The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) have announced a groundbreaking partnership to standardize global standards for measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions. This collaboration aims to reduce the fragmentation of existing standards and pave the way to a harmonized global approach.
Unified Standards as Solution for Climate Protection Challenges
As part of the new partnership, ISO and the GHG Protocol have agreed to harmonize their existing portfolios of greenhouse gas standards and jointly develop new standards for carbon accounting. The goal of this collaboration is to provide unified guidelines for companies and policy makers to simplify processes, create consistency, and reduce the effort required for measuring and reporting emissions.
"ISO is proud to announce this groundbreaking partnership with the GHG Protocol, which advances a shared goal: creating a harmonized suite of standards. Both ISO and the GHG Protocol share the vision of efficiently advancing climate protection and simplifying tasks for all stakeholders. This is a new era for the carbon accounting landscape, and both organizations look forward to working together," said Sergio Mujica, Secretary-General of ISO.
Background of the Organizations
ISO was founded in 1947 and is a worldwide network of leading standardization organizations that develops international standards to promote innovation and address global challenges. The GHG Protocol, launched in 1997 by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), provides comprehensive global frameworks for measuring and managing greenhouse gas emissions across various sectors.
GHG Protocol standards have already been integrated into significant global sustainability frameworks, including the ISSB standards of the IFRS Foundation and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), on which the CSRD regulation is based.
Support from Leading Players
The new cooperation is also welcomed by leading organizations in the field of sustainability reporting. Emmanuel Faber, Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), stated: "The ISSB welcomes this development, which will expand the globally accepted foundations for greenhouse gas accounting. Consistent and comparable carbon data is essential for investors worldwide to make informed decisions in capital allocation."
The new agreement provides for harmonizing existing standards such as the ISO 1406X family as well as the Corporate Accounting and Reporting, Scope 2 and Scope 3 standards of the GHG Protocol and offering them as joint, co-branded international standards.
Planned Development of New Standards
A focus of the collaboration is the development of a joint standard for product carbon footprinting, which addresses the growing demand from companies for detailed value chain data. This data is intended to support companies in making decisions about decarbonizing their processes.
Geraldine Matchett, Chair of the GHG Protocol Steering Committee, emphasized the importance of user orientation: "With users in focus, this partnership establishes a new mechanism for long-term collaboration. It demonstrates our commitment to reducing complexity in the field of international standards and enables the development of the core frameworks necessary for meaningful climate action across all stakeholders."
Conclusion
The partnership between ISO and the GHG Protocol marks a decisive step toward a more unified and efficient foundation for greenhouse gas emissions reporting. With a clear focus on harmonization and user-friendliness, this initiative aims to advance the global climate protection agenda and address the challenges in carbon accounting. Experts and organizations worldwide see this cooperation as a significant advancement in the fight against climate change.
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