The U.S. Public Sector works with GHG Protocol to develop a new standard
Public sector organizations are amongst the most important sources of 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 Standard (U.S.). The Standard is intended as a flexible management tool enabling government agencies of all types to meet multiple reporting objectives. The initial focus of the Standard is government agencies in the U.S.
While much of the guidance in the Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard is relevant to the public sector, the Public Sector Standard will offer expanded guidance on how to address the unique organizational and structural characteristics of government agencies. This guidance emphasizes the “operational control” approach for inventories (i.e. only accounting for emissions from those activities over which an organization operates or controls), and how to account for leased buildings and vehicle fleets. The Standard also recommends that local governments consult the Local Government Operations (LGO) Protocol for guidance that is compatible with the Public Sector Standard and specific to city, county and municipal organizations. This protocol was developed jointly by The Climate Registry, the California Climate Action Registry, the California Air Resources Board and ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability.
Obama signs executive order
The government sector is particularly prominent at the moment as President Obama signed an executive order earlier in the month committing federal agencies to reduce their GHG emissions by setting 2020 reduction targets. In accounting for and reporting their emissions, these agencies will have to rely upon a set of generally accepted principles based on the Public Sector Standard.
“Globally, the government sector is responsible for a huge volume of greenhouse gas emissions, and the executive order sets an important milestone and example for the management of these emissions,” says WRI’s Stephen Russell. “Based on over ten years of work on GHG accounting, the Public Sector Standard is central to helping governments meet their climate goals.”
Current Status of the Project
Together with its partners - Logistics Management Institute (LMI), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (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 Public Sector Standard. These organizations can find the current draft of the Standard, along with supporting documents, in the table below.
Concurrent with this process, WRI also held an Open Comment Period. All organizations were invited to comment on the draft during this period, which closed on 11/03/2009. Further questions about the Standard should be directed to pspcomments@wri.org. A final draft of the Standard will be released in January 2010.
| Public Sector Standard Documents | Date |
|---|---|
| Drafts | |
| Draft | June 09 |
| Revised Draft #1 | Aug 09 |
| Summary of Main Changes | Aug 09 |
| Provisional draft | Oct 09 |
| Summary of changes for provisional draft | Oct 09 |
| Background Information | |
| Questionnaire | June 09 |
| Public Sector Standard FAQ | June 09 |
| Terms of Reference | June 09 |
| Timeline | June 09 |
| List of Participating Organizations | Aug 09 |
| Presentations | |
| Federal Road Test PowerPoint | Aug 09 |
| Kick-Off Webinar Re-Recording (Mac Version) | July 09 |
| Unedited Kick-Off Webinar Re-Recording (PC Version)** | July 09 |
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**Note about WMV video file: this is an unedited version of the re-recording. The voice recording begins at the 25 second mark, and the visual power point slides appear at the 58 second mark.
If you are interested in joining, please email pspcomments@wri.org
