Greenhouse Gas Protocol
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is a family of standards, guidance, and tools developed by the World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development for measuring and managing greenhouse gas emissions from organizations, value chains, products, projects, cities, and mitigation actions.
In simple terms
As of 2026-08-12, the GHG Protocol’s published suite provides distinct accounting approaches for different purposes. Its Corporate Standard supports organizational inventories, the Scope 2 Guidance addresses purchased energy, and the Scope 3 Standard addresses value-chain emissions. The initiative is updating parts of its corporate suite through a multi-stakeholder governance process. Users therefore need to name the specific standard, guidance, version, boundary, and reporting choices used for a result.
Why it matters
The framework gives organizations shared terminology and accounting principles for greenhouse gas inventories. Its definitions of Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 support consistent classification across many reporting and target-setting systems. Consistency improves comparability, but the Protocol still requires choices and disclosures; citing its name alone does not explain a calculation.
Example
For example, a company can use the Corporate Standard to set its organizational boundary, classify direct and indirect sources, calculate a base-year inventory, and disclose methods and exclusions. It may then use the relevant scope-specific guidance to address purchased electricity and value-chain categories in greater detail.
How it differs
Greenhouse gas inventory
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol supplies standards and guidance for accounting; a greenhouse gas inventory is an organization’s or jurisdiction’s resulting account for a defined period and boundary.
References
Current status
- As of
- Issuer
- World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development
- Instrument or version
- GHG Protocol corporate suite of standards and guidance
- Status
- Published standards and guidance remain available while the corporate suite is undergoing a governed update process.
Applicability: Users should identify the particular standard and guidance version applied because requirements differ by inventory type and the corporate suite is being updated.