The GHG Protocol “establishes comprehensive global standardized frameworks to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains and mitigation actions.” Of the Fortune 500 companies who respond to the CDP, more than 90% have used the GHG Protocol (directly or indirectly) to do so. The GHG Protocol has developed several standards for use by different entities and in a variety of situations. These include a:

• Corporate Standard (requirements and guidance for preparing “a corporate-level GHG emissions inventory”);

• GHG Protocol for Cities (a framework “for accounting and reporting city-wide” emissions);

• Mitigation Goal Standard (guidance for designing “national and subnational mitigation goals” and reporting on progress to their achievement);

• Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard (guidance on how companies can assess their “entire value chain emissions impact”);

• Policy and Action Standard (“a standardized approach for estimating the greenhouse gas effect of policies and actions”);

• Product Standard (a way to “understand the full life cycle emissions of a product”); and

• Project Protocol (a “policy-neutral accounting tool for quantifying the greenhouse gas benefits of climate change mitigation projects”).

The GHG Protocol’s website provides numerous tools to assist in the implementation of its standards – including online training courses, guidance on a variety of issues (including Scope 2 and 3 calculations, agricultural measurements, fossil fuel reserves, and emissions of loans and investments), and several calculation tools (including cross-sector tools, sector-specific tools, country-specific tools, and tools for countries and cities).