The Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which manages the most widely used guidelines for corporate emissions accounting, has tapped corporate sustainability veteran Tim Mohin as its first chief executive, starting by June 1.
Mohin’s appointment comes at a crucial moment for the GHG Protocol, which is overhauling several frameworks it started publishing 15 years ago and introducing methods meant to encourage investments in low-carbon transition technologies.
Pankaj Bhatia has led the initiative for the past 20 years as its global director.
The organization is also at the center of an effort, along with the International Organization for Standardization, that seeks to align disparate climate reporting frameworks. It was tapped by the organizers of COP30 to lead that initiative over the next two years.
“As the role of emissions data continues to expand, the organization is entering a new phase of maturity — strengthening its governance, institutional capacity and global engagement,” Mohin said in a statement. “This is a once-in-a-generation restructuring of how the world accounts for carbon. I am excited to help shape that.”
Unique career experience
Mohin led another environmental, social and governance standards group, the Global Reporting Initiative, from 2017 to 2020.
His career includes a unique mix of private and public sector roles. He most recently was a partner and a director of climate and sustainability for Boston Consulting Group, but previously held sustainability management roles at Advanced Micro Devices, Apple and Intel and was executive vice president and chief sustainability officer for ESG software company Persefoni.
Prior to taking a corporate role with Intel in 1995, Mohin spent 10 years in the federal government with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Senate Committee for environment and public works.
The protocol established a steering committee and independent standards board in 2024 to strengthen its governance. The organization has been led by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
The protocol’s proposed new rules for calculating reductions related to electricity have sparked fierce debate over whether they are workable for corporations that have been using virtual power purchase agreements to reduce the footprint related to their power consumption.
Changes to the main corporate standard, as well as rules for reporting about the impact of supply chain emissions reduction projects, are also in the works.
