Chris Lawless has more than 23 years of GHG management, sustainability, and environmental consulting experience. He has developed or verified more than 500 GHG inventories and is well-versed in GHG reporting and verification protocols, standards, and regulations. Chris is an accredited Lead GHG Emissions Verifier in several voluntary and mandatory GHG reporting programs throughout the US. Chris has developed or verified more than 500 GHG reporting and verification protocols, standards, and regulations.

Chris has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Connecticut College and a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from University of San Francisco.

Christopher Joins the Carbon Accounting and Management Podcast to Discuss:

• Advice for getting started with carbon emission inventories
• Best practices for approaching Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions
• Verification measures looked for when evaluating inventories
• Strategies for creating an accurate and meaningful Scope 2 inventory
• Considerations for carbon offset projects
• Ancillary benefits to carbon accounting

Chris' Listener Takeaway: If there's only one thing that our guests take away from this conversation, what do you think it should be?

Don't wait, and write everything down. The more documentation you have in terms of how you've established your greenhouse gas inventory, as an example, the better traceability, auditability, year over year reportability you'll have, ensuring that you're using the same methods. This is super important as we move into a more regulated world for some organizations. Some are already there in California and and other places, but having a good management plan is really key.

Learn more about Chris Lawless and the work being done at Cameron-Cole at cameron-cole.com and adecesg.com.

Timestamps:

00:00 California's new law mandating carbon reporting.

05:42 Centralizing data collection for accurate emission tracking.

08:39 Spend-based strategies utilizing EEIO.

10:37 California regulations aligning with US EPA standards.

14:50 Detailed inventory management plan with exclusions explained.

19:03 Dual GHG reporting: location and market-based factors.

23:13 Organizational efficiency aids emission reduction efforts.

26:33 Robust California program: quantifiable, physical emission reductions.

29:46 Operational changes crucial for achieving carbon neutrality.

31:44 Large companies pushing suppliers for emissions transparency.

35:58 Act now: prepare and verify greenhouse gas inventory.

38:20 Start now: consultants may become scarce later.

41:59 Emissions reduction requires data analysis and planning.