CLIMATE ACCOUNTING
Corporate GHG accounting for a single entity is a data collection problem. Consolidated GHG accounting for a holding company is a governance, methodology, and data architecture problem — at a significantly greater level of complexity. Subsidiaries operate in different sectors, run different ERP systems, and apply different emission factors. The group structure itself — which entities to include, which consolidation approach to apply, how to handle joint ventures and minority stakes — must be defined before a single emissions figure can be calculated.
Semtrio has delivered consolidated GHG accounting for eight large corporate groups — organizations with subsidiaries spanning manufacturing, energy, finance, retail, and aviation within a single group structure. We design the consolidation methodology, standardize the data architecture across subsidiary systems, and produce a group-level inventory that is methodologically consistent, audit-ready, and aligned with every framework the group reports against.
In a diversified holding company, one subsidiary may operate SAP, another a legacy ERP, another spreadsheets. Energy data, fuel consumption, logistics, and procurement are tracked in different formats, at different frequencies, and to different levels of granularity. Before any consolidated GHG inventory can be built, the data architecture must be standardized across entities — and that standardization requires both methodological expertise and organizational change management.
The GHG Protocol offers three consolidation approaches — operational control, financial control, and equity share — each of which produces materially different emissions figures for the same group structure. The choice has implications for regulatory compliance, investor disclosure, SBTi target scope, and audit exposure. Getting it wrong upstream creates cascading errors across every framework the group reports against.
Group structures commonly include joint ventures with shared control, minority stakes in operating entities, and significant inter-company flows of energy or materials. Each of these requires a defined accounting treatment under the GHG Protocol — and inconsistent treatment across subsidiaries is among the most common sources of error in consolidated GHG reporting.
Most holding companies approach consolidated GHG accounting by aggregating reports produced independently by each subsidiary — collecting what each entity has already calculated, adding the numbers, and presenting the total as a consolidated figure. The problem is that independently produced subsidiary reports rarely share the same boundary definitions, consolidation approaches, emission factors, or Scope 3 category coverage. Aggregating them produces a number that is neither methodologically consistent nor audit-ready.
Semtrio designs consolidated GHG inventories from the group level down — starting with consolidation methodology selection, defining the boundary treatment for every entity in the group structure, and then building a standardized data collection architecture that all subsidiaries report into. The result is a group-level inventory where every figure is traceable to a consistent methodology, every subsidiary is covered at the correct ownership boundary, and every framework the group reports against — IFRS S2, CDP, SBTi, CSRD, and GRI — receives the data it requires from a single verified source.
For groups managing this across multiple geographies, languages, and regulatory environments, Carbondeck provides the permanent infrastructure layer — centralizing multi-entity data collection, standardizing calculation workflows, and producing group-level and subsidiary-level outputs simultaneously.
OUR PROCESS
A complete group-level GHG inventory — methodology-first, audit-ready, and built for multi-entity complexity.
From consolidated reporting to permanent group-level GHG infrastructure.
For holding companies managing GHG data across multiple subsidiaries, the annual consolidation exercise is a significant organizational undertaking — data collection across entities in different sectors and systems, reconciliation of inconsistencies, and a final consolidation that often takes months to complete. As IFRS S2 group-level disclosure, CDP reporting, and SBTi portfolio target tracking all require consistent year-on-year data, the cost of this annual rebuild compounds over time.
Carbondeck provides the permanent group-level GHG infrastructure that eliminates the annual rebuild. The platform centralizes emissions data collection from all subsidiary entities into a single system, applies the defined consolidation methodology consistently across the group, and produces both entity-level and group-level inventory outputs simultaneously — updated continuously rather than reconstructed annually. The Carbondeck architecture is designed for multi-entity group structures: different sectors, different ERP systems, and different data granularity across subsidiaries are handled within a single standardized data model.
As an accredited Climateware consulting partner, Semtrio designs and deploys Carbondeck for holding companies that need group-level GHG accounting to function as permanent organizational infrastructure. We configure the consolidation methodology, onboard subsidiary teams, and build the data governance processes that make the system self-sustaining over time.
Explore CarbondeckIFRS S2 requires listed holding companies to disclose group-level climate-related financial risks — a credible, consolidated GHG inventory is the primary data foundation for the physical and transition risk quantification IFRS S2 demands across the full portfolio.
Learn moreSBTi portfolio-level target setting for holding companies requires a verified consolidated Scope 1, 2, and 3 baseline across all subsidiaries — the consolidation methodology must be aligned with SBTi's boundary requirements from the outset.
Learn moreGroup-level CDP Climate disclosure requires consolidated GHG data at the group boundary — holding companies disclosing through CDP need a consolidated inventory that meets CDP's Scope 1, 2, and 3 coverage and quality requirements.
Learn moreGroup sustainability reports require consolidated emissions data at both group and subsidiary level — Semtrio designs the consolidated GHG inventory to produce the GRI 305 disclosures required for group-level sustainability reporting without separate data collection.
Learn moreEight consolidated GHG inventories for large corporate groups — across manufacturing, energy, finance, and retail simultaneously.
Consolidated GHG accounting for holding companies requires a capability that most advisory firms do not have — the ability to hold the full regulatory and methodological picture across different sectors simultaneously, and design a consolidation architecture that serves all of them from a single group-level data structure. Semtrio has delivered consolidated GHG accounting for eight large corporate groups — organizations with subsidiaries spanning manufacturing, energy, finance, retail, and aviation within a single group structure. That cross-sector depth is what makes the methodology transferable: the steel subsidiary, the energy arm, and the retail portfolio can all be consolidated using the same methodology applied consistently.
The most common failure point in consolidated GHG accounting is not the calculation — it is the data governance upstream of it. Subsidiaries that have never been required to produce standardized emissions data, entities that have been reporting emissions informally, and joint ventures where data sharing is contractually complex all create the kinds of fragmentation that undermine consolidated inventories. Semtrio's delivery process is designed for this reality — we design the data collection architecture before we begin the calculation, resolve the governance challenges at entity level, and build the standardized reporting processes that make future consolidation cycles significantly faster.
The output is not only a compliant inventory. It is a single source of truth across the group — one methodologically consistent data asset that serves IFRS S2 climate risk quantification, CDP group disclosure, SBTi portfolio target setting, and GRI group sustainability reporting simultaneously.
Talk to our team about your group GHG consolidationFor large multi-sector corporate groups — manufacturing, energy, finance, retail, and aviation subsidiaries within single group structures
Cement, energy, automotive, and chemicals subsidiaries consolidated within single group structures — different sectors, one consistent methodology
IFRS S2, CDP, SBTi, and GRI all served from one consolidated data architecture — no rebuilding per framework
Whether you're scoping a single service engagement, evaluating end-to-end advisory across multiple clusters, or looking for one accountable partner across strategy and disclosure — start here.
Yaren Ünal
Senior Specialist,Client Solutions
Hamza Söylemez
Specialist,Client Solutions
Frequently asked questions about consolidated GHG accounting
Whether you are building a consolidated GHG inventory for the first time or strengthening an existing one for IFRS S2, CDP, or SBTi obligations — we will assess your group structure, define the consolidation methodology, and produce an audit-ready group-level inventory that serves every framework from a single data source.
