Why 2025 has seen a flood of new ways to count carbon

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🗞️ Driving the news: 2025 has seen an unprecedented surge in new carbon accounting and emissions target-setting frameworks, as companies grow frustrated with the slow pace of reform at standard-bearers like the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) and the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
• At least six alternative methodologies have launched this year alone, aiming to better reflect business models, market mechanisms, and indirect climate impacts — especially in hard-to-abate sectors

🔭 The context: The GHG Protocol (est. 2001) and SBTi (est. 2015) have long provided the foundational rules for how companies measure emissions and align with net-zero goals
• But many businesses — particularly in fast-changing sectors like tech, energy, and manufacturing — say these frameworks lag behind the realities of decarbonisation
• Emerging approaches such as the AIM Platform, Carbon Measures, and Spheres of Influence seek to bridge this gap by crediting actions like supply-chain investments, policy engagement, or comparative product benefits

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Accurate, actionable carbon accounting is essential for credible climate action
• New methodologies aim to include emissions sources and mitigation strategies that current standards overlook — including Scope 3 reductions via carbon markets, upstream financing, or lifecycle product emissions
• However, too many divergent approaches could fragment the field, creating confusion for investors, regulators and consumers, and risking weaker accountability if not harmonised

⏭️ What's next: Several initiatives are actively collaborating with GHG Protocol and SBTi to influence upcoming updates, due in 2026
•  Yet some frameworks, like Carbon Measures, challenge fundamental assumptions — for example, by rejecting Scope 3 altogether
•  The result may be a transitional period marked by overlapping, even conflicting, standards
•  How leading institutions respond will shape whether innovation enhances or undermines global decarbonisation governance

💬 One quote: “This will get messier before it gets cleaned up,” — sustainability consultant with non-profit and government experience

📈 One stat: More than six new carbon accounting frameworks have launched or been piloted in 2025 alone, reflecting mounting pressure to modernise corporate emissions reporting

See on illuminem's Data Hub™ the sustainability performance of companies like Patagonia, BP, and Schneider Electric and their approaches to carbon accountability

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