Greenhouse Gas Protocol

Comments to the US EPA on Proposed Rule for Mandatory Reporting of GHGs

WRI — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:13:36 +0000

WRI comments to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) on the Proposed Rule for Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases. WRI applauds EPA for developing this proposed rule. With this reporting rule, EPA has taken a significant step forward in the US policy response to climate change. WRI commends EPA for developing a proposed rule that is well-designed to support current and emerging climate policy needs.

THE PUBLIC SECTOR WORKS WITH GHG PROTOCOL TO DEVELOP A NEW STANDARD

WRI — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:17:10 +0000

Public sector organizations are amongst the most important sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. Building off 10 years of success in working with the corporate sector, WRI is now developing new accounting guidance for government operations - the GHG Protocol Public Sector Protocol (PSP). The PSP is intended as a flexible management tool enabling government agencies of all types to meet multiple reporting objectives.

While much of the guidance in the Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard is relevant to the public sector, it does not adequately speak to the unique variety of organizational, financial and legal structures found in the public sector. A key goal of the PSP is to define how emissions inventories can be developed taking these structures into account. Other goals include:

To collate existing best-practices into a single reference document that can inform emerging regulatory initiatives affecting the public sector
To harmonize the GHG accounting and reporting practices used by public agencies
To provide a flexible accounting platform that can be customized to the needs of individual GHG reporting programs or agencies

Current Status of the Project

Together with its partners - Logistics Management Institute (LMI), the US EPA and the US DOE - WRI has convened local, state and federal government agencies, as well as GHG reporting programs, to review and road test a draft of the PSP. These organizations can find the current draft of the PSP, along with supporting documents, on this website.

Concurrent with this process, WRI is also holding an Open Comment Period. All organizations are invited to comment on the draft during this period, which closes on 09/01/2009. Comments and questions should be directed to pspcomments@wri.org. A final draft of the PSP will be released in January 2010.

Public Sector Protocol Documents

Document	Date
Public Sector Protocol FAQ	June 09
Timeline	June 09
PSP draft	June 09
Questionnaire	June 09
Terms of Reference	June 09

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New staff profile - Holly Lahd

WRI — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:21:20 +0000

Holly Lahd

Holly Lahd is an intern on WRI’s GHG Protocol team who supports the Product and Supply Chain Initiative. Prior to joining WRI, Holly worked for the Metropolitan Council of Minnesota where she led the Council’s GHG emissions reporting efforts to the Climate Registry. She has also worked as a research assistant with the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment. Holly has a Bachelor of Science degree in Corporate Environmental Management and Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota.

New staff profile - Ranping Song

WRI — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:20:48 +0000

Ranping Song

Ranping Song, who also goes by RP, joins WRI’s GHG Protocol team as an Associate and project manager of the GHG Protocol work in China. RP will be working out of the WRI office in Beijing. Prior to joining WRI, RP worked as China Campaign Manager for The Climate Group in Beijing. There he worked to engage companies and government agencies to promote climate friendly products in order to reduce carbon footprint. Before working with The Climate Group, RP worked for the United Nations Development Group in New York, and for an environmental NGO in Guangzhou, China. RP has a Masters in Public Administration from New York University and a Bachelors degree in Law from Lanzhou University.

Chinese Cement Companies Take Further Steps to Measure and Manage GHG Emissions

WRI — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:55:26 +0000

CBCSD, WBCSD, and WRI convened an oil and gas sector working group to visit Yan San Oil Refinery, outside of Beijing, September 2007

In July, the largest 42 cement companies in China will take further steps to measure and manage their GHG emissions. These companies produce approximately 400 million metric tons of cement per year, accounting for over 30% of Chinese cement production. Cement production is a major source of carbon dioxide emissions, accounting for five percent of the global total. China’s cement sector alone accounts for 45% of global cement production.

In an attempt to provide companies with comprehensive tools to measure GHG emissions and identify mitigation opportunities, WRI in partnership with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), China Building Materials Academy (CBMA), China’s National Development & Reform Commission, US Environment Protection Agency, US Department of State, and E3M will hold a four-day training workshop for the 42 cement companies.

In the past year, WRI with its partners held two training workshops on GHG accounting for Chinese cement companies. However, this workshop is the first to integrate three complimentary tools to enable companies to measure emissions, assess the causes of process and energy inefficiencies and come up with technical solutions to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions.

The three tools in question were developed separately but will now be integrated through a common input and output functionality to work together to aid GHG management decisions. The Cement Sustainability Initiative’s (CSI’s) CO2 Quantification Protocol Tool enables companies to quantify emissions on corporate and plant levels. The Benchmarking and Energy Saving Tool for Cement (BEST-Cement) helps companies to compare commercially-available efficiency technologies used anywhere in the world. The Process Heating Assessment and Survey Tool (PHAST) offers methods to identifying energy saving opportunities and estimating cost savings. The training program will also enable data to be collected simultaneously for all tools.

