Estimating carbon footprint using GHG protocol's guidelines

In order to prepare the carbon footprint of a company most of the consultants are using greenhouse gas protocol. GHG protocol is not for profit organization that sets the greenhouse gas emission standards. it was recently found that more than 90% of the fortune 500 companies that are sending reports to CDP utilize GHG protocol for their carbon footprint estimation. The GHG protocol provides globally most widely used and accepted greenhouse gas accounting and managing standard.

The GHG protocol also provides several tools that enables organization to develop their carbon footprint. The GHG protocol has also started offering different training services. There are multiple online learning courses on different aspects of GHG protocol and carbon footprint.

GHG protocol standards are designed to provide a methodology for organization, governments, individuals and other entities to calculate their carbon footprint through measurement and reporting. In the year 2016 more than 90% of the fortune 500 companies responded to the CDP using the greenhouse gas protocol either directly or indirectly. The GHG protocol has been providing a platform for almost all the greenhouse gas reporting programs currently existing globally. The GHG protocol standard have become so popular because of its high reach two stakeholders and consultation that happens while developing these guidelines. It is also supported by institutes such as WRI and WBCSD. The greenhouse gas protocol has published several standards. These standards are:

1. Corporate Standard: The greenhouse gas protocols corporate accounting and reporting standards provide the details and the requirement along with guidelines for organizations and corporates such as NGOs, government agencies, universities, banks etc who are willing to prepare greenhouse gas inventory or the carbon footprint of their operations. Then there is another guideline provide by GHG protocol.

2. GHG protocol for cities: This is also called as global protocol for community-scale greenhouse gas emission inventory. This guideline provides a methodology for monitoring accounting and reporting the emissions or the carbon footprint from a community and a city.  The another standard is provided below.

3. Mitigation gold standard: the greenhouse gas protocol mitigation goal standard issues guidance on designing national and state level mitigation goals. It also provides standard approach for evaluating the progress and also on reporting the progress towards achieving the goals on carbon reduction.  The next standard that has been developed by GHG protocol is provided below.

4. Corporate Value Chain Standard: This corporate value chain standards are mostly for scope 3 emission. And it allows organizations to evaluate the entire supply chain emission impact. And it also helps them to identify the area where they should focus on activities that will result in reducing greenhouse gas emissions or the carbon footprint .

5. Policy and action standard: The greenhouse gas protocol policy and action standard issue a methodology and approach for estimating the carbon footprint and effect because of the policy and action that has been taken by mostly the government bodies.

6. Product Standard: The product standard has been used widely to understand the lifecycle of greenhouse gas emission of the product. It also helps one to understand where is the GHG hotspot so that we can focus our effort in reducing GHG intensity of the product. This is one of the ways how people can start manufacturing sustainable products.

7. Project protocol: The greenhouse gas protocol has developed this project protocol that is very comprehensive. This project protocol helps in estimating the carbon footprint or the greenhouse gas benefits of the project that result in reduction of greenhouse gas emission.