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Gary Schwartz

Founder | CEO

Big News: We are Harmonising Carbon.
Why the ISO–GHG Protocol Deal Makes Sense for Canadian Lenders

 

Abstract: The new partnership between ISO and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol marks a turning point for climate accounting. By unifying standards for corporate, project, and product emissions, the alliance promises to eliminate the patchwork of methodologies that has plagued investors and lenders. For Canadian lenders, who rely on credible data to assess transition risk, price loans, and avoid greenwashing, the initiative offers a clear route to more reliable carbon disclosures. With support from PCAF, ISSB and SBTi—and endorsement from innovators such as Arbor.eco and standard setters like Canada’s CSSB—the deal should help embed trustworthy emissions metrics into lending and investment. The upcoming Sustainable Finance Summit on November 24 will be a timely forum for charting how Canada can seize the opportunity.

What has changed

The announcement that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) will harmonise their greenhouse-gas accounting frameworks into a unified suite of standards marks a rare and welcome moment of convergence in global climate policy. See the GHG Protocol release here and ISO’s announcement here.

The partnership will align the ISO 1406x family with corporate, Scope 2 and Scope 3 rules and jointly develop a product carbon-footprint standard—creating a common global language that simplifies disclosure, enhances comparability and helps firms lock in credible targets.

Standards already endorsed or adopted elsewhere—PCAF (Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials), the ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board) and SBTi (Science-Based Targets initiative)—have paved the way for this integration. The ISO–GHG Protocol deal provides the connective tissue across regimes.

Why Canadian lenders should pay attention

Much climate-related financial risk stems from indirect (Scope 3) emissions and under-measured product footprints. Harmonised standards narrow the room for creative accounting and supply decision-grade data for underwriting, collateral assessment, transition planning and sustainability-linked finance.

Canada’s Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB) has advanced CSDS 1 and CSDS 2, modelled on the ISSB’s global baseline. Better international alignment should smooth domestic adoption and reduce conflicting requirements. Learn more at the CSSB site here and background commentary here.

Overlapping standards heighten reporting and assurance costs. A single harmonised standard promises lower friction and fewer surprises.

Comparable emissions data across jurisdictions and industries supports better due diligence, portfolio stress testing and disclosure credibility—key to attracting climate-aware capital.

In the words of our member company, Arbor, “When standards are divergent, companies build in buffers for uncertainty rather than lean into rigorous reduction. By smoothing out those divergences—particularly in how product footprints and Scope-3 emissions are measured—we enable finance actors to trust that what is reported is what is real. Accurate carbon accounting must be both auditable and usable; this partnership pushes both forward.” — Arbor.eco

What Canada should do next

  1. Move toward mandatory application of CSDS 1/2 for public issuers and large lenders on a realistic timeline, with clear transition relief.
  2. Ensure interoperability between CSSB and the forthcoming ISO–GHG Protocol standards to avoid definitional drift.
  3. Fund capacity-building for SMEs and smaller lenders on Scope 3 and product carbon footprints.
  4. Embed assurance and transparent governance into disclosure regimes to lock in trust.

Join us on November 24, 2025 (Toronto) for the Sustainable Finance Summit—where lenders, regulators and standard setters will dig into the practical implications of harmonised carbon accounting for credit risk, pricing, data pipelines and disclosure. Contact CLA for partnership opportunities.

Five main points:

  • Harmonisation reduces ambiguity: ISO–GHG Protocol alignment streamlines global GHG accounting and boosts comparability.
  • Benefits for Canadian lenders: Better data for credit risk, portfolio management and sustainability-linked structures; lower reporting burden.
  • Support from key actors: PCAF, ISSB and SBTi underpin the shift; Arbor.eco and CSSB emphasise accuracy and high-quality disclosure.
  • Implementation matters: Integrate standards into rules, assurance and lending practices—without capping ambition.
  • Momentum in Canada: The Nov 24 Summit will help shape adoption, interoperability and market readiness.

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