GHG Protocol releases Phase 1 update on Scope 3 standard revision

The GHG Protocol published its Phase 1 Progress Update in March 2026 for revising the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard, introducing Data Quality Indicators and a new "Other Facilitated Activities" category. Since the standard underpins ISSB IFRS S2 and the EU's CSRD, the changes raise Scope 3 reporting expectations for Indian companies in global value chains.

Published in March 2026, the GHG Protocol's "Phase 1 Progress Update" advances revision of the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard, the most widely used framework for accounting indirect emissions across its 15 categories. The Technical Working Group is developing a more rigorous hierarchy prioritising primary supplier data over secondary industry-average proxies, and introducing new Data Quality Indicators (DQIs) requiring companies to assess and disclose the reliability and representativeness of their Scope 3 inventories, shifting reporting from a "best-estimate" exercise toward verified, financial-grade disclosure.

The revisions are global and affect companies reporting Scope 3 emissions, especially services and financial sectors. A proposed new "Other Facilitated Activities" category captures emissions from brokerage, payment systems, third-party logistics and performance-based advertising, while the draft requires emissions from owned or operated distributed-ledger infrastructure such as blockchain nodes to be included in Scope 1 or 2, closing the "crypto-gap." Because the GHG Protocol underpins ISSB (IFRS S2) and the EU's CSRD, Indian companies in global value chains and those preparing BRSR disclosures will face stricter Scope 3 data expectations.

Companies should begin investing now in supplier-engagement platforms and primary data-collection systems to meet the stricter Data Quality Indicators and primary-data hierarchy before the finalised standards take effect, treating Scope 3 accounting with the same audit and governance rigour as financial reporting. Firms in services and financial sectors should prepare to account for newly captured facilitated activities, and digital-asset operators should reclassify infrastructure emissions into Scope 1 or 2. Indian reporters should track the phased implementation approach and the standardised threshold distinguishing "significant" from "material" emissions to avoid future non-compliance.

Key figure — Update published: March 2026 (Phase 1 Progress Update, Scope 3 Standard)