Regular Reporting

Signatories agree to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis.

The foundation of net zero

Regular, transparent reporting is the principle that underpins and informs how each signatory tackles their carbon elimination strategies and opens the gateway to innovation. Not all signatories have undertaken this critical step, which is why it is the first principle of The Climate Pledge.

The Climate Pledge aims to ensure all signatories have rigor in their commitment to net zero by 2040 through transparent measurement and reporting, and will soon be able to support smaller and medium-sized signatories that need additional capacity to undertake this first step on their journeys to acting on climate change.

Rigorous data. Rigorous action.

Regularly and transparently collecting and reporting accurate emissions data provides the scientific basis for setting and measuring progress on meaningful carbon reduction strategies, aligned with the ambitious goals of The Climate Pledge.

“It’s not just to have the number, which in itself is pretty meaningless,” says Joe Bergeson, Sustainability Science Researcher at Amazon. “We want insights that generate action, to enable business leaders to act and figure out how to reduce their footprint.”

The Climate Pledge does not define how each signatory should measure and report their emissions. Each signatory signatory will follow best practices to achieve accountability to their stakeholders. For measuring emissions, signatories to The Climate Pledge are encouraged to use existing, robust greenhouse gas reporting standards, such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, but may choose where to report and the reporting framework.

Which emissions scopes are covered?

“Data is everything. What you can’t measure, you can’t control.” Guruprakash Sastry, Regional Head of Green Initiatives at Infosys, a Climate Pledge signatory.

The commitment to measuring and regularly reporting emissions requires absolute clarity across direct and indirect emissions (Scope 1, 2 and 3). This complete carbon footprint picture should be delivered with practical and ethical rigor.

Amazon, for example, uses an automated carbon accounting program to measure emissions across its whole business, using measurement models across finance, transport, electricity, packaging, and devices. Its output is a detailed annual report; but more importantly, the program enables the real-time data capture and analysis that is fundamental to delivering its business-wide carbon reduction goals. Learn more about Amazon’s carbon accounting program here.

Science underpins high standards

Every signatory will have their own unique measurement and reporting requirements; there is not necessarily one solution for all signatories. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is an invaluable resource for signatories and has supported almost 1,000 companies to get on track for ‘science-based’ greenhouse gas targets. Signatories to The Climate Pledge that already have science-based targets include Amazon, Reckitt Benckiser, and Verizon. We encourage all signatories to explore whether science-based targets can be useful to meeting their ambitious goals.

The Three Pledge Commitments