Carbon Neutral Government program organizational scope

Organizations that are controlled by one or more public sector organizations (PSOs) are defined as PSOs because they are included in the definition of government reporting entity in the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act.

If your organization controls a separate legal entity refer to this page to determine what emissions to report.

The meaning of 'controlled'

An organization is controlled by a PSO for the purpose of the Carbon Neutral Government (CNG) program if it is financially controlled. Financial control is different than operational control.

Financial control

The PSO's yearly financial statement lists the organizations which are financially controlled by that PSO under generally accepted accounting principles.

If you're unsure if your PSO controls an organization, refer to your PSO’s yearly financial statement.

Operational control

The operational control framework is often used by other carbon accounting systems. The CNG program does not use this framework.

A PSO has operational control over an entity if it or one of its subsidiaries has the full authority to introduce and implement its operating policies at the operation. For example, a university would have operational control over the buildings on campus, but not over houses they rent out for profit.

For more information about operational control refer to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard.