ISO 14064 Greenhouse Gas Inventory Verification Training Course

Course overview

Organisations are increasingly asked to substantiate greenhouse gas disclosures by customers, lenders, regulators and assurance providers. A reported Scope 1, 2 or 3 figure is not defensible simply because it was calculated in a spreadsheet: the inventory needs a defined boundary, traceable source data, documented emission factors, controlled calculations and evidence that can withstand verification. This course equips environmental professionals to prepare for, conduct or support ISO 14064 greenhouse gas inventory verification with a clear audit trail from activity data to final statement.

Participants work through ISO 14064-1 requirements for organisational GHG inventories and ISO 14064-3 requirements for verification engagements. They learn to define verification objectives, criteria, scope, level of assurance and materiality; assess inherent, control and detection risk; develop a verification plan; sample source records; test data controls; evaluate estimation methods; identify misstatements; and prepare findings. Practical attention is given to organisational boundaries, operational control, base-year recalculation, Scope 2 instruments, material Scope 3 categories, uncertainty and the evidence expected for a verification conclusion.

The five-day programme combines instructor-led interpretation of the standards with case-based verification planning, evidence review and calculation testing. Participants use a simulated corporate inventory containing utility invoices, meter records, fleet data, refrigerant logs, procurement extracts and calculation workbooks. By the end of the course, each participant has produced a verification file comprising a risk-based verification plan, materiality assessment, sampling schedule, evidence log, findings register and draft verification statement outline that can be adapted for an employer’s next reporting cycle.

The course is best suited to professionals who already contribute to GHG accounting, sustainability reporting, environmental assurance or data governance and now need a disciplined ISO 14064 verification method. It is equally useful for managers commissioning external verification who need to challenge scope, evidence requests, corrective actions and proposed assurance conclusions.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Interpret ISO 14064-1 and ISO 14064-3 requirements for inventory quantification, reporting and verification
• Define a verification scope, criteria, level of assurance and materiality threshold for a GHG inventory
• Construct a risk-based verification plan using inherent, control and detection risk assessment
• Trace Scope 1, Scope 2 and selected Scope 3 emissions from source records through calculations to reported disclosures
• Test organisational boundaries, base-year recalculations, emission factors and data-management controls
• Design evidence requests, sampling plans and working-paper logs for GHG inventory verification
• Evaluate identified misstatements, uncertainty and corrective actions against a materiality threshold
• Draft a findings register and verification statement outline supported by documented evidence

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Sustainability Managers — who are accountable for credible corporate GHG inventories and assurance readiness
• GHG Inventory Leads — who compile emissions data and need to prepare defensible verification evidence
• Environmental Managers — who oversee site environmental data, compliance records and emissions reporting
• Internal Auditors — who need a risk-based method for testing emissions data and reporting controls
• ESG Reporting Managers — who coordinate climate disclosures and respond to assurance-provider findings
• EHS Data Analysts — who manage activity data, emission factors and calculation workbooks used in inventories

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand the purpose of Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions and have some exposure to organisational GHG inventory data, sustainability reports or environmental management records. Familiarity with activity data, emission factors, utility invoices, fuel records or spreadsheet-based calculations is expected. Participants should be able to review tables and perform straightforward spreadsheet checks; Microsoft Excel or equivalent spreadsheet experience is useful. Prior audit qualifications, formal lead auditor training, carbon-accounting software and previous ISO 14064 experience are not required. This is an intermediate course, so complete beginners should first gain basic GHG accounting knowledge.

Training methodology

Instructor-led sessions explain the ISO clauses and translate them into verification decisions, working papers and evidence requirements. Participants then apply each method to a simulated multi-site corporate inventory, reviewing invoices, fuel records, refrigerant logs, procurement extracts and calculation sheets. Small groups conduct boundary checks, risk assessments, sampling and misstatement evaluation, followed by facilitated challenge sessions modelled on verifier review meetings. Daily outputs build into an end-of-course verification file and an individual application plan identifying the records, controls and stakeholders needed for a live workplace inventory.

Course outline

Day 1: ISO 14064 framework and inventory verification foundations

• ISO 14064-1 organisational inventory principles and reporting requirements
• ISO 14064-3 verification process, objectives and verification criteria
• Roles of responsible party, verifier, reviewer and intended user
• Reasonable versus limited assurance engagement characteristics
• Organisational boundaries using equity share and control approaches
• Operational boundaries across Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions
• GHG inventory assertions: completeness, accuracy, consistency, transparency and relevance

Workshop: Participants map a simulated company’s legal entities, facilities and emission sources into a documented verification scope statement.

Day 2: Planning, materiality and verification risk

• Verification scope, objectives, criteria and intended-user requirements
• Materiality concepts and quantitative materiality threshold setting
• Qualitative materiality for boundary exclusions and disclosure claims
• Inherent risk assessment for high-emission and high-uncertainty sources
• Control risk assessment for data collection and calculation processes
• Detection risk and its effect on verification procedures
• Risk-based verification plan, timetable and engagement resources

Workshop: Participants create a materiality assessment and risk-based verification plan for a multi-site manufacturing inventory.

Day 3: Evidence, data controls and calculation testing

• Sufficiency, appropriateness and reliability of verification evidence
• Evidence requests and source-document traceability matrices
• Sampling approaches for sites, invoices, meters and transaction populations
• Testing fuel combustion data against invoices, delivery records and meter readings
• Reviewing refrigerant leakage logs and fugitive-emissions calculations
• Testing electricity consumption, contractual instruments and Scope 2 methods
• Checking emission factors, units, conversion formulas and spreadsheet controls

Workshop: Participants perform a source-to-report test on selected utility, fuel and refrigerant records and complete an evidence log.

Day 4: Complex inventory issues and findings evaluation

• Base-year selection, recalculation policy and structural-change triggers
• Acquisitions, divestments, leased assets and joint-venture boundary treatment
• Scope 3 category screening, supplier data quality and estimation methods
• Data quality indicators, uncertainty assessment and management estimates
• Assessing methodological changes and year-on-year variance explanations
• Classifying misstatements, nonconformities and control deficiencies
• Corrective-action evaluation and aggregation of uncorrected misstatements

Workshop: Participants assess case-file exceptions, calculate their potential emissions effect and prioritise corrective actions in a findings register.

Day 5: Conclusions, reporting and workplace application

• Evaluation of evidence against materiality and verification criteria
• Verification conclusions, limitations and modified statement considerations
• Verification statement content under ISO 14064-3
• Working-paper review, quality control and independent review requirements
• Communicating findings to inventory owners and senior management
• Preparing management responses and corrective-action tracking
• Building an annual ISO 14064 verification readiness calendar

Workshop: Participants assemble and present a verification file containing their plan, evidence log, findings register and draft verification statement outline.

Tools & standards covered

ISO 14064-1:2018, ISO 14064-3:2019, ISO 14065:2020, GHG Protocol Corporate Standard

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions