Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Accounting Methodologies
Measuring and reporting annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is the foundation of effective climate action. CARML is working to improve the transparency, relevance, and rigor of GHG emissions quantification across the full value chain of corporations, organizations, and products.
Quantifying Financed GHG Emissions
Quantifying and reporting annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is the foundation of effective climate action. CARML is working with NAU to quantify GHG emissions across the value chain. Value chain GHG emissions (also referred to as scope 3) are often the largest source of emissions for an organization, however these same emissions are regularly overlooked due to data challenges. One component of the value chain which has received relatively little research focus is financed GHG emissions from investment portfolios (scope 3, category 15 emissions). Universities often hold large investment portfolios in the form of an endowment. Quantifying the GHG emissions from investments is a crucial step towards evaluating climate risk and financial exposure to fossil fuel reliant industries. CARML is working with the NAU Foundation and other key stakeholders to apply Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) standards to NAU’s endowment and estimate the university’s annual financed GHG emissions.
Open-source Software for Asset-based GHG Accounting and Reporting
CARML is developing software to streamline asset-based GHG accounting. The software and associated resources are available at ghgtools.io. The GHG calculation methodology is built on the best practices set by the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard. Data templates are provided to the user and when used correctly the software assigns an emission factor for each row of activity data based on the type of activity, the location, and the year. A GHG raw data file is generated, providing original activity data inputs, emission factors, and total GHG emissions for each record. An error report is also generated to show which rows of data (if any) were unable to match to an emission factor.
The first version of the software is limited to common scope 1 & 2 sources of emissions in the USA. Future releases will expand support for more sources of emissions (including scope 3), more geographic regions, and increased temporal specificity. Please check back for updates.