34.Scope 2 Is Changing: What Every Project Leader Should Know

Have you noticed that sustainability reporting is becoming more precise?

One of the biggest proposed changes to greenhouse gas accounting is happening right now, and while it may sound like a topic reserved for sustainability professionals, it has real implications for project leaders.

In this episode, Brittany Wilkins explains the proposed updates to Scope 2 greenhouse gas accounting, why annual renewable electricity matching may no longer be enough, and how changes like hourly matching could reshape projects across operations, IT, procurement, finance, and sustainability.

More importantly, this episode explores the leadership lesson behind the technical guidance.

As organizations face increasing pressure to provide better data, stronger transparency, and measurable results, projects become the mechanism for turning new requirements into reality.

You'll learn:

• What Scope 2 emissions are and why the accounting guidance is changing

• What hourly matching means in practical terms

• Why these proposed changes extend far beyond sustainability teams

• How project leaders can prepare for increasing business complexity

If you want to lead projects that matter, understanding the business environment around your projects is no longer optional.

If you are ready to strengthen the skills that separate project managers from project leaders, explore the Power Skills Accelerator, a course designed to help professionals master the leadership capabilities needed to thrive in complex project environments.

Enroll in the Power Skills Accelerator
https://www.developpowerskills.com/sales-page

If you want to assess where execution may be breaking down in your current projects, take the Execution Intelligence Diagnostic to identify gaps across leadership, decision making, and team alignment.

Start the diagnostic
https://executionintelligence.scoreapp.com/

Join the waitlist for Brittany Wilkins’ upcoming book, Execution Intelligence, focused on the mindset, systems, and discipline required to turn strategy into measurable results.

Join the book waitlist
https://makowayconsulting.scoreapp.com

To learn more about how organizations eliminate execution friction and turn strategy into measurable results, visit Makoway Consulting.

https://www.makowayconsulting.com

Transcript

Have you ever heard someone say,

"Our company is powered by 100% renewable electricity."

Hmmm…It sounds straightforward.

But what if that statement doesn't reflect what's actually happening hour by hour, every hour of the day?

 Welcome back to the Project Management Masterclass. I'm your host, Brittany.

If you've been listening to podcast for awhile, you may remember Episode 19 What Project managers must know about product sustainability-, where I  talked about sustainability and the role project managers play in helping organizations hit their environmental goals.

 Today I want to build on that, because something specific is shifting.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol, commonly known as the GHG Protocol, is proposing major updates to how organizations account for purchased electricity, also known as Scope 2 emissions.

May you may be listening saying to yourself.."I'm not a sustainability professional," or "my company doesn't have an ESG department," or you may not be reporting climate goals like netzero by 2050..keep tracking with me. 

This isn't just a sustainability trend report or  story.

It's about project management, and more importantly execution. 

Todays show seeks to cover three questions, what is changing, why its changing, and why as a project leader you should care. 

Before we talk about what is changing about scope 2. Lets understand the problem…starting with the WHY first.

Picture this your organization  announces or reports, "We operate on 100 percent renewable electricity."

Most people hearing that would assume every time someone flips a light switch or runs a manufacturing line, renewable energy is what's flowing into the building.

That's not necessarily how the accounting works today.

Under current Scope 2 guidance, organizations can match the renewable electricity they purchase across an entire year. A more simpler way to understand it Think of it like balancing your bank account once every twelve months; as long as it adds up by December 31st, you're considered balanced.

 Here's where that breaks down. Say your company buys renewable electricity from a solar farm. That farm produces most of its power midday. But your manufacturing facility runs twenty-four hours a day. At two in the morning, the sun isn't shining, and your facility is drawing from the local grid, which could be natural gas, coal, nuclear, hydro, wind, or solar; whatever's on it at that hour.

 Under today's annual approach, your renewable purchases still offset that 2am grid draw on paper. 

 Critics argue that doesn't give an accurate picture of what's actually happening.

That's the gap the GHG Protocol is trying to close. 

This is not to say that organization is doing something wrong, but protocol is seeking to have greater level of transparency of the data. 

So now that I have provided the context of why, next I will touch on briefly what is actually changing.

The biggest proposed change is called hourly matching.

Before the question was  "did renewable electricity cover our annual use," 

Now the new question is "did renewable electricity cover what we were using during that specific hour."

 Another simpler way to think about it weight management

It's the difference between stepping on a scale once a year and tracking your weight daily. Both give you information. One actually tells you what's happening.

A few other proposed updates ride alongside this: tighter rules on whether renewable electricity can realistically be delivered to the market where it's being claimed, improved emissions factors, more granular data, and stricter guidance on how organizations report purchased electricity.

The throughline is the same across all of it: more precise information leads to more credible reporting, which leads to better decisions.

I have touched why and what is changing. Now lets discuss why we care 

Here is the thing 

Standards don't implement themselves. When regulations shift and reporting expectations change, it does impact various aspects of the business. Ideally projects are what carry the weight of that shift.

If these proposed changes go final, organizations may need new software, new metering, new dashboards, updated processes, employee training, supplier coordination, and cross-functional work across sustainability, finance, operations, procurement, legal, and IT.

 None of that happens on its own. It's delivered through projects, and projects need leaders.

I say this often: strategy is simply intent until execution begins. An organization can set the most ambitious sustainability goal in the room; it stays a slide in a deck until a project team makes it real.

 As I wrap up todays show here are three questions for you 

1. Does your organization have sustainability goals?
2. Do any of your current projects support those goals, directly or indirectly?
3. If sustainability requirements got more demanding tomorrow, what would your organization need to launch?

 You don't need to become a carbon accounting expert. You do need to understand the business pressure shaping the organizations you serve, because that pressure becomes a project eventually, whether you're ready for it or not.

If you haven't already, go back and listen to Episode 19; it's the foundation this episode builds on. And if you want a clearer read on where your own organization actually stands on execution, the Execution Intelligence Assessment will show you the gaps before they become projects you didn't plan for.

In a future episodes, I'll bring any further insights that may help expand your awareness, increase your capability, and think strategically how you support achieving your climate goals. 

One final note: projects don't just deliver products. They help organizations adapt to change. And the leaders who understand the business behind the work are the ones creating the impact that lasts.