Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Template (Scope 1, 2, 3)

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory: [Organisation name] [Reporting year]

An inventory management plan and annual inventory report for an organisation's Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The structure is aligned with the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (revised edition, 2004), the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance (2015) and the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard (2011), and with ISO 14064-1:2018. GHG Protocol is revising its standards (the Scope 2 consultation ran from 2025-10-20 to 2026-01-31), so check which editions are in force for your period. The outputs map to ESRS E1 and IFRS S2 climate metrics. Replace every [bracketed] value and every row marked Example. This is a documentation format, not legal, financial, accounting or assurance advice: check the current official texts and a qualified professional.

Document control

Approvals

Revision history

Contents

1. Reporting basis and frameworks
2. Organisational boundary
3. Operational boundary and scopes
4. Base year and recalculation policy
5. Activity data and emission factors
6. Scope 1 emissions
7. Scope 2 emissions
8. Scope 3 emissions
9. Inventory summary, intensity and trend
10. Data quality, uncertainty and controls
11. Verification and assurance
12. Disclosure mapping
13. Glossary and references

1. Reporting basis and frameworks

The inventory serves several users at once: the annual sustainability statement, investor and lender reporting, customer questionnaires and the tracking of the targets in the climate transition plan. One set of boundaries and methods should feed all of them, with a mapping table (section 12) where a framework asks for a different cut.

Accounting standards applied: [GHG Protocol Corporate Standard (revised edition), Scope 2 Guidance (2015), Scope 3 Standard (2011)] and [ISO 14064-1:2018]. Where a jurisdiction requires a different method for part of the inventory, record it here and show the bridge in section 12.

Example: Quillfen applies the three GHG Protocol documents and reports its conformity with ISO 14064-1:2018 categories as a secondary view, because two retail customers ask for it.

2. Organisational boundary

The organisational boundary decides which operations are in the inventory and at what percentage. The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard (chapter 3) offers an equity share approach and two control approaches (financial and operational); ISO 14064-1:2018 (clause 5.1) offers control or equity share. ESRS E1 as amended in 2026 takes financial control as the starting point and allows equity share or operational control as alternatives, with Scope 1 and 2 split between the consolidated accounting group and other operations: check the adopted text of the disclosure requirement on gross emissions.

Leased assets: [state whether leased buildings and vehicles are treated as owned (Scope 1 and 2) or as Scope 3 category 8 or 13, consistent with the chosen approach]. Example: Leased warehouses under the control of Quillfen are in Scopes 1 and 2.

Consistency check with the financial statements: [list differences between the GHG boundary and the consolidation perimeter and why]. Example: None, apart from the joint venture which is equity accounted in both.

3. Operational boundary and scopes

The operational boundary assigns each source to Scope 1 (direct), Scope 2 (purchased electricity, steam, heat and cooling) or Scope 3 (other indirect value-chain emissions). The Corporate Standard covers this in chapter 4; ISO 14064-1:2018 uses six categories in clause 5.2 (direct; indirect from imported energy; transportation; products used by the organisation; use of products from the organisation; other sources), which map onto the three scopes.

Biogenic CO2 from burning wood residues: [report separately outside the scopes, as the GHG Protocol and ESRS E1 expect]. Example: Not applicable; no biomass combustion on site.

Exclusion threshold: [state the materiality rule]. Example: A source may be excluded only if it is estimated below 0.5% of total Scope 1 and 2, the total of exclusions stays below 2%, and the estimate is documented each year.

4. Base year and recalculation policy

The base year is the reference against which targets and trends are measured. Chapter 5 of the Corporate Standard and the base-year provisions of ISO 14064-1:2018 (clause 6) expect a documented recalculation policy covering structural changes (acquisitions, divestments, outsourcing and insourcing), changes in calculation method or in the accuracy of factors, and the discovery of significant errors. The significance threshold is a choice of the organisation: write it down.

5. Activity data and emission factors

Emissions are activity data multiplied by an emission factor, or direct measurement where a source is continuously monitored. Record each factor's source and vintage, the GWP set, and whether the factor is on a gross or net calorific value basis. Common public factor sets include national government conversion factors (for example the UK DESNZ greenhouse gas conversion factors and the US EPA emission factors hub), IEA electricity factors (licensed) and supplier-specific data; name the edition used.

