How can you evaluate the performance of your greenhouse gas accounting services?

1 Define your objectives

Before you start your GHG accounting, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure your progress. Do you want to comply with a specific standard or regulation, such as the GHG Protocol or the ISO 14064 series? Do you want to reduce your emissions, offset them, or achieve carbon neutrality? Do you want to communicate your results to your customers, investors, or regulators? Depending on your objectives, you may need different types of GHG accounting services, such as inventory, project, or product accounting, and different levels of accuracy, completeness, and transparency.

2 Choose your boundaries

Another important step in your GHG accounting is to define your boundaries, which determine the scope and scale of your GHG emissions and removals. You need to decide which sources and sinks of GHGs are relevant and significant for your accounting, and which are not. You also need to decide which organizational and operational boundaries you will use, such as equity share, control, or financial control for your organization, and direct, indirect, or life cycle for your operations. Your boundaries should reflect your objectives, your influence, and your responsibility over your GHG emissions and removals.

3 Collect your data

Once you have defined your objectives and boundaries, you need to collect the data that will allow you to calculate your GHG emissions and removals. You need to identify and quantify the activities and processes that generate or capture GHGs, such as fuel combustion, electricity consumption, waste disposal, or land use change. You also need to apply the appropriate emission factors and global warming potentials to convert your activity data into GHG emissions and removals. You should use the most reliable and relevant data sources and methods available, and document your data collection procedures and assumptions.

4 Report your results

After you have calculated your GHG emissions and removals, you need to report your results in a clear and consistent manner. You need to follow the reporting principles and requirements of your chosen standard or regulation, such as relevance, completeness, consistency, accuracy, and transparency. You also need to provide the necessary information and documentation to support your GHG accounting, such as your objectives, boundaries, data sources, methods, uncertainties, and verification status. You should use the appropriate formats and channels to communicate your results to your intended audience, such as reports, dashboards, or labels.

5 Verify your accounting

To ensure the quality and credibility of your GHG accounting, you need to verify your accounting by an independent and qualified third party. Verification is the process of checking and confirming that your GHG accounting is in accordance with the applicable standard or regulation, and that your data, methods, and results are accurate, complete, and transparent. Verification can help you identify and correct any errors, gaps, or inconsistencies in your GHG accounting, as well as improve your data management and reporting systems. Verification can also enhance your confidence and reputation among your stakeholders, and demonstrate your compliance and performance.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?