The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) have announced a partnership to align their greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting frameworks. The agreement will merge existing standards and create new joint guidance to streamline emissions measurement and reporting.
Reducing overlap
Until now, ISO and GHG standards have been developed separately, often leaving companies to work with overlapping requirements. The new collaboration will bring together ISO’s 1406X family of standards and the GHG Protocol’s Corporate, Scope 2 and Scope 3 standards into a harmonised framework.
ISO Secretary General Sergio Mujica said: “This is a new era for the carbon accounting landscape. Both ISO and GHG Protocol have a shared vision to efficiently advance climate action and simplify the task for all stakeholders.”
Global impact
The GHG Protocol is widely used in sustainability reporting. In 2023, 97% of S&P 500 companies reporting to CDP used the standard, and in 2016, 92% of Fortune 500 companies did the same. The harmonisation with ISO is expected to provide a consistent reference point for companies, investors and policymakers worldwide.
Next steps
Experts from both organisations will now begin work on joint standards through an integrated technical process. Planned developments include a product carbon footprint standard to provide more detailed information across supply chains.
A timeline for the new harmonised standards has not yet been announced.
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