CLIMATE ACCOUNTING
A corporate GHG inventory is not a sustainability document. It is the data infrastructure that makes every other climate obligation possible. CDP scoring, SBTi target setting, IFRS S2 disclosure, CBAM calculations, CSRD reporting, and ESG ratings all require the same underlying data — accurate, methodology-aligned, and audit-ready emissions figures across Scope 1, 2, and 3. Organizations that build a rigorous GHG inventory once, built correctly, eliminate the redundancy of rebuilding emissions data for each new framework.
Semtrio quantifies Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions in accordance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard and ISO 14064-1 — the two globally recognized methodological references — and delivers the inventory through Carbondeck for organizations that need a permanent data infrastructure rather than an annual project.
CDP Climate, SBTi target setting, IFRS S2, CSRD/ESRS E1, CBAM, and ESG ratings all require verified GHG emissions data as their primary input. An organization without a methodology-aligned GHG inventory cannot credibly complete any of these frameworks — and cannot accurately quantify the cost of emissions-related obligations such as CBAM certificate purchases.
For most organizations, indirect value chain emissions — Scope 3 — represent between 70% and 90% of total GHG footprint. Supply chain procurement, logistics, business travel, product use, and end-of-life disposal are often the most significant emission categories. Regulatory frameworks and investor expectations are increasingly requiring Scope 3 disclosure — and organizations that have not mapped their value chain emissions are underestimating both their exposure and their decarbonization opportunity.
Investors, regulators, and assurance providers are raising the bar on GHG data quality. Audit-ready methodology documentation, traceable emission factors, and defensible boundary-setting decisions are now expected as standard — particularly for organizations subject to IFRS S2, CSRD, or CDP scoring where GHG data quality directly affects disclosure credibility and ratings outcomes.
Most organizations approach GHG accounting as an annual project — collecting data, running calculations, producing a report, and starting over the following year. This model creates significant internal burden, inconsistency between reporting cycles, and a disclosure posture that is reactive rather than systematic. Semtrio designs GHG inventories as permanent organizational infrastructure — built once to the methodological standard that satisfies the most demanding framework, and maintained as a living system that produces outputs for every framework simultaneously.
Our Corporate GHG Accounting engagements cover the full inventory lifecycle: organizational boundary setting, emission source identification across all three scopes, activity data collection architecture, emission factor selection and calculation, quality review, and final inventory documentation in the format required for regulatory submission, investor disclosure, or assurance. The output is not just a report — it is a structured data asset that feeds IFRS S2 scenario analysis, CDP questionnaire completion, SBTi baseline setting, and CBAM calculation from a single verified source.
For organizations that need this infrastructure permanently — with real-time emissions tracking, ERP integration, and automated quarterly outputs — Carbondeck provides the platform layer. Semtrio configures and deploys Carbondeck as an accredited Climateware partner, connecting the advisory methodology to the digital infrastructure that makes it sustainable at scale.
OUR PROCESS
A complete GHG inventory — methodology-aligned, audit-ready, and built to serve every framework you report against.
From annual reporting to permanent GHG infrastructure.
For most organizations, GHG accounting is an annual project — a concentrated effort to collect data, run calculations, and produce a report before starting over the following year. The effort is significant, the data is fragmented, and the output rarely survives the twelve months until the next cycle with full integrity. The definitive CBAM regime, IFRS S2 requirements, and CDP year-on-year performance tracking all reward organizations that manage emissions data as a continuous system rather than an annual exercise.
Carbondeck is the permanent GHG data infrastructure that makes this possible. The platform centralizes Scope 1, 2, and 3 data collection, automates calculation workflows, integrates with ERP systems to receive production and energy data continuously, and produces audit-ready inventory outputs that are always current — not reconstructed annually. Performance is tracked over time, emission reduction progress is visible in real time, and the data quality required for external assurance is maintained as a system property, not an end-of-year scramble.
As an accredited Climateware consulting partner, Semtrio configures and deploys Carbondeck for organizations that need GHG accounting to function as permanent organizational infrastructure. We design the data architecture, configure the platform, run the initial inventory, and train internal teams to own the ongoing process. Semtrio provides the advisory methodology. Carbondeck provides the infrastructure.
Explore CarbondeckThe GHG Protocol Scope 1 production data that feeds a corporate GHG inventory is the same source data required for CBAM embedded carbon calculations — organizations that structure both from the same data architecture eliminate duplication and improve accuracy across both frameworks.
Learn moreSBTi target setting requires a verified Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG baseline as the quantitative foundation — organizations cannot set credible science-based targets without first knowing their full emissions profile across all three scopes.
Learn moreGRI 305 (Emissions) draws directly from the GHG inventory — organizations producing GRI-aligned sustainability reports can draw on Semtrio's GHG accounting output as the primary data source, eliminating separate data collection for the emissions disclosure.
Learn moreCDP Climate scoring is driven primarily by the quality and completeness of GHG data — particularly Scope 3 coverage, emission intensity metrics, and year-on-year comparability. A Semtrio-designed GHG inventory is built to serve the CDP questionnaire from the data architecture outward.
Learn more2,000+ projects. One methodology. Every framework served from a single inventory.
