United for Net Zero Public Private Collaboration to Accelerate Industry Decarbonization 2025

Opportunity 4: Contribute to improve and harmonize carbon accounting standards Going further, public-private collaboration can enable and accelerate the harmonization of carbon accounting standards, which is key to improving the accuracy of carbon emissions calculation at the product level and reducing them effectively. Opportunities for collaboration include: –Improving calculation and reporting standards for corporate, sector- and product-level carbon accounting. This can include setting adapted requirements for companies to calculate and disclose Scope 3 emissions, addressing barriers to effective reporting (e.g. providing relevant secondary data on energy and emissions), or supporting data verification and sharing along the supply chain, which can help close the digital divide between large companies and SMEs. –Enabling standards harmonization or interoperability as a crucial lever for comparability, including aligning product carbon footprint (PCF) methodologies across sectors and countries (e.g. practical definitions and certifications to enhance data sharing, removing the economic, technical and regulatory barriers) and introducing clear guidance or regulatory mechanisms to encourage the appropriate use of “high-integrity” carbon credits (e.g. nature- based solutions and engineered removals). Case study 4 highlights how the global logistics sector collaborated with the public sector to improve and harmonize carbon accounting standards in logistics. Case study 5 explores an innovative public-private sector approach to improving the transparency and trust in carbon offsets. CASE STUDY 4 Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) harmonizing standards and norms to decarbonize transportation and logistics Challenge Freight transport and logistics activities account for 8-10% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with demand projected to nearly triple by 2050, according to the International Transport Forum.14 Achieving the Paris Agreement targets will require significant improvements in freight transport efficiency and reductions in transport- related emissions. However, inconsistency in the methods of calculating GHG emissions across different modes of transport complicates the consolidation of multi-modal supply chain emissions, often resulting in inaccurate estimates.  Solution Co-funded by industry coalitions and the European Commission, the Smart Freight Centre (SFC) co-established the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) in 2014 with members from corporations, industry associations and academia. The council has developed the GLEC Framework, a comprehensive methodology for standardizing the calculation and reporting of logistics-related GHG emissions across multi-modal supply chains. This framework covers all transport modes (road, rail, air and maritime) as well as logistics hubs and services such as warehousing. Designed to guide business decisions, the GLEC Framework helps to reduce emissions and track progress towards climate goals. It aligns with prominent institutions and standards such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the UN-led Global Green Freight Action Plan and CDP Reporting. Impact The GLEC framework has been adopted by over 150 leading companies and is updated annually. It served as the primary industry guideline for developing ISO 14083, which was published in 2023. The introduction of ISO 14083 marks a significant milestone in gaining wider acceptance of the principles established by the GLEC Framework, which has been developed in collaboration with the industry over nearly a decade.  Source: Consultation with Kuehne Logistics University; Smart Freight Centre. (n.d.). Calculate & Report: GLEC Framework. https://www. smartfreightcentre.org/en/our-programs/global-logistics-emissions- council/calculate-report-glec-framework/; International Transport Forum. (2019). Transport demand set to triple, but sector faces potential disruptions. United for Net Zero: Public-Private Collaboration to Accelerate Industry Decarbonization 17