Helping an Energy Company Build a GHG Reporting Action Plan

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Case Study

Helping an Energy Company Build a GHG Reporting Action Plan

Developing a tech-aligned GHG reporting roadmap to help a customer identify gaps, understand emissions sources, and meet regulatory expectations.

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Challenge

Energy companies operate in a tightly regulated market compared to other industries, and with new GHG reporting laws like California’s SB 253 and the US SEC’s soon-to-be-finalized Climate Disclosure Ruling, regulatory pressure will only increase.

Our energy customer is no stranger to these pressures. The sustainability team was already reporting SF6 emissions to the EPA annually, but knew they had to expand their scope. They needed a plan to measure, track, and report GHG emissions in accordance with new regulations and the expectations of their parent company.

However, our customer was facing a variety of internal challenges, including:

Lack of technical expertise and understanding of data systems
Uncertainty around materiality of various emissions sources
Uncertainty around how to align with potential technology tools
Lack of alignment among internal stakeholders

Although the sustainability team had worked for over 6 months to determine what they needed to report, they struggled to understand the company’s systems holding data and how that related to GHG reporting requirements.

The company reached out to Point B to map the significance of various emissions sources, determine what to report, and establish systems for seamlessly collecting high-quality, assurance-ready GHG data.

The Opportunity

Point B worked with the energy company to identify the right data owners and create a roadmap for collecting relevant data in partnership with cross-departmental experts. In the process, we helped our customer assess data readiness relative to GHG reporting regulations and potential technology tools, align with The Climate Registry’s GHG protocol, and develop a compliant 2023 ESG reporting strategy.

Our Approach

To kick off the project, we engaged relevant stakeholders and conducted a current-state assessment, including peer benchmarking, materiality, and data readiness, for the 17 Scope 1 and 2 emissions sources. Based on our assessment, we then created a GHG data collection roadmap covering 5 key themes and action items for each emissions source. Here’s a closer look:

GHG Emissions Reporting Roadmap: A Closer Look

To wrap up the project, we handed our customer an action plan for reporting on each of the 17 identified emissions sources, accompanied by 3 methods for collecting data aligned with The Climate Registry’s GHG Protocol. For instance, we determined that:

5 emissions sources needed to be assessed through materiality
5 required a field inventory audit to understand what equipment existed
6 required process changes to connect fuel purchases to energy consumption
2 required clarity on facility energy usage and purchases

Project Outcomes

Thanks to the GHG reporting roadmap, our customer understands what emissions sources matter, what they need to report, and how to best gather that data. This is helping the energy company stay ahead of emerging regulations, align with the climate enthusiasm of their industry peers, and drive internal efficiency and cost savings.

Key Wins

A clear path forward for reporting on 17 GHG emissions sources
GHG reporting in alignment with The Climate Registry and EPA guidelines
Better systems and processes for aligning SME resources with GHG reporting requirements
Understanding of conditions and level of detail needed for assurance, saving time and financial resources down the road
Ability to thoughtfully assess 3rd party technology tools based on current data availability