Accounting for GHG emissions

The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol is a set of standards and related guidance on accounting for and reporting GHG emissions. Its ongoing development, which has spanned more than two decades, represents the work of a multistakeholder partnership (the “GHG Protocol organization”) consisting of businesses, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), governments, and other entities convened by the World Resources Institute (WRI), a US-based environmental NGO, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), a Geneva-based coalition of nearly 200 international companies. The timeline below illustrates the issuance dates of key GHG Protocol standards and related guidance.

The GHG Protocol provides a framework for companies and other types of organizations preparing a GHG emissions inventory. Specifically, it addresses the accounting for and reporting of seven GHGs: carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃).