January 4, 2008—In a move aimed to bolster confidence among the growing number of companies seeking to understand and manage their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, three organizations have announced that they will work together to promote their GHG accounting and reporting standards.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) have agreed to jointly promote the ISO 14064 standards and the WRI and WBCSD GHG Protocol standards.
The move is in response to concerns among businesses and GHG program designers that the two standards might not be consistent and mutually supportive. In fact, the three groups say that for corporate accounting, requirements and guidance contained in ISO and GHG Protocol standards are consistent and they are designed so that they can be used in a complementary manner.
By working together, the three organizations say they will be better able to deal with technical issues, promote the standardized tools, and raise awareness through more concentrated education, training, and capacity building. The three held their first promotional event during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia.
The organizations are encouraging corporations, governments, and others to use the ISO 14064 standard, established in 2006, and the GHG Protocol, published by WRI and WBCSD in 2004, as complementary tools. They say the ISO 14064 details internationally agreed requirements on what needs to be done in GHG accounting and verification efforts, while the GHG Protocol outlines not only what needs to be done, but also how to undertake GHG accounting and reporting.
For more information visit the ISO or GHG Protocol Web sites. See also “New guidelines for calculating greenhouse gas emissions published by WBCSD and WRI” on FMLink.
