This guide is for companies in the service sector defined as those that do not undertake any manufacturing activities or use only contract manufacturers. Examples include banks, insurance, retail, law firms, real estate, publishing, shipping, marketing, and consulting companies. The methods of calculating emissions and strategies for reducing them apply to a variety of company sizes, types, and locations.

The management of emissions in service-sector companies often falls to nontechnical staff, for whom this guide has been written. Although you do not need to have a technical or engineering background to use this guide, you do need basic math skills and a solid understanding of your company’s organizational structure.

This guide draws on and is consistent with the GHG Protocol, and it also builds on WRI’s experiences managing its own impact on the climate (see Box 2: Walking the Talk at WRI). Companies not covered by this guide, such as manufacturing companies, should refer directly to the GHG Protocol, which also provides more detailed information about many of the topics discussed in this guide.