GHG accounting is the service most embedded across Semtrio's project portfolio — present in more client engagements than any other single service, across manufacturing, energy, finance, retail, aviation, and holding company structures. That breadth is not incidental. It reflects the fact that GHG accounting is the foundation of every other climate obligation — and organizations that choose Semtrio for their GHG inventory gain access to a methodology designed from the outset to serve IFRS S2, CBAM, CDP, SBTi, and GRI simultaneously, without rebuilding data for each.
Our GHG inventories are aligned with the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard and ISO 14064-1 — the two methodological references that regulatory frameworks, assurance providers, and ratings agencies treat as the acceptable standard. Every inventory we produce includes methodology documentation, emission factor traceability, and boundary-setting rationale — not as an add-on, but as a core deliverable. That audit-ready structure is what allows the same inventory to satisfy CDP's disclosure requirements, SBTi's baseline standards, IFRS S2's cross-industry metrics, and CBAM's embedded carbon methodology at the same time.
The connection to CDP performance is direct: Semtrio achieved a 75% CDP A-List rate across supported projects in 2025 — 33 of 44 engagements resulted in a Global A score. That performance is built on the quality of GHG data. When the inventory is right, the disclosure is right.
Talk to our team about building your GHG inventoryWhether you're scoping a single service engagement, evaluating end-to-end advisory across multiple clusters, or looking for one accountable partner across strategy and disclosure — start here.
Yaren Ünal
Senior Specialist,Client Solutions
Hamza Söylemez
Specialist,Client Solutions
Frequently asked questions about corporate GHG accounting
Corporate GHG accounting is the systematic process of identifying, quantifying, and reporting an organization's greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with recognized methodological standards — primarily the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard and ISO 14064-1. It covers three categories of emissions: Scope 1 (direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by the organization), Scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heat, or cooling), and Scope 3 (all other indirect emissions in the organization's value chain, upstream and downstream). A corporate GHG inventory defines organizational boundaries, identifies all relevant emission sources across each scope, collects activity data, applies appropriate emission factors, and produces a documented, auditable emissions figure — typically expressed in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year.
Scope 1 covers direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources owned or controlled by the organization — combustion in owned boilers and vehicles, industrial process emissions, and fugitive releases from owned equipment. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heat, or cooling consumed by the organization — the emissions occur at the generation facility, but are attributed to the consuming organization. Scope 2 can be calculated on a location-based basis (using grid average emission factors) or a market-based basis (using contractual instruments such as renewable energy certificates). Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions in the organization's value chain — across 15 categories defined by the GHG Protocol, including purchased goods and services, capital goods, logistics, business travel, employee commuting, product use, and end-of-life treatment. For most organizations, Scope 3 represents between 70% and 90% of total GHG footprint and is the primary focus of investor and regulatory scrutiny.
The two primary methodological references for corporate GHG accounting are the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard — developed by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development — and ISO 14064-1, the international standard for quantification and reporting of GHG emissions at the organization level. Both frameworks define boundary-setting principles, calculation methodologies, emission factor selection criteria, and reporting requirements. The GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard and accompanying calculation guidance provide the methodology for value chain emissions. PCAF (Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials) applies GHG Protocol principles specifically to financial institutions' portfolio emissions. All regulatory frameworks that require GHG data — IFRS S2, CSRD/ESRS E1, CDP, SBTi, and CBAM — reference GHG Protocol and ISO 14064 as the acceptable methodological foundation.
A verified GHG inventory is the data foundation that every major climate framework requires. IFRS S2 mandates disclosure of Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions as cross-industry metrics. CSRD/ESRS E1 requires GHG inventory data as the primary quantitative input for climate disclosures. CDP Climate scoring is driven primarily by the completeness and quality of GHG data across all three scopes. SBTi target setting requires a verified Scope 1, 2, and 3 baseline from which reduction targets are calculated. CBAM embedded carbon calculations for exported goods draw on the same Scope 1 production-level emissions data as the corporate inventory. ESG ratings — LSEG, MSCI, Sustainalytics — score GHG disclosure quality and completeness as a primary input. Organizations that build a single methodology-aligned GHG inventory can satisfy all of these requirements simultaneously from one consistent data source.
Semtrio's GHG accounting engagements follow a four-phase structure. We begin with boundary setting and emission source mapping — defining the organizational and operational scope of the inventory and identifying all relevant sources across Scope 1, 2, and 3. We then design the data collection architecture, gather activity data from across the organization and value chain, and calculate emissions using GHG Protocol and ISO 14064-1 methodology with traceable emission factors. We compile the full inventory, align it with the specific requirements of each framework the organization reports against, and quality-review all outputs. We deliver the final inventory in audit-ready format — with methodology documentation, emission factor references, and boundary rationale — and, for clients deploying Carbondeck, configure the platform for permanent real-time GHG data management.
Talk to our team about your GHG inventoryWhether you are building a GHG inventory for the first time or strengthening an existing one to meet IFRS S2, CDP, SBTi, or CBAM requirements — we will design the data architecture, run the calculations, and produce an audit-ready output that serves every framework from one source.
Whether you are building a GHG inventory for the first time or strengthening an existing one to meet IFRS S2, CDP, SBTi, or CBAM requirements — we will design the data architecture, run the calculations, and produce an audit-ready output that serves every framework from one source.
