GHG Protocol will delay mandatory application of stricter Scope 2 rules that tie clean power purchases to time and place of use, after a consultation showed little corporate support for the changes.
GHG Protocol plans to delay mandatory use of stricter Scope 2 rules. The delay pushes back the requirement for companies to match clean electricity purchases to the hour and place they use power. It follows a consultation in which most respondents opposed the changes. Companies can keep using current methods until a date that GHG Protocol has yet to set.
Scope 2 emissions come from purchased electricity, steam, heat and cooling. GHG Protocol says nearly 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions trace to energy generation. Half of that energy goes to industrial or commercial users. The current Scope 2 Guidance dates from 2015. A Scope 2 Technical Working Group began its review in September 2024. A public consultation ran from 20 October 2025 to 31 January 2026.
The most significant proposals in the Scope 2 rules revision were hourly matching and deliverability requirements for market-based reporting. Hourly matching would require companies to match contractual instruments to electricity use hour by hour. Deliverability would require instruments to come from renewable power deliverable to the market where the electricity is used. GHG Protocol said the 2015 method lets companies claim reductions from projects on grids disconnected from their operations. It argued the new rules would improve accuracy and credibility.
Respondents gave the proposed Scope 2 rules little support. Only 12% backed hourly matching, and 82% indicated low or no support. Just 19% backed deliverability, and 71% indicated low or no support. On hourly matching, 87% cited concern that it could discourage global participation in voluntary clean energy procurement markets. Another 86% pointed to the burden and cost for reporting organisations.
Deliverability drew its own objections. Some 87% of respondents said narrower market boundaries restrict companies’ ability to invest where renewable development could have the greatest decarbonisation impact. A further 72% said the requirement could push companies from long-term agreements towards spot purchases.
Corporate buyers had voiced similar worries during the consultation. Bob Redlinger, director of energy and global sustainability at Apple, spoke on a Watershed webinar. He said hourly matching with narrow boundaries “could actually slow the progress of decarbonization”. The Clean Energy Buyers Association also opposed hourly matching. It says contracts by companies with emissions commitments have added close to 128 GW of clean energy to the US grid.
GHG Protocol described two competing views in the feedback. The first holds that hourly, same-grid matching directs demand to new clean power and supports grid decarbonisation. The second holds that annual matching and broad boundaries channel capital into global renewables. It also sustains a large market for energy attribute certificates.
After the consultation, the Scope 2 Secretariat proposed two market-based methods. Method 1 includes hourly matching and deliverability requirements. Method 2 keeps the requirements of the 2015 guidance. The Independent Standards Board has set a direction in which companies may use Method 2 until a date to be determined. Before that date, companies would disclose which method they apply. After it, companies reporting market-based emissions would use Method 1 where data meeting quality criteria exists. The wording of “shall”, “should” or “may” is still open.
The timeline for the revised Scope 2 rules now runs into 2028. Coverage in January had the revised rules taking effect in 2027. The Technical Working Group planned an October 2026 workshop on deliverability, incrementality, feasibility and implementation timing. A consolidated consultation follows in the second quarter of 2027. It will cover Scope 1, 2 and 3 and actions and market instruments. It forms part of the joint GHG Protocol and ISO Corporate Standard. GHG Protocol plans to publish that standard in the fourth quarter of 2028.
For steel, aluminium and chemicals makers with large power demand, the current Scope 2 rules keep power purchase agreements and certificates valid for now. Disclosure of the chosen method is the new obligation to plan for. Earlier coverage on this site reported investor calls for stricter Scope 2 emissions rules. The 2028 standard will show where the final Scope 2 rules land.
