Step 7: Report and verify
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This is step 7 of 7 in Build your GHG inventory. Previous: Step 6: Calculate your emissions. This is the last step.
In this step you present your inventory in a report and prepare it for an independent check. A clear report shows not only the totals but also how you got them, so that a reader can trust and compare the numbers.
What the report must contain
The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard lists the information that a public GHG report must include:
| Topic | What to include |
|---|---|
| Boundary | Your consolidation approach, the operations included, and the Scope 3 activities covered |
| Period | The reporting period |
| Totals | Scope 1 and Scope 2, each separately, before any trades or credits |
| Gases | Each greenhouse gas separately, in tonnes and in tCO₂e |
| Base year | The base year, and your policy for recalculating it |
| Biogenic CO₂ | CO₂ from burning biomass, reported separately from the scopes |
| Methods | The calculation methods and tools, with references |
| Exclusions | Any sources, facilities or operations left out |
What IFRS S2 adds
If you report under IFRS S2, through Bursa Malaysia's rules or the NSRF, you must also disclose:
- Scope 3 emissions, and which of the 15 categories you included
- Location-based Scope 2, plus information about any contracts such as RECs
- Your measurement approach, inputs and assumptions, why you chose them, and any changes during the period
- The emission factors that you used
- Scope 1 and Scope 2 split between your consolidated group and other investees
- For banks, insurers and asset managers, information about financed emissions
Climate reporting rules in Malaysia and worldwide explains when each group must report.
Make the report useful
- Show trends. Compare with the previous year and the base year, and explain large changes.
- Show intensity. Emissions per unit of revenue, product or floor area help readers compare across years and companies.
- Show the largest sources. A chart of emissions by scope and category tells readers where your emissions come from.
- Report targets honestly. If you have a net target, show the gross figures too.
Verification and assurance
Verification, now usually called assurance, is an independent check of your numbers and methods. There are 2 levels:
| Level | What the provider does | What the statement says |
|---|---|---|
| Limited assurance | Fewer tests, mainly enquiries and analysis | "Nothing has come to our attention" that shows a material error |
| Reasonable assurance | More detailed tests, similar to a financial audit | The information is prepared, in all material respects, in line with the criteria |
In Malaysia, reasonable assurance on Scope 1 and Scope 2 becomes mandatory for listed companies from 2028 for the largest companies, then 2029 and 2030 for the other groups. The Advisory Committee on Sustainability Reporting requires ISSA 5000 for this work. Until then, listed companies must say whether their disclosures had an internal review or independent assurance.
Other standards that you may meet are ISO 14064-3, for the verification of GHG statements, and ISAE 3410, an assurance standard for GHG statements.
What makes an error material
A material error is one that could change the decisions of the people who use your report. The GHG Protocol gives a rule of thumb: an error above 5% of the total for the part being checked is usually material. A smaller error can still be material, for example if it decides whether you meet a target. A materiality threshold is not permission to leave sources out.
Prepare for assurance
- Keep an audit trail. Every figure must trace back to an invoice, meter reading or survey.
- Write down your methods. Include the boundary, the factors, the GWPs and every estimate.
- Review it internally first. Ask someone who did not prepare the numbers to check them.
- Fix the controls. Make sure that the same person does not enter and approve data without a check.
- Talk to the provider early. Agree on the scope and the level of assurance before the year ends.
After the report
Use the report to plan the next year. List the estimates that you want to replace with real data, the sources that grew the most, and the actions that can reduce them. Then start again at step 5 for the new period.
In Carbon GPT
In Reports, choose the dates and facilities, and generate a GHG emissions report. Save the configuration to reuse it next period.
Sources
- GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, chapters 9 and 10
- IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures, paragraphs 29(a) and B26–B63
- Securities Commission Malaysia: Mandatory sustainability assurance requirement to take effect in 2028 (17 September 2026)
- IAASB: ISSA 5000 General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements
- ISO 14064-3:2019 Greenhouse gases, specification for the verification and validation of GHG statements
