Glossary

Control - The approach used to define organizational boundaries for GHG accounting. It can be:

• Operational control: The company has full authority over operations and environmental policies.

• Financial control: The company can direct financial and operating policies, even without full ownership.

Direct GHG Emissions - Greenhouse gas emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by the company. Example: emissions from company-owned vehicles, boilers, and generators.

Indirect GHG Emissions - Emissions that are a consequence of the company’s activities but occur at sources not owned or directly controlled by the company. Examples: purchased electricity, business travel by third parties.

Equity Share - A boundary-setting approach where a company accounts for GHG emissions in proportion to its ownership share in a facility or operation, regardless of control.

GHG Capture - The process of collecting greenhouse gases (typically CO₂) from a source, such as industrial exhaust, before they enter the atmosphere.

GHG Removal - The process of extracting greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, either biologically (e.g., afforestation) or chemically (e.g., direct air capture and storage).

Global Warming Potential (GWP)- A factor that compares the climate impact of different GHGs relative to CO₂ over a specific time frame (usually 100 years). Example: Methane (CH₄) has a GWP of 28–36 times that of CO₂ over 100 years.

Operational Boundaries - These define which types of emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3) are included in a company’s GHG inventory based on the activities it performs and controls.

Process Emissions - Emissions that result from chemical or physical processes, rather than fuel combustion or biological sources. Example: CO₂ released during cement or steel manufacturing.

Scope 1 Inventory - A list of direct GHG emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by the reporting company.

Scope 2 Inventory - A list of indirect GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating, or cooling consumed by the company.

Scope 3 Inventory - A list and quantification of all other indirect emissions that occur in the company’s value chain, both upstream and downstream. Examples: emissions from business travel, purchased goods, waste disposal, use of sold products.

Base Year - The reference year against which a company’s future emission reduction targets are measured. It should be a year with reliable and verifiable data.