5 Steps for Successful Carbon Accounting Verification

5 Steps for Successful Carbon Accounting Verification
March 26, 2025 4 mins

5 Steps for Successful Carbon Accounting Verification

5 Steps for Successful Carbon Accounting Verification

Organizations can demonstrate their commitment to global sustainability and a low-carbon future by addressing verification challenges and adopting best practices.

Key Takeaways
  1. Carbon accounting verification can help to ensure accurate emissions data, enhancing trust for shareholders and lenders and minimizing legal penalties. However, there are challenges in data collection and consistency.
  2. Reliable verification requires adhering to standards and selecting qualified bodies for credible results.
  3. For successful carbon accounting verification, organizations should implement robust data management, follow standardized methodologies, engage qualified bodies, foster internal expertise and view verification as an ongoing process for continuous improvement.

Carbon accounting is becoming an important tool for organizations to measure and manage their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This process involves quantifying the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other GHGs emitted into the atmosphere due to an organization's operations. For example, mandatory climate reporting now exists in Australia and New Zealand, in addition to other hubs across Asia like Singapore. Hong Kong and Japan are also considering similar regulations in the coming years.

The carbon accounting assessment process involves confirming business goals, collecting and quantifying emissions data, setting targets, establishing reduction goals, formalizing a strategy and reviewing emissions annually.

Do Verified Carbon Accounting Practices Really Matter?

It is crucial to ensure that carbon measurements are credible and accurate. The auditable emissions carbon accounting verification process can help to ensure that the data is compliant with regulatory standards, such as ISO 14064, thus helping organizations to reduce regulatory risk.

Investors are increasingly prioritizing environmental, social and governance factors in their decision making. Independent carbon accounting verification can help organizations to reduce their environmental impact by identifying improvement areas and providing recommendations for better carbon management practices. By demonstrating commitment to transparency and sustainability, companies can enhance investor confidence and build a positive reputation among consumers, shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders.

Effective carbon accounting verification can also promote collaboration within the supply chain. By working with suppliers to verify emissions, companies can encourage best practices such as engaging suppliers in adopting energy-efficient practices and reducing emissions. This leads to a more sustainable supply chain and more accurate and comprehensive reporting of emissions data across the supply chain.

Challenges in Carbon Accounting Verification

While carbon accounting verification is important, it is not without its challenges.

  • Ensuring high-quality data is critical but can be difficult due to the complexity of data sources and potential inaccuracies in data collection. Calculating indirect emissions from sources outside a company's direct control, such as suppliers and product usage (Scope 3 emissions), can be particularly complex and requires extensive data collection.1
  • Different organizations may use varying methodologies for carbon accounting, making it essential to standardize verification practices. Additionally, smaller organizations may lack the resources and expertise needed for thorough carbon accounting and verification.
  • Regulatory requirements for carbon reporting and verification can also vary across regions, adding complexity to the process for multinational companies.

By addressing these challenges, companies can improve the accuracy and credibility of their carbon accounting, ultimately supporting their sustainability goals and reducing their environmental impact.

5 Best Practices for Successful Verification

  1. Implement robust data management systems. Invest in comprehensive systems to streamline data collection, storage and reporting, ensuring accuracy and consistency.
  2. Adhere to standardized methodologies. Follow standardized carbon accounting methodologies, such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, for consistent and comparable emissions reporting.
  3. Engage qualified verification bodies. Select experienced and accredited verification bodies with a strong track record for reliable and credible results.
  4. Foster internal expertise. Build internal expertise in carbon accounting and verification to effectively manage emissions data and engage with verification bodies.
  5. Seek continuous improvement. Treat carbon accounting verification as an ongoing process and strive for continuous improvement in data management and reporting practices.
Aon’s Thought Leaders
  • Daniel Ocampo
    Global Senior Risk Consultant, Natural Resources
  • Dominic Probyn
    Director, Climate Risk Advisory, United Kingdom
  • Robert Colver
    Global Industry Lead, Natural Resources
  • Tom Mortlock
    Head of Climate Analytics, Asia Pacific
  • William Lynch
    Global Business Leader, Natural Resources

1 Overcoming the top five challenges of carbon accounting, Trident Utilities
2 Greenhouse Gas Protocol, GHG Protocol

General Disclaimer

This document is not intended to address any specific situation or to provide legal, regulatory, financial, or other advice. While care has been taken in the production of this document, Aon does not warrant, represent or guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, completeness or fitness for any purpose of the document or any part of it and can accept no liability for any loss incurred in any way by any person who may rely on it. Any recipient shall be responsible for the use to which it puts this document. This document has been compiled using information available to us up to its date of publication and is subject to any qualifications made in the document.

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