Two steel standards organisations have welcomed the recently announced news of a harmonisation between the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol.
The two framework organisations are to harmonise their existing portfolios of greenhouse gas standards and co-develop new standards for GHG emissions accounting. This includes standards from the ISO 1406X family of standards, alongside the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting, Scope 2 and Scope 3 Standards.
This will help to deliver a unified global standard for the sustainability sector, progressing the ongoing work within the standards sector seeking to align frameworks and create interoperability, the organisations point out.
The partnership will also see work on a joint product carbon footprint standard.
Speaking to Kallanish, Adina Renee Adler, executive director at the Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC), highlights the ongoing work of the Steel Standard Principles.
“I do believe that this partnership is an outcrop of the work that we’re all doing together to promote interoperability between all of our programmes,” she says.
“We welcome any announcement by two programmes and two partners to think how work going forward can be done in a way to be interoperable,” she adds. However, she notes some of the work will eliminate duplication, rather than create interoperability.
She says the ISO and GHG Protocol standards were due an update, and as part of the latter’s update, some of the proposals had caused concern with GSCC’s members.
Adler adds that “it’s a standard for standards that they be updated at least every five years”.
“We will be going through a review process ourselves coming up very soon,” she adds.
Experts from both organisations will now collaborate through an integrated technical process, with the goal of delivering cohesive standards.
Adler says this will be a “a multi-year process”, which will be “perfectly timed for this already scheduled review of our standard”.
Annie Heaton, chief executive at ResponsibleSteel, tells Kallanish: “All standards organisations should take note of this new partnership and follow its example. The need for harmonised measurement of greenhouse gas emissions is undeniable. This is not only essential for the steel industry itself, but also for buyers, investors, and civil society, who all depend on good data to enable comparable market information to drive effective decarbonisation.”
The organisation also highlights progress made through the Steel Standards Principles.
“ResponsibleSteel is proud to be working alongside others in this initiative and in partnership with other standards bodies to ensure good data on industry emissions. And let’s be clear, good data means more than consistent measurement. It also requires independent scrutiny, providing the assurance that the data is credible as well as comparable,” she adds.
GHG Protocol says the development of combined standards for GHG emissions terminology and reporting provides a long-awaited, trusted solution for companies, auditors and policymakers, which aligns with calls for harmonisation by government and companies. The partnership will include a portfolio of dual-logo standards covering corporate, product and project accounting.
Carrie Bone UK
