actions and Market Instruments standard for project-level accounting.

Companies worldwide that report greenhouse gas inventories using the GHG Protocol are affected, particularly those purchasing electricity through contractual instruments such as renewable energy certificates and power purchase agreements. Indian companies measuring Scope 2 emissions for sustainability disclosures and net-zero commitments would need to apply stricter market-based criteria including temporal correlation and deliverability. The Independent Standards Board and the Scope 2 Technical Working Group oversee the process, which follows an extensive earlier consultation that drew feedback from hundreds of companies and organizations.

Indian companies, renewable energy buyers and sustainability reporting teams should review the proposed Scope 2 and AMI consultation documents and submit feedback to influence final methodologies before they are finalized. Entities relying on market-based renewable energy claims should assess how new temporal correlation and deliverability requirements may affect existing procurement contracts and emission-factor sourcing. Reporters should monitor for finalized rules expected to reinforce Scope 2 as the core framework and prepare to update inventory accounting methods accordingly.

Key figure — Scope 2 methods under review: Location-Based Method and Market-Based Method