Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory

Challenge

An electric, gas, and water utility sought to develop an initial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory to understand and manage its emissions profile better. The organization lacked an established structure or systems to identify and collect key inputs required to calculate its ‘carbon footprint.’  Additionally, the organization was in the early stages of its sustainability journey. It required support in understanding potential paths on its sustainability roadmap and key considerations when evaluating its emissions profile.

Process

ScottMadden provided stakeholder education workshops with senior leadership and conducted peer benchmarking to support understanding of and perspective on the critical components of a GHG emissions inventory. We established a project team comprised of both subject matter experts and data stewards to streamline data collection and analysis efforts.

In line with the guidelines outlined in The Greenhouse Gas Protocol: A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (GHG Protocol), we worked with the project team to establish appropriate reporting boundaries and materiality thresholds to determine an appropriate consolidation approach for the organization. Subsequently, ScottMadden facilitated the identification and collection of required data sources and led the development and computation of a tailored emissions model.

In addition to calculating the organization’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions and identifying material Scope 3 sources, ScottMadden developed a GHG Emissions Report and Inventory Management Plan. These documents provide a comprehensive overview of the emissions assessment and inventory development methodology with a clear and auditable record of data sources, assumptions, and calculations.