What Are The Different Scopes Of Ghg Protocol And What Do They Measure In Procurement?
Are you familiar with the greenhouse gas (GHG) protocol? It’s a widely recognized standard for measuring and reporting emissions, but did you know that it also includes specific scopes to measure emissions in procurement? In this blog post, we’ll explore the different scopes of GHG protocol and dive into what they measure in procurement. Get ready to learn how tracking GHG emissions can make a significant impact on your company’s sustainability efforts!
What is the GHG Protocol?
The GHG Protocol is an internationally recognized accounting tool for quantifying, reporting, and verifying emissions reductions from projects and organizations. The Protocol provides standardized emission calculation methodologies and guidance for how to report emissions reductions in a consistent and transparent manner. The Protocol is widely used by businesses, governments, and other organizations to account for their emissions reductions. There are three main scopes of the GHG Protocol:
-Scope 1 covers direct emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by the organization.
-Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from electricity purchased by the organization.
-Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions from activities related to the organization’s operations, including flaring of gas associated with oil production, business travel, employee commuting, waste disposal, and leaks from refrigerants.
The different scopes of the GHG Protocol
The GHG Protocol has four different scopes that cover emissions from different sources. Scope 1 covers direct emissions from company-owned or -controlled sources, such as fuel combustion in company vehicles. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the electricity used by the company. Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions from the company’s activities, such as employee travel and waste disposal. Finally, Scope 4 covers emissions from upstream and downstream suppliers, as well as other indirect emissions not covered by the first three scopes.
In order to accurately measure and report your company’s greenhouse gas emissions, it is important to understand which sources fall under each scope. For example, if you are a manufacturer that uses natural gas to power your factory, you would need to report these emissions under Scope 1. If you then purchase electricity from a utility provider, you would need to report these emissions under Scope 2. any waste generated by your manufacturing process would be reported under Scope 3.
Scope 1 and 2 are often combined and referred to as “direct” emission sources, while Scope 3 is referred to as “indirect” emission sources. This distinction is important because direct emission sources are typically easier for companies to control and reduce than indirect emission sources. Therefore, many companies focus their GHG reduction efforts on improving energy efficiency and switching to cleaner energy sources for their direct emission sources. However, it is important to remember that all scopes must be considered when measuring and reporting your company
What do they measure in procurement?
The GHG Protocol establishes a comprehensive, consistent and internationally recognized framework for quantifying, reporting and managing greenhouse gas emissions. The Protocol offers two different approaches for measuring and reporting emissions: the project approach and the operational control approach.
The project approach is used to calculate emissions reductions or removals from a specific project or set of activities. This approach is useful for quantifying the impacts of voluntary projects, such as those undertaken to earn carbon credits. The operational control approach is used to calculate an organization’s total annual emissions from all sources under its control. This approach is useful for organizational reporting, setting emission reduction targets and developing policies to reduce emissions.
Both approaches have different scopes that define which sources and activities should be included in the calculation. For example, the project approach includes only those sources and activities that are directly related to the project, while the operational control approach includes all sources and activities under an organization’s control.
In procurement, organizations can use either approach to quantify their emissions reductions or removals from a specific purchase or set of purchases. For example, an organization could use the project approach to calculate the GHG benefits of buying certified green electricity for its office buildings. Or an organization could use the operational control approach to calculate the GHG benefits of switching its fleet of delivery trucks to low-emitting vehicles.
How can you use the GHG Protocol in your business?
The GHG Protocol is the most widely used international accounting tool for quantifying and managing greenhouse gas emissions. It provides a comprehensive, consistent and transparent framework for measuring, reporting and verifying emissions from all sources. The GHG Protocol has been developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
The Protocol consists of three scopes:
Scope 1: Direct emissions from owned or controlled sourcesScope 2: Indirect emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heat or coolingScope 3: Other indirect emissions not included in Scope 2
Organizations can use the GHG Protocol to account for their emissions in a consistent and comprehensive way. This will allow them to identify areas where they can reduce their emissions and set targets to improve their performance over time. The GHG Protocol can also be used to support climate change mitigation efforts by providing reliable data for policymaking and reporting progress against goals such as the Paris Agreement.
Conclusion
The GHG Protocol and its scopes are immensely useful for organizations to assess their carbon footprints, as well as understand how they can reduce them. Through the four different scopes of the protocol, procurement is able to measure direct emissions that can be reduced or avoided through changes in purchasing decisions. Additionally, indirect emissions associated with products purchased by an organization can also be measured and tracked. With these metrics established and monitored over time, organizations can set goals for reducing their total greenhouse gas emissions from procurement activities.