The Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s proposed overhaul of Scope 2 emissions accounting — the first major revision since 2014 — has hit a wall of industry opposition over a plan to require hourly matching of electricity consumption to renewable generation. Only 12 percent of businesses and 22 percent of all respondents supported the hourly mandate in a consultation that drew more than 1,100 comments, forcing the standard-setter to rework its draft before a technical working group reconvenes in September.
Scope 2 governs how companies report emissions from purchased electricity through a dual structure: location-based inventories reflect the grid mix where operations sit, while market-based totals allow deductions for renewable energy contracts. The hourly matching proposal would have tightened market-based rules by requiring corporations to prove their clean energy purchases align with actual consumption on an hour-by-hour basis, rather than the current annual accounting. Critics argued the requirement would discourage renewable procurement, create prohibitive data and audit burdens, and should remain voluntary if adopted at all.
The backlash mirrors a parallel shift at the Science Based Targets initiative, which made hourly matching optional under its new corporate net-zero standard rather than mandatory. GHG Protocol CEO Tim Mohin acknowledged that while a plurality of respondents want a more rigorous standard, the consensus on how to achieve that rigor has fractured. The organization now faces the delicate task of strengthening Scope 2 without triggering a retreat from voluntary clean energy markets.
Meanwhile, GHG Protocol is pursuing a separate but related project to unify its corporate carbon accounting rules with ISO 14064-1, with a consultation draft for the combined framework due in the second quarter of 2027. That convergence effort adds pressure to resolve the Scope 2 impasse in a way that satisfies both the demand for granularity and the practical realities of global energy procurement.
Read the full report at GreenBiz.