About This Webinar
This is the first masterclass in the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard Masterclass Series, providing a practical, foundational look at why businesses measure and manage greenhouse gas emissions, and how to define the boundaries of a company's emissions inventory. It covers the business case for climate action, the five core principles behind credible GHG accounting, and the two approaches to setting organisational boundaries. Real-world examples throughout show how different companies apply these concepts in practice.
Summary
This is the first masterclass in the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard Masterclass Series. It introduces the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard and lays the groundwork for building a credible emissions inventory.
It focuses on applied learning, using real-world company examples to show how the five GHG Protocol principles and the two organisational boundary approaches work in practice.
You will learn how to:
◆ Explain why climate change matters to business stability, cost, and competitiveness
◆ Identify the three main ways businesses contribute to climate change, across direct operations, purchased energy, and value chains
◆ Apply the five core principles of the GHG Protocol: relevance, completeness, consistency, transparency, and accuracy
◆ Distinguish between the equity share and control approaches to organisational boundaries
◆ Choose the boundary-setting approach that best fits a company's business model, ownership structure, and reporting objectives
Learning Outcomes
By completing this masterclass, you will build practical capability in understanding the purpose of the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and setting the organisational boundaries of an emissions inventory.
Why Businesses Measure and Manage Emissions
◆ Understand how climate change threatens business stability, including supply chains, energy access, and market function
◆ Recognise the three main sources of business emissions: direct operations, purchased energy, and value chains
◆ Identify the business drivers for climate action, including cost savings, cost stability, strategic alignment, customer expectations, competitive advantage, investor expectations, risk mitigation, regulatory compliance, and reputation
What is the GHG Protocol?
◆ Understand the role of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard as the common language for corporate emissions accounting
◆ Recognise it as the most widely used standard globally and the foundation for many other reporting systems
The Five Principles of the GHG Protocol
◆ Apply the principle of relevance to ensure an inventory reflects the emissions most significant to the company and its stakeholders
◆ Apply the principle of completeness to ensure all relevant emissions sources are accounted for within chosen boundaries
◆ Apply the principle of consistency to ensure inventories can be compared over time, including recalculating past data when methodologies change
◆ Apply the principle of transparency to ensure assumptions, data sources, and methodologies are clearly documented and disclosed
◆ Apply the principle of accuracy to ensure emissions estimates are as precise as possible and support sound decision-making
Organisational Boundaries
◆ Understand how organisational boundaries define which operations, facilities, and business units fall inside an emissions inventory
◆ Compare the equity share approach, where emissions are reported in proportion to ownership, with the control approach, where emissions are reported based on financial or operational control
◆ Recognise the benefits and drawbacks of the equity share approach
◆ Distinguish between financial control and operational control, and understand why most companies favour a control-based approach
◆ Identify the factors that shape this choice, including business model, investor and regulatory expectations, data availability, and strategic priorities
Applying This to Your Organisation
◆ Review real company examples, including the equity share approach used in the energy sector, the financial control approach used in the food and beverage sector, and the operational control approach used in the technology sector
◆ Consider which boundary-setting approach best reflects your organisation's ownership structure and reporting needs
Format
GHG Protocol Corporate Standard Masterclass 1: GHG Protocol Principles and Organisational Boundaries is a single recorded session, and can be completed at your own pace. It is the first session in the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard Masterclass Series.
Topics covered include:
The business case for climate action
What the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard is
The five principles of relevance, completeness, consistency, transparency, and accuracy
Setting organisational boundaries using the equity share and control approaches
Real-world examples of each approach
Who This Is For
GHG Protocol Corporate Standard Masterclass 1: GHG Protocol Principles and Organisational Boundaries is designed for professionals involved in emissions accounting, sustainability reporting, and corporate decision-making, including those in leadership and management roles:
◆ Sustainability and ESG professionals
◆ Sustainability consultants and advisors
◆ Finance and accounting professionals
◆ Risk and compliance professionals
◆ Corporate strategy and governance professionals
◆ Internal and external auditors
