Global firms applaud new greenhouse gas yardsticks

More than 60 leading global firms have finished testing two new greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting standards, taking industry a step closer to a universal approach for measuring and managing emissions.

Sixty-two firms from 17 countries, including household names such as 3M, Deutsche Telekom and IKEA, tested blueprints for two new GHG protocol reporting and accounting standards.

The first protocol, dubbed "Product Lifecycle", provides a standardised approach for measuring the greenhouse gas emissions associated with individual products, while the second protocol, known as "Scope 3 (Corporate Value Chain)" , covers emissions from a business's supply chain.

The standards were developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), which said the new benchmarks should help firms and public sector organisations measure, analyse and manage GHG emissions through their wider value chains.

"Companies, policymakers and individuals are looking for ways to reduce their contribution to climate change, but do not always have the tools they need to make informed decisions," the partners said. "Increasingly, companies are looking beyond their own boundaries and developing strategies to reduce emissions in their supply chains and in the products they make and sell."

According to WRI and WBCSD, the majority of firms involved in the testing encountered little difficulty when using the protocols and were able to produce reports detailing their supply chain, or Scope 3, emissions.

Many of the companies in the trial said they would be willing to complete GHG emissions reports in line with the standards on an annual basis.

"We're really looking forward to having a standard that can be used globally, for communication across a broad range of stakeholders," said Robert ter Kuile, senior manager of energy and climate change at PepsiCo, one of the companies in the trial.

WRI and WBCSD now plan to revise the two blueprints, based on feedback from the firms, with a view to publishing the final standards by the end of this year.