(117d) Personalizing a Greenhouse Gas Protocol: Defining the Greenhouse Gas Inventory of Your Company

GHG accounting standards, such as the WBCSD/WRI GHG Protocol and ISO 14064, as well as the development of guidance and tools, such as IPIECA's Petroleum Industry Guidelines for Reporting Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the API Compendium of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimation Methodologies for the Oil and Gas Industry, have established a path for oil and gas companies performing GHG inventories.

This GHG inventory path has many forks due to both organizational and operational differences in oil & gas corporations and the flexibility the previously mentioned standards, guidance, and tools maintain on many issues. For these reasons, a corporate GHG protocol customized to identify a company's specific approach or interpretation of key GHG inventory issues is important to avoid getting lost. Though development of a custom GHG Protocol requires an initial effort, such a document facilitates the performance of the GHG inventory, ensures both inventory consistency across the organization and over time, simplifies independent verification, and can enhance transparency with stakeholders, among other benefits.

This presentation will clarify what is meant by a custom GHG protocol. It will provide examples of the issues that a custom protocol would address. It will explain the uses of a custom GHG protocol and suggest the benefits it can deliver. To illustrate the effort and the value associated with developing a custom GHG protocol, the presentation will also include a case study by Amerada Hess Corporation on the development of its corporate GHG protocol.