Measuring to Manage: A Guide to Designing GHG Accounting and Reporting Programs

As concern about climate change climbs to unprecedented levels, one of the most important steps that a country, region, or state can take to address it is to establish a sound and credible platform to account for and report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from corporations.

Over the past decade, many efforts to design and implement programs to promote the measurement and management of corporate GHG emissions have emerged around the world. These programs are being developed at different geographic scales – including national, regional, state or provincial, and municipal – and support different functions – such as voluntary reporting of GHG emissions, GHG regulatory systems, and tracking progress towards GHG reduction targets – but all are based on a corporate-level GHG accounting and reporting platform.

As such, a common set of questions arises regarding their design and implementation:

• What type of GHG program is needed to meet which objectives?
• What geographic area should a program cover?
• What should its accounting, calculation, and reporting specifications include?
• How can the quality of reported information be ensured?

This publication aims to help interested groups, such as governments, industry associations, and environmental organizations, address these questions to design and implement effective GHG programs based on internationally accepted standards and methodologies for GHG accounting and reporting.

Drawing on the experience of WRI and WBCSD in working with partners to advise and implement GHG programs around the world, this guide aims to facilitate GHG program designers in developing customized accounting and reporting specifications to meet their needs and objectives.