Why and How to Include ‘Serviced Emissions’ in the updated Greenhouse Gas Protocol

Feb 20, 2026

Although progress has been made in emissions accounting for businesses, the treatment of emissions facilitated or enabled by Professional Services Providers (PSPs) including law firms, consulting firms and advertising agencies – known as serviced emissions – remains an important policy gap.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) is the world’s leading framework for measuring and reporting GHG emissions, underpinning other climate-related standards. It is undergoing its first major revision in 20 years, creating a critical opportunity to strengthen the accuracy, coverage, and fairness of emissions accounting methodologies for organisations.

This policy brief provides three actionable recommendations to address this policy gap in the forthcoming GHGP revision, and support PSPs in accounting for serviced emissions.

Authors: Alexis McGivern, Alisa White, Clemens Kaupa, Jonathan Wise, Kate Chan, Nadeen Ayyashi.

Publication details
Theme(s)
The urgency of zero
Type(s)
Briefing
Author(s)
McGivern, Alexis
Year(s)
2026

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