Decide which operations belong in your corporate carbon inventory
Before collecting fuel and electricity data, approve a boundary decision for every entity and operation: which consolidation approach applies, what evidence supports the treatment, which dates are covered and who resolved any uncertainty. Keep operations awaiting a decision visible. A missing bill is a data gap, not a reason to remove a site from scope.
This guide is for finance, sustainability and operations teams preparing a corporate greenhouse-gas inventory. It helps you build the decision record behind the site list. For the subsequent data-collection stage, use our Scope 1 and Scope 2 first-inventory checklist.
Separate three decisions
The business question: corporate inventory, facility review or product footprint? Name the required output and reporting programme.
The organisational boundary: which entities, operations and assets enter the inventory under the chosen consolidation approach?
The emission sources: once that boundary is settled, which direct emissions, purchased energy and value-chain activities must be considered?
The distinction between organisational and operational boundaries is explained in the US EPA's GHG inventory guidance. An inventory programme or reporting request may impose additional requirements. Check those before selecting a method.
Choose a consistent consolidation approach
The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard provides equity-share and control approaches, with control defined financially or operationally. Equity share follows economic interest; control generally brings in the full emissions of controlled operations. Financial-control treatment includes specific provisions for joint control. Operational control concerns authority to introduce and implement operating policies. Apply the selected approach consistently across the organisation. Source: Corporate Standard, chapter 3, printed pages 16–23.
Do not choose a different approach for each site because it produces a smaller total. Equally, a shareholding percentage or an asset appearing in the accounts should not be your entire decision record. Ask finance and the responsible operational manager to identify the relevant arrangements, and escalate contractual uncertainty to the appropriate specialist.
Build the operation list before the bill list
Compare the group structure with the property register, leases, operating agreements, equipment lists and changes during the reporting period. Look for warehouses, offices, service centres, shared facilities and joint operations as well as the main production sites.
For each operation, make one decision record with these fields:
Entity and operation name, stable identifier and location
Relationship: owned, leased, joint operation or other arrangement
Consolidation approach and the specific fact that determines treatment
Supporting document and relevant clause, page or management confirmation
Conclusion, including the share included where relevant
Coverage dates and any event that changed the position
Potential emission sources and unresolved data requests
Decision owner, reviewer, date and version
Use a separate “decision pending” status. Keep “outside the Scope 1 and 2 boundary” distinct from “no emissions”: the activity may still require a Scope 3 assessment under the chosen reporting requirements.
Resolve leased premises without relying on who pays the bill
Landlord billing does not automatically move office electricity into Scope 3. GHG Protocol's leased-office clarification links classification to the consolidation approach and lease arrangement. Purchased or acquired electricity consumed in a leased asset within the organisational boundary belongs in Scope 2. Source: GHG Protocol technical FAQ, 22 May 2025.
Review the lease and actual arrangements for the occupied space, shared utilities and landlord-operated equipment. Record the conclusion before addressing how consumption will be measured or allocated. If electricity is bundled into rent, the next action may be to request meter data; a flat rental invoice does not answer the boundary question.
A hypothetical boundary review
Fictional example, not a Nitium client case. Meridian Engineering has chosen operational control for a corporate inventory. For this example, the relevant agreements and operating authority have been reviewed and the following facts are assumed to be established:
Owned factory: Meridian operates the factory and controls its operating policies. Include the operation at 100% under the selected approach.
40% joint-venture interest: Meridian has operational control under the operating agreement. Include the operation at 100%, rather than multiplying its emissions by 40%.
30% investment in another operation: Meridian has no operational control. Keep it outside this Scope 1 and 2 consolidation and pass it to the Scope 3 screening owner. Record the reason; do not label its emissions zero.
Leased office: Meridian's reviewed arrangement gives it operational control of the occupied space. Electricity is recharged by the landlord. Include the acquired electricity in Scope 2 and open a separate request for consumption records.
The distinction is operational control, not whether a payment comes from a utility or a landlord. These are assumed facts for an illustration, not conclusions that can be copied to a real lease or joint venture. The illustration applies the consolidation approaches explained by the US EPA and the linked GHG Protocol leased-office clarification.
Suppose the office's electricity data arrive late. Its boundary decision remains unchanged. The inventory team records the missing data, assesses a supportable collection or estimation route and discloses relevant limitations. It does not delete the office to make the spreadsheet appear complete.
Check changes before comparing years
Record acquisitions, disposals, leases and changes in control with effective dates. Ask the inventory lead whether the change affects current-period treatment, the base year or comparability. Preserve the previous decision and the reason for revision. Base-year recalculation is a separate policy decision governed by the applicable method; our source reference is Corporate Standard chapter 5.
Boundary approval checklist
The inventory purpose, reporting period and applicable programme are stated
One consolidation approach is documented and used consistently
All candidate operations have an evidenced decision or a visible open question
Joint operations and leases have been checked with the relevant people
Data gaps have not been disguised as boundary exclusions
Excluded Scope 1 and 2 operations have been considered for relevant Scope 3 work
Changes during the year have dates, owners and a comparability review
The approved boundary version is linked to the activity-data request
Version note: this guide refers to the published Corporate Standard and Scope 2 Guidance. GHG Protocol's July 2026 update describes ongoing work towards a consolidated standard; consultation material is not treated here as an effective replacement. Check the official development update before finalising a new reporting period.
Nitium's carbon footprint analysis service supports inventory preparation, calculation workbooks and documented assumptions within an agreed boundary. Discuss an inventory brief or email contact@nitium.in with the period, operation types and boundary questions. Keep confidential agreements out of the initial enquiry.
Sources checked 5 October 2026. This decision aid does not determine legal obligations, interpret a particular contract or provide independent verification, assurance or certification. Complex ownership and control decisions require appropriate specialist input.
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