Many important terms never get properly pinned down and defined. Everyone uses such terms and usually they have the same meaning to different people, but not always. In attempting to assess the future of our planet, it’s probably a good idea to be sure we know what we’re saying to each other.

Take the term planet for example. It was only formally defined by the International Astronomical Union in 2006. Before that the definition was vague and it was generally agreed that an astronomer would just know a planet when they saw one. This situation was upset when Pluto was found to be smaller than was originally thought and some other Pluto-like objects were discovered. As a result, the term planet was defined, voted upon and Pluto was demoted.

So, assuming we all agree that the Earth is planet and that it’s worth saving, what has all this got to do with AMEE or GHGs or energy? Well, the word standard and associated terms are often mentioned in this context without being defined. Consider a couple of examples that commonly crop up in my day-to-day work:

1. What standards does AMEE support?
2. Does AMEE have the Greenhouse Gas Protocol?

These questions sound perfectly reasonable, but without further context they are difficult to answer. The first question requires a definition of the word standard. In AMEE we use standard to refer to guidance from a respected organisation on how to calculate or report GHG and energy related emissions. There are three broad types of standard:

Data set - data used to calculate energy consumption and GHG emissions.

Methodology – a set of rules describing how data must be processed.

Reporting Framework – a set of rules describing how data and information must be presented.

Question 2 is a bit confusing if taken literally because the Greenhouse Gas Protocol is actually an organisation (and not a protocol!) formed by the WRI and WBCSD.  In actual fact, the question is either referring to spreadsheets prepared by the GHGP or else the GHGP’s corporate standard document. The spreadsheets form a methodology with a suggested (but not required) data set and the GHGP Corporate Standard is actually a reporting framework that doesn’t require use of a particular methodology or data set. It’s become even more important to be specific here because there are now two new GHGP standards: Product LCA and Scope 3.

To be clear and to help avoid problems like the above, AMEE is very careful about how it defines and uses such terminology. If you’d like to find out more then visit AMEE Explorer’s Standards page.