Firms looking to prove their carbon accounting performance are increasingly turning to industry-specific methodologies to improve the quality and relevance of emissions calculations. Specialized approaches are emerging across a range of sectors. The GLEC (Global Logistics Emissions Council) has created a framework for freight transport emission calculations for logistics firms, PCAF has become the dominant carbon accounting framework for the financial sector, and the GHG Protocol recently released guidance for forest, land and agriculture (FLAG) related emissions.
Carbon management platforms are responding to meet this requirement, with a number of providers offering PCAF-aligned functionality. The market is shifting away from a ‘one stop shop’ approach to carbon management, with no single platform providing comprehensive coverage across data collection, management, reporting and disclosure creation.
This comes at a time when organizations are recognizing the value of reliable, verifiable environmental claims to their market performance. Findings from the 2023 net zero global corporate survey from research firm Verdantix reveal that over a third of net zero leaders (37%) are seeking to use climate change performance as a competitive advantage within their industry. The importance of strong, sector-specific carbon accounting as a competitive differentiator when marketing products and services is coming to the fore.
With both industry-agnostic and specialized offerings on the market, firms should carefully consider how to build out their carbon management digital infrastructures. The right solution will empower business leaders to meaningfully quantify and demonstrate industry-leading climate change performance.
