Before You Build a Decarbonization Plan, Check Your Baseline

What happens when a company commits to a decarbonization plan — and then someone finally reviews the baseline?

Dr. Albert Chung, Principal Engineer at GSI Environmental, has spent over 15 years verifying GHG inventories across industries. In this episode, he shares what verifiers actually see when they open an inventory for the first time, the red flags that show up before an audit even begins, and why so many decarbonization plans are built on foundations that were never independently reviewed.

We also get into the practical side of inventory management: why companies that write their IMP at the deadline are setting themselves up for pain, how to think about materiality when your sustainability team is stretched thin, and the spend-based data problem — why switching to a lower-carbon supplier won't show up as a reduction if your baseline isn't built on actionable data.

In this episode:

• The red flags verifiers look for before the audit starts
• Why inventory management plans should be built from day one, not written after the deadline
• The 5% materiality threshold — and how it differs from what sustainability teams use internally
• The spend-based trap: how your Scope 3 reduction initiatives can become invisible in your own reporting
• Why starting in Excel might be the right move, even if you're planning to use software eventually
• How to future-proof an inventory when methodology, regulations, and staff all keep changing

About the Podcast: The Carbon Management and Accounting Podcast is hosted by Aaron Stainthorp and sponsored by North Star Carbon & Impact — the carbon and sustainability management platform built by sustainability professionals, for sustainability professionals. New episodes every other Tuesday.

Learn more or request a demo: northstarcarbon.com