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On October 4th the GHG Protocol launched the new Product Life Cycle and Corporate Value Chain Standards with events in New York City and London. The global press launch of the Standards in New York City occurred in conjunction with WRI’s Corporate Consultative Group (CCG) fall meeting. CCG is a group of 150-200 representatives of large corporations, mainly sustainability managers, who are coming to engage with WRI experts – and with each other – to access environmental intelligence in order to protect and grow shareholder value and steer business to better protect the environment. A simultaneous event took place in London on the same day to ensure a truly global launch. More than 300 people attended the New York and London events and received press coverage by numerous major media outlets including the NY Times and the Financial Times. Key notes were given from Linda Fisher, Vice President for Safety, Health & Environment and Chief Sustainability Officer, DuPont and Edwin Piñero, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Veolia Water, North America in New York and from Mr. Frank Appel, CEO Deutsche Post DH in London.
“These standards are a breakthrough for business. For the first time, companies will be able to measure and manage the full scope of emissions in their value chain and products, so they can take advantage of new opportunities as they reduce greenhouse gases,” said Manish Bapna, Interim President, WRI. “Backed by the credibility of the GHG Protocol, the new standards will help move businesses and reporting programs to one harmonized global reporting framework.”
On November 17th, WRI and WBCSD launched the new standards in Beijing, China. It is the first time the two organizations have officially released GHG Protocol standards in China. Eight Chinese companies were involved in the road testing of these new standards and many more were engaged throughout the international standard development process.
Wah Fung Group is the first Chinese company to adopt the final Product Life Cycle Standard. As a leading fabric supplier, Wah Fung Group released a report showing that its Cold Pad Batch dyeing technology achieves 13 percent carbon savings and over 50 percent water savings compared with the conventional dyeing process.
“The new standards provide companies with a comprehensive view of the emissions produced when making a product and across the value chain. They will help companies make better business decisions and stimulate innovation of products and production methods,” said Björn Stigson, President, WBCSD. “In today’s world, it is necessary to understand and measure the costs for production, labor and transportation of products, which become visible and actionable through emissions.”
Continuing in Asia, GHG Protocol officially launched the Product and Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standards in Japan on November 21st in partnership with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The event was attended by 130 Japanese stakeholders and included key note addresses from Isao Endou, Director of the Environmental Industries Office at METI as well as Jennifer Morgan, Director of Climate and Energy at WRI and Thierry Berthoud, Managing Director of Energy and Climate at WBCSD.
The standards were developed through a three year global multi-stakeholders process that included more than 2,300 participants and were road-tested by 60 companies in 17 countries. The Corporate Value Chain Standard is the first standard companies can use to assess their full scope 3 emissions up and down the value chain and identify the most cost-effective ways to reduce emissions. The Product Life Cycle Standard enables companies to measure the greenhouse gas emissions of an individual product all the way from raw materials through use and disposal, and identify opportunities to increase efficiencies, improve product design, remove risks, and achieve emissions reductions.
Please find below links to the standards, tools for calculating scope 3 and product inventories, and other new materials from the launch events. We are also happy to share our new visual brand with you that launched earlier this week. We hope you enjoy the fresh look this brings to GHG Protocol as we continue to move forward in all areas of our work. The new standards and tools to support their use:
Video:
- A new animation video that explains how both standards work
- Full video footage from the New York launch event
Press coverage of the launch:
- The New York Times: Companies Get New Tools For Calculating Emissions
- Many more available here
Media Documents: