A new global framework to measure the greenhouse gas emissions of products and supply chains is being tested by global corporations as part of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative.
Developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the two new GHG Protocol standards – the Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard and the Scope 3 (Corporate Value Chain) Accounting and Reporting Standard – provide methods to account for emissions associated with individual products across their life cycles and of corporations across their value chains.
While companies have been measuring the emissions from their internal operations and electricity use, the Scope 3 Standard will allow companies to look comprehensively at the impact of their corporate value chains, including outsourced activities, supplier manufacturing, and the use of the products they sell.
“We are encouraged by the overwhelming response from the private sector seeking to road test the new standards. There were more than 120 applications across a broad array of sectors and regions worldwide,” WRI president, Jonathan Lash said.
“The road testing will provide critical input in ensuring that the standards generate credible and meaningful data for business and government decision-makers, while considering the practical challenges that businesses and programs will face during implementation.”
Tennant Company is one of 60 companies to implement the protocol.
“Tennant Company has a number of environmental initiatives in place to ensure that products and supply chains meet our corporate sustainability objectives; this new global framework will assist Tennant Company to report on these initiatives in a standardised way, which can provide transparency for our shareholders and customers as to how we measure up in terms of the global standard,” Tennant Company’s Australia and New Zealand marketing manager, Elissa Dowler said.
