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The Future of Carbon Accounting: Why the ISO–GHG Protocol Partnership Matters for Australian Businesses

  • Aug 12
  • 3 min read

A New Era for Greenhouse Gas Reporting



A significant shift is underway in the world of greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting.


For many years, organisations have relied on two globally recognised frameworks for measuring and reporting emissions: the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) and ISO 14064-1. While both frameworks share many common principles, differences in interpretation, reporting requirements and implementation approaches have often created complexity for businesses, auditors, consultants and software providers.


That is now beginning to change.


ISO and the GHG Protocol have announced a formal collaboration to harmonise their greenhouse gas accounting standards, with the goal of creating a more consistent and globally accepted approach to corporate emissions measurement and reporting. For Australian organisations facing increasing climate disclosure obligations, investor scrutiny and supply chain expectations, this is one of the most important developments in sustainability reporting in recent years.


What Is Changing?

The harmonisation process is expected to bring together key elements of:

  • GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard

  • GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance

  • GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard

  • ISO 14064-1 organisational greenhouse gas inventory requirements


The objective is not to create an entirely new methodology, but to reduce duplication and inconsistencies between the world's most widely used greenhouse gas accounting frameworks. Core principles such as relevance, completeness, consistency, transparency and accuracy will remain at the heart of emissions reporting.


Key Timeframes

2025–2026: Joint development activities and stakeholder engagement.

2027: Expected public consultation on the proposed harmonised standard.

2028 and Beyond: Publication and progressive adoption of the harmonised corporate emissions accounting framework.


Why Does This Matter?

The move toward a unified global standard is expected to deliver several important benefits:

  • Reduced Complexity

    Businesses will spend less time navigating differences between standards and reporting methodologies.

  • Greater Consistency

    A common framework will improve the quality and comparability of emissions data across organisations and industries.

  • Improved Assurance

    More consistent accounting approaches will support verification and assurance processes.

  • Better Alignment with Climate Reporting

    The harmonised framework is expected to strengthen links with climate disclosure standards such as IFRS S2 and Australia's AASB S2.

  • Increased Confidence

    Investors, customers, regulators and supply chain partners will have greater confidence in reported emissions information.


The Importance of Real Data

As reporting requirements continue to mature, the quality and integrity of underlying data are becoming as important as the reporting framework itself. While many organisations continue to rely on estimates, spreadsheets, surveys and manually collected information to calculate emissions, businesses must increasingly be able to demonstrate that their reported emissions are supported by accurate, traceable and verifiable source data to satisfy regulatory, audit, assurance and investor requirements.


This is where Green2View takes a fundamentally different approach. We capture and analyse real customer data relating to energy use, emissions types, resource consumption and supply chain activities, and calculate the associated greenhouse gas emissions and emissions intensity, while retaining verifiable digital records of the underlying source data. This creates a transparent and traceable data foundation for emissions reporting, enabling businesses to substantiate their reported results rather than relying solely on estimates or manually prepared calculations.


Using actual business data rather than relying solely on assumptions or generic estimates enables organisations to achieve:

  • More accurate emissions calculations and intensity metrics

  • Greater confidence in reported results

  • Stronger audit trails and evidence retention

  • Improved assurance readiness

  • Reduced reporting risk

  • Better decision-making based on actual performance


Most importantly, high-quality source data provides a defensible foundation for climate disclosures, sustainability reporting, assurance and evolving regulatory requirements.


What Does This Mean for Australian Organisations?

As climate-related reporting obligations continue to expand, organisations need more than a carbon calculator. They need reliable, transparent and auditable sustainability data that can withstand increasing scrutiny from regulators, investors, customers and assurance providers. The organisations best positioned for the future will be those that establish strong data governance and evidence-based greenhouse gas accounting processes today


How Green2View Supports Organisations

Green2View has been developed around internationally recognised greenhouse gas accounting principles and supports reporting aligned with frameworks including the GHG Protocol, ISO 14064-1 and AASB S2.


By providing transparent, auditable and verification-ready sustainability data, Green2View helps organisations build the foundations required to respond to evolving reporting requirements and stakeholder expectations.


Looking Ahead

The ISO–GHG Protocol partnership represents one of the most significant developments in greenhouse gas accounting in recent years.


While the final harmonised standard is still under development, the direction is clear: global carbon accounting is moving toward greater consistency, transparency and comparability.

Organisations that invest in high-quality sustainability data and reporting systems today will be better prepared for tomorrow's regulatory, investor and market expectations.


Green2View will continue to monitor developments and maintain alignment with emerging international greenhouse gas accounting and sustainability reporting standards as they evolve.


 

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