Greenhouse Gas Reporting and Disclosure: Key Elements of a Prospective U.S. Program
Reporting of Product Use Emissions The use of certain GHG-intensive consumer products, such as vehicles and major appliances, generates a large portion of U.S. GHG emissions. Furthermore, many companies are developing technologies or products — including cars, appliances, and computers — that through increased energy efficiency or other means could substantially reduce GHG emissions. Their success in doing so is vital for any domestic or global effort to reduce GHG emissions. A GHG reporting program that does not include such products would be incomplete.
For these reasons, companies that manufacture certain GHG-intensive consumer products — in particular, appliances for which the Department of Energy has set energy efficiency standards and motor vehicles — should report an estimate of the annual GHG emissions associated with use of their products in the United States. The implementing agency should publish a method of estimating annual emissions for each of these products.
In addition, manufacturers of other products should be allowed to report voluntarily on product emissions and emissions reductions achieved through changes in product design. Future calculation tools for these and other “life-cycle” emissions could provide a basis for more widespread reporting of these emissions, and for baseline protection in the future. (See below for more on baseline protection.)
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