GHG Protocol adjusts standards update timelines

This news is about corporate carbon accounting rules, not home energy upgrades, so it has no direct bearing on your house or any rebate program. It's worth noting only as background on how businesses track and report emissions.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the main rulebook companies use to measure their carbon output, is delaying a major overhaul of its standards. The group is merging its framework with rules from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to create one unified system, since more places, including California, the European Union, Japan and Singapore, now require companies to disclose their emissions. A draft of the combined standard is now expected in 2027, with the new rules taking effect in 2028.

Part of the delay comes from pushback on proposed changes to how companies count emissions from the electricity they buy. Companies submitted nearly 1,100 comments, many objecting to a rule that would have required matching electricity use to clean power sources hour by hour on the same grid. Officials plan to keep working through the feedback this fall.

None of this changes what rebates or incentives are available for home upgrades like heat pumps or insulation. It mainly affects how large companies calculate and report their own carbon footprints as more governments require that disclosure.