The July workshop is the kick-off event for an ambitious three year project. The project aims to reduce energy use and energy-related GHG emissions in Chinese cement factories by 10-15% by 2012. Funded by the US Department of State, through the Cement Task Force of Asia-Pacific Partnership, the project will design an economically-viable, environmentally-friendly co-processing program and conduct plant co-processing demonstrations in 6 Chinese plants. The development, documentation, and dissemination of technical guidelines will be carried out to enhance the capacity of the entire Chinese cement industry.

Tools update

WRI — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:30:48 +0000

Cross-sector tools update

The Stationary Combustion tool has been completely rewritten to greatly enhance ease of use and minimize the potential for transcription errors while inputting data. The tool automates the selection and use of emission factors based on information provided by the user, including the type of fuel, units, heating value and industry. The new tool can be downloaded from http://www.ghgprotocol.org/calculation-tools/all-tools.

WRI has also developed a new tool for calculating the emissions from transport sources (business travel, public transport and company-owned fleets, including freight transport). The revised tool incorporates the latest emission factors from the US EPA, the UK DEFRA and the IPCC. It is currently undergoing quality-control checks and will be released by mid-June.

Biocarbon paper

WRI staff are continuing research of the major issues that would need to be addressed by new guidance on corporate GHG accounting by the agriculture and forestry sectors. This research has involved literature reviews and interviews with experts on:

Methodologies for calculating emissions and removals.
The implications of common business structures and contractual arrangements for how the boundaries of emissions inventories ought to be set.
Accounting mechanisms for dealing with: (1) The reversibility of carbon stocks; (2) Temporal fluctuations in emissions rates; and (3) The difficulty in distinguishing anthropogenic effects from natural effects on emissions and removals.
Best practices for ensuring the relevance and accuracy of reported GHG data.
Treatment of significant indirect emissions stemming from land-use change.
Treatment of carbon stored in products (e.g., harvested wood products).
Alternatives to reporting GHG data (e.g., reporting information on management practices).

Over the next few months, WRI plans to integrate its two issue papers into a single paper to form the basis of a GHG Protocol for the AFOLU Sector, which would address common conceptual issues, while providing a foundation upon which sector- and region-specific initiatives can be built.

Public Sector Protocol

WRI has collaborated with Logistics Management Institute (LMI) Government Consulting to develop a supplement to the Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard for public agencies within the US, including agencies at the federal, state and local level. The Public Sector Protocol aims to address the nuances of operations in the public sector and will provide more contextualized guidance on organizational boundaries and issues such as land-sharing. Together with the US EPA and LMI, WRI is establishing a stakeholder group to review and road-test a draft of the Public Sector Protocol, which will be released to stakeholders for evaluation around mid June. If you are interested in participating in the project, please contact Stephen Russell at stephen.russell@wri.org.

Financial Sector Protocol

WRI is delving deeper into how financial institutions may apply the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard to create a robust inventory for both direct and indirect emissions. The brief identifies two critical business objectives—1) managing reputational risk and 2) managing investment risk/fiduciary duty—that financial institutions should keep in mind while developing an inventory system. Further, the research looks into the merits and challenges of accounting applications for proprietary investments, managed investments and client services both on the equity and debt side. This brief serves as a discussion paper, with the objective of informing the Scope 3 stakeholder process and acting as a catalyst for financial institutions to start thinking about how to improve their GHG accounting methods.

Outreach activities

WRI — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:30:34 +0000

Developing Country Programs

Brazil

Brazil’s National Plan on Climate Change includes the GHG Protocol Brazil Program, describing it as an important instrument for evaluating industry performance and achieving best practices. The Climate Change bills recently introduced at the national, state, and municipal levels also contain language on GHG inventories and standards as a result of interventions made by Brazil Program partners.

CETESB (São Paulo state government agency) has issued a decree to incentivize the development of GHG inventories, recommending the use of the GHG Protocol Brazil Program’s methodologies. The Carbon Disclosure Project has also recommended the adoption of the Program’s methodologies to the 75 largest companies on Brazil’s Bovespa index.

The Philippines

WRI and its PhilGARP partners finalized a transition plan, outlining a way forward for PhilGARP that addresses barriers encountered in the pilot phase and proposes options for the program to become financially self-sustaining. Local partners entered into discussion to determine which partner will take the plan forward. PhilGARP partners have also published a set of inventories on the program website at http://www.klima.ph/announcement_board/philgarp/index.htm.

China

The GHG Protocol team, in partnership with China and US-based agencies, such as the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and China Building Materials Academy (CBMA), has started a new project to develop, implement, and disseminate a comprehensive program to improve energy efficiency, increase the use of alternative fuels and raw materials, and reduce emissions in the cement sector in China. Since early 2008, GHG Protocol has been leading a collaborative capacity building project with the Chinese cement industry through its partnership with CBMA under the Asia Pacific Partnership (APP) process. Through the new project, which has been funded for three years by the US Department of State, GHG Protocol is building upon the gains made under the APP process. The first training workshop under the project is being planned for July 2009.