Estimation rules: [how gaps are filled, for example missing months extrapolated from the same month of the prior year, adjusted for production]. Example: Two missing gas invoices at Leeds were estimated from meter photos; estimate share of Scope 1: 0.6%.

6. Scope 1 emissions

Gas breakdown: [by gas where required, CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs, SF6, NF3]. Process emissions: [describe or state none]. Percentage of Scope 1 from regulated emissions trading schemes: [EU ETS, UK ETS or none; an ESRS E1 datapoint in the 2023 set, check the revised set]. Example: None of the plants is above the EU ETS or UK ETS capacity thresholds; check annually.

7. Scope 2 emissions

The Scope 2 Guidance (2015) requires dual reporting: a location-based figure from grid-average factors and a market-based figure from contractual instruments (energy attribute certificates, supplier-specific factors, power purchase agreements) and, without them, a residual mix. Chapter 7 of the guidance sets quality criteria for instruments. The revision under way discusses hourly matching and deliverability for the market-based method; record which rules you apply for this period.

Share of renewable electricity (market-based): 47,000 of 91,000 MWh = 51.6% (Example).

8. Scope 3 emissions

The Scope 3 Standard (2011) defines 15 categories, eight upstream and seven downstream. Screen each one for size, influence, risk and stakeholder relevance, then choose a method per category (supplier-specific, hybrid, average-data or spend-based) and record the data quality. GHG Protocol is also revising the Scope 3 Standard; check the status for your period.

Supplier engagement: [share of category 1 emissions covered by supplier-specific data, target for next year]. Example: 35% of board tonnage, target 60% for FY2027 (lever S3-L2 in the transition plan).

9. Inventory summary, intensity and trend

Drivers of change: [explain by lever and by external factor]. Example: The fall in Scope 2 market-based comes mainly from the guarantees of origin at Zwolle and Zaragoza contracted from 2025; Scope 1 fell after the heat recovery project at Zwolle; about 6,000 tCO2e of the Scope 3 fall comes from supplier-specific data replacing average factors for 35% of board tonnage, a method change disclosed under RC-003 and not presented as a physical reduction.

10. Data quality, uncertainty and controls

Chapter 7 of the Corporate Standard and clause 8 of ISO 14064-1:2018 cover inventory quality management. Assess uncertainty qualitatively for every source and quantitatively for the largest ones, and keep evidence for each number.

11. Verification and assurance

ISO 14064-1:2018 clause 10 describes the organisation's role in verification activities; the verification itself is described in ISO 14064-3:2019.

12. Disclosure mapping

Paragraph numbers are pointers: check the official text of each standard and the jurisdictional version you apply.

13. Glossary and references

References:

• GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, revised edition (WRI and WBCSD, 2004); GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance (2015); Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard (2011). Names and chapter numbers only. Official text: GHG Protocol, free download under its terms of use: https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard
• GHG Protocol, Scope 2 public consultation 2025-10-20 to 2026-01-31 and the market-based method update of 2026-10-16 (standards under revision): https://ghgprotocol.org/public-consultations
• ISO 14064-1:2018 "Greenhouse gases, Part 1: Specification with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals", second edition. Official text: ISO, purchase or licensed access: https://www.iso.org/standard/66453.html
• ISO 14064-3:2019 (verification and validation of GHG statements), number and title only.
• ESRS E1 "Climate change" in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772 as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563 of 3 July 2026 (check EUR-Lex for the consolidated text).
• IFRS S2 "Climate-related Disclosures" (June 2023) and Amendments to IFRS S2 on greenhouse gas emissions disclosures (issued 2025-12-11, effective 2027-01-01), names and paragraph numbers only.
• UK SECR: SI 2018/1155; California Health and Safety Code section 38532 (check the California Air Resources Board for current deadlines).

Standard and licence note

Structure aligned with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard (revised edition), Scope 2 Guidance (2015) and Scope 3 Standard (2011), and with ISO 14064-1:2018, cited by name, chapter, clause and category number only. The GHG Protocol standards are published by WRI and WBCSD under terms of use that restrict reproduction and derivative works, and ISO 14064-1 is a paid standard, so no text, table or figure is copied from either; this template does not imply any association with or endorsement by GHG Protocol or ISO. EU and UK legal texts are referred to by number and paraphrased in original words. All factors, figures and the Quillfen Packaging Group example are fictional and illustrative. Check the current official versions, including the GHG Protocol revisions in progress, before use. Template licence: MIT.