ISO, Greenhouse Gas Protocol to Align on Carbon Accounting Rules

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🗞️ Driving the news: The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol have announced plans to align their carbon accounting standards
• The move aims to harmonize terminology, measurement, and reporting frameworks, addressing longstanding fragmentation in corporate greenhouse gas disclosure
• The new joint framework is expected to simplify reporting for governments and companies, especially those operating across jurisdictions

🔭 The context: Until now, carbon reporting has been fragmented across multiple standards, including the ISO 1406x series, GHG Protocol, CDP, and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures
• GHG Protocol’s framework is already widely adopted, used by 97% of S&P 500 companies reporting to the CDP in 2023
• However, varying methodologies and terminologies have created confusion and hindered comparability across disclosures — complicating both regulatory oversight and investor decision-making

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Unified carbon accounting standards can significantly enhance the credibility, transparency, and effectiveness of climate disclosures, ensuring emissions are measured consistently across sectors and borders
• This alignment could enable better benchmarking toward net-zero goals and accelerate climate finance by giving investors the reliable data needed to allocate capital effectively
• However, environmental groups warn that harmonization must not come at the expense of stringency or transparency

⏭️ What's next: While no timeline has been announced for the completion of the joint standard, the ISO and GHG Protocol emphasized the need for inclusivity and scientific rigor in the process
• Civil society and environmental experts are calling for public access to the standards and safeguards against greenwashing
• If successful, the alignment could serve as a foundational layer for future regulatory disclosure regimes worldwide, including those currently evolving in the EU, U.S., and Asia-Pacific

💬 One quote: “This raft of ideas and solutions has been an inevitable and welcome response to the climate crisis, but has also morphed into a landscape of competing tools and targets.” — Sergio Mujica, Secretary-General, ISO

📈 One stat: 97% of S&P 500 companies reporting to CDP in 2023 used the Greenhouse Gas Protocol framework.

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