Accounting for tomorrow’s climate

The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), which is an international collaboration led by the Carbon Disclosure Project, World Resources Institute, World Economic Forum , The Climate Registry, The Climate Group, CERES, and International Emissions Trading Association, has developed a draft reporting framework for corporate climate change-related disclosure that provides a model for incorporating climate change-related disclosure into mainstream reporting of risks/opportunities that affect or have the potential to affect the achievement of business strategies. This framework will be released as an Exposure Draft at the World Business Summit on Climate Change in May 2009 in support of the Copenhagen Climate Council’s mission “to articulate a strong, coherent and ambitious mandate…on behalf of the global business community.” CDSB framework is not an entirely new framework, but supports, harmonizes and strengthens existing reporting initiatives and standards by bringing together and enhancing best practices in the form of a single consistent framework that can be used for disclosure in mainstream reports. The GHG Protocol’s Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard serves as the basic emissions reporting standard of the CDSB framework. The framework defines the content of what to report (subject to the guiding principles) in four reporting templates which cover:

1. Strategic analysis

A statement of the company’s position on climate change and related policy, actions to maximize opportunity and minimize risk, mitigation of GHG emissions, and assessment of future outlook and governance of climate change.

2. Regulatory risks from climate change

An analysis of material legal and financial effects presented by current and prospective climate change regulation.

3. Physical risks from climate change

A qualitative overview of current and potential material exposures due to climate change.

4. Greenhouse Gas emissions

Gross direct (Scope 1) and indirect (Scope 2) emissions; in both cases actual and normalized. Other indirect emissions (Scope 3) where they present material financial risks.

CDSB’s Exposure Draft extends an invitation to comment on the proposed reporting framework. The invitation will be open until 25 September 2009. For more information, please see www.cdsb-global.org and follow progress following the World Business Summit on Climate Change.

New staff profile - Kaleigh Robinson

WRI — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:29:54 +0000

Kaleigh Robinson

Kaleigh Robinson joins the GHG Protocol team as a Research Assistant and is working on the Brazil Program. Kaleigh comes to WRI from the Climate Trust in Portland, Oregon, where she worked on local, regional and federal climate policy issues and provided research and analysis for the Offset Quality Initiative. She holds a masters in International Development with a focus on carbon markets, environment and development from Tulane University. Kaleigh recently completed a Portuguese language fellowship and a microfinance research fellowship, both in Northeastern Brazil. She also has experience in international education and microfinance and speaks Portuguese.

New staff profile - Mary Sotos

WRI — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:29:32 +0000

Mary Sotos

Mary Sotos joins the GHG Protocol team as an intern, supporting the project’s calculation tools development. Mary graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota in 2007 with a B.A. in Environmental Studies. She then spent a year in Brussels, Belgium conducting research through a Fulbright Fellowship, which analyzed regional energy demand projections and the anticipated impact of energy efficiency policies related to buildings. She also pursued graduate coursework in Science and Environmental Management at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

‘24’ and the LA Clippers use GHG Protocol to help offset emissions

WRI — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:47:30 +0000

Fox television hit ‘24’ and the Los Angeles Clippers are both using WRI’s GHG Protocol to help offset emissions.

The Emmy award winning television series starring Kiefer Sutherland has been crowned the first ever carbon neutral television production. The show reduced its season seven emissions by a staggering 43% through greener practices.

The GHG Protocol is being used as a foundation for calculating methodologies used in the “24” carbon footprint, and emissions factors are being sourced from both the GHG Protocol and EPA Climate Leaders guidance.

Throughout the seventh season, emissions associated with the show’s production were calculated and offset. The largest source of emissions was fuel usage in transport vehicles, special effects and onsite generators. These emissions were reduced through use of alternative fuels such as bio-diesel and hybrid vehicles. Making the switch to hybrids helped avoid using over 1,300 gallons of gas during the seventh season.

Electricity emissions represented the second largest source of emissions, 98% of which were offset by renewable energy credits (RECs). Fox reduced the carbon footprint of “24” by 940 metric tons of CO2 by purchasing renewable energy.

Another popular use of the GHG Protocol Standards was seen recently as the Los Angeles Clippers teamed up with BeGreen, a carbon offset provider, to host a first-of-its-kind Green Night Game at the Staples Center on April 11th. BeGreen’s carbon calculators follow the EPA Climate Leaders methodology, which is based on the GHG Protocol.

The Clippers hoped to raise awareness of Earth Day 2009 as they used a portion of the ticket sales from their game against the Portland Trail Blazers to purchase renewable energy credits that will neutralize the environmental impact of fans’ travel to and from the game. BeGreen also donated additional RECs to offset the electricity usage at the Staples Center.

The Green Night Game also included a number of “green-themed” activities, including announcements about ways to help the environment, and is one of many activities that the LA Clippers organization has put into place to reduce their environmental impact.