Imagine two companies located in the same area reporting the same amount of electricity used in their operations. Yet one reports 100 tons of carbon emissions while the other reports 120.

Who is correct? Possibly both. 

That is because they may simply be using different emission factors. It sounds like a small technical issue, but it creates a very real problem. Companies, investors, regulators and even government agencies can end up looking at different carbon numbers for exactly the same activity.

As sustainability reporting becomes more common in the Philippines, this issue will only become more obvious. Today, companies often rely on different consultants, different databases, different international references, or their own internal assumptions to calculate greenhouse gas emissions. Some use IPCC default values. Others use international databases. Some develop their own methodologies. The result is inconsistency.

If we want sustainability reporting to become more credible, comparable and useful, then perhaps it is time for the Philippines to establish a Philippine Emissions Factor Registry — one official national source of emission factors that everyone can use. I presented an initial concept paper at our recent PSRC meeting held on June 30 and chaired by SGV/EY’s Benjamin Villacorta. 

This is not about creating another layer of bureaucracy. It is about creating one trusted source of truth. Think of it as a common measuring tape. If everyone measures using the same ruler, then comparisons become fairer and decisions become better.

The benefits go far beyond corporate reporting. The government can produce more accurate national greenhouse gas inventories. Companies can prepare sustainability reports with greater confidence and at lower cost. Investors can compare companies using consistent assumptions instead of wondering why similar businesses report very different emissions. Carbon markets become more credible. Transition finance becomes easier to support. And as the country prepares for wider adoption of PFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, a common set of emission factors would provide a much stronger technical foundation.

The good news is that we do not need to start from scratch. The Philippines already has many of the building blocks. The Department of Energy (DoE) already publishes electricity grid emission factors. Various government agencies already collect fuel, agriculture, transport, waste and forestry data. The Climate Change Commission (CCC) already coordinates the country’s greenhouse gas inventory. Rather than creating a new institution, we can build on what already exists.

A practical governance model could have the CCC serve as the overall registry lead, while sector agencies maintain the factors within their respective areas of expertise. The DoE could oversee energy-related factors. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources could handle industry, waste and forestry. The Department of Agriculture and the Philippine Statistics Authority could support agriculture, while the Department of Transportation could oversee transport-related factors.

This also does not need to be a massive project. We can start small.

Phase one could focus on the emission factors that most companies use every day — electricity, fuels, transport, cement, refrigerants, agriculture and waste. These alone would cover a large portion of corporate greenhouse gas reporting. Additional sectors can be added over time as more data becomes available.

Equally important, the registry should remain practical. It should follow internationally accepted IPCC guidance while gradually developing Philippine-specific factors where local data is available. It should integrate with existing government reporting systems instead of creating new reporting requirements. And every emission factor should be accompanied by a simple “Factor Card” explaining where it came from, how it was calculated, how often it is updated, and who is responsible for maintaining it. Transparency builds confidence.

One concern people raise is whether emission factors need to be perfect before they can be published. The answer is no. Like many successful public databases around the world, the registry can improve over time. We can look to many examples in other economies of how they started and built their own registries. Version 1.0 does not need to answer every question. It simply needs to provide one official starting point that everyone can rely on.

Consistency is often more valuable than perfection. As the saying goes, you cannot improve what you cannot consistently measure. Climate action is no longer just about reducing emissions. It is increasingly about building the institutions that allow us to measure, compare and improve our performance over time. The Philippines has made significant progress in climate policy, renewable energy and sustainability reporting over the past decade. We need to continue taking the next important step. 

One country. One official set of emission factors. One trusted foundation upon which businesses, investors, regulators and government can all build. 

A Philippine Emissions Factor Registry may sound technical, but in reality, it is about something much bigger: giving the country one trusted language for measuring climate progress.