GoKawiilA group of 66 companies and industry organizations, which includes Apple, has issued a joint statement opposing proposed changes to how companies account for clean energy use. Here are the details.
Companies say the proposed changes could backfire
A group of companies, including Amazon, Apple, BYD, eBay, Luxshare, and Salesforce, has issued a public statement against a key change in the rules governing corporate emissions reporting.
These changes are part of a revision process led by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP), a widely used framework that defines how companies measure and report their emissions.
The update focuses on its Scope 2 guidance, which covers how companies account for the electricity they purchase and use.
Under the current rules, companies can match their electricity use with clean energy on an annual basis, typically using renewable energy certificates tied to power generated somewhere on the grid during the same year.
From the GHG Protocol proposal:
The proposed revisions recommended by the scope 2 Technical Working Group and approved by the Independent Standards Board to progress to public consultation seek to address the challenges with the status quo by requiring organizations using certificates to match them to consumption hourly, and from deliverable grid regions. This approach is consistent with how power markets settle supply and demand by hour within defined boundaries.
In other words, the proposed changes would require companies to match their electricity use with clean energy on an hourly basis, and from sources located within the same grid or regions that can physically deliver that power.
According to the GHGP, the idea behind the change is to improve the accuracy of emissions reporting by ensuring companies only claim clean energy that could realistically have powered their operations.
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