GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard ICT Sector Guidance
The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol ICT Sector Guidance was set up to provide specific guidance on the GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard (the Product Standard). The objective is to provide a consistent approach for assessing the life cycle GHG impacts of ICT products. The ICT Sector Guidance is jointly convened through the World Resources Institute (WRI), the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the Carbon Trust and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI).
The second draft of the ICT Sector Guidance was made available for public comment in February and early March 2013. The deadline for submitting comments has now passed.
The comments are now being reviewed and changes will be made to the guidance as required. Once the necessary changes have been made, the final version of the guidance will be released.
Overview of the ICT Sector Guidance
The guidance is being developed using a multi-stakeholder process with a multi-tiered review structure (see below) where drafts are modified and consulted on iteratively.
The scope of the ICT Sector Guidance has been chosen to prioritize those areas that have a significant impact in terms of GHG emissions. The chapter structure of the document is shown in the diagram below. Services Chapters cover ICT services that a company might supply, or a customer might purchase. Technical Support Chapters cover the ‘infrastructure elements’ that are common to most ICT services.
Review Process Timeline
- Review of chapters by sub-groups and by the wider Technical Working Group: Complete
- Review by Steering Committee: Complete
- First draft of the full ICT Sector Guidance released for public comment: Complete
- Review comments and revise guidance: Complete
- Second draft of the ICT Sector Guidance released for public comment: January 31, 2013 to March 4, 2013
- Finalize and publish guidance: Mid-2013