Greenhouse Gas (GHG) accounting

Nowadays, it's almost impossible to open a newspaper without encountering an article on 'sustainability'. Whether it's in the context of the financial services industry, the broader economy, or society as a whole, sustainability has become a critical issue. In recent years, it has gained significant traction and is now recognised as a necessity rather than just a trend.

Over the past decade, the focus on environmental issues has grown exponentially, resulting in various global commitments and initiatives aimed at transforming current institutional, economic, and financial models.

This training session covers the essentials of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) accounting, a fundamental process for organisations aiming to measure, manage, and reduce their carbon emissions. GHG accounting provides the metrics and methodologies needed to understand an organisation’s carbon footprint, identify key emission sources, and track progress towards sustainability targets. This course will walk participants through the various scopes of GHG emissions, tools for measurement, and reporting standards such as the GHG protocol.

By the end of this training, participants will:

• understand the principles of GHG accounting and the importance of accurate emissions measurement;
• be able to differentiate between Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and their impacts;
• gain familiarity with key standards and frameworks like the GHG protocol and ISO 14064;
• develop skills to calculate and report organisational carbon footprints;
• learn best practices for implementing emission reduction initiatives based on accounting data.

• Introduction to GHG accounting
  • Overview of GHG emissions and the role of accounting in corporate sustainability.
  • Key definitions and concepts in GHG measurement.
• Scopes of emissions
  • Detailed exploration of Scope 1 (direct emissions), Scope 2 (indirect emissions from energy), and Scope 3 (value chain emissions).
  • Case examples to illustrate the complexities of Scope 3 calculations.
• Methodologies for GHG measurement
  • Tools and standards used in GHG accounting (e.g., GHG Protocol, IPCC guidelines).
  • Introduction to emission factors, data gathering, and calculation approaches.
• Reporting and verification
  • Understanding GHG disclosure requirements under frameworks such as CDP and TCFD.
  • Verification approaches to ensure accuracy and reliability of data.
• Actionable insights for emission reduction
  • Using GHG accounting data to develop emission reduction strategies.
  • Practical examples of how companies have successfully reduced their GHG emissions.

This training is coordinated by Michael Horvath and Julien Jacqué, Partners at PwC Luxembourg.

Michael has acquired a strong financial and regulatory audit as well as advisory background and significant experience leading projects in the asset management sphere.

In the recent past, Michael has been particularly involved in various regulatory projects related to the implementation of the EU regulatory framework for sustainable finance (i.e. SFDR, taxonomy regulation, CSRD) at entity and product level. Michael is involved in various other regulatory projects for clients, from DORA, AML/CFT regulation over CSSF circular 18/698 to MICA.

Julien is the EMEA Sustainability in Finance Transformation Leader at PwC and is actively engaged in PwC EMEA’s CSRD Centre of Excellence. With over 11 years of consulting experience, he currently oversees PwC LU’s Sustainability Reporting and Transformation services.

Julien holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Corporate Finance and has provided extensive support to clients in the implementation of data and technology solutions. Over the past few years, he has assisted both financial and corporate clients in their sustainability journey, spanning strategy, transformation, and reporting. Julien possesses both theoretical knowledge and practical expertise in ESG regulations such as CSRD, EU Taxonomy, EU ETS, and CBAM.