Amy Brachio: A New Era of Carbon Accounting Leadership

After three decades with EY, Amy Brachio has taken on a new leadership role as CEO at Carbon Measures. 

The former Global Vice Chair for Sustainability at EY is now heading the coalition, which is made up of major corporations including BlackRock, ExxonMobil, Santander, BASF, Linde and Mitsui. 

This formidable group of companies is built around a singular purpose: to rethink how carbon accounting is performed in the corporate world.

Carbon Measures aims to address what its team and backers view as a series of fundamental flaws in the way emissions reporting currently works. 

In its simplest terms, it represents a departure from the GHG Protocol, the de-facto global standard currently used by the vast majority of S&P 500 companies.

Challenging carbon accounting standards

A central point of contention behind the formation of Carbon Measures is the concept of "double-counting". 

Critics of the current system such as BlackRock and ExxonMobil argue that the framework, which was developed in the late 1990s, allows multiple actors to count the same CO₂ molecules in their reporting. 

However, those responsible for the GHG Protocol's design argue that double-counting is one of the framework's "greatest strengths" because it encourages "comprehensive" greenhouse gas management.

Throughout her career at EY Amy drove offerings to help thousands of global clients achieve their sustainability goals while leading EY's ambitious 40% carbon emission reduction by 2025. 

She also established and directed EY's Business Consulting practice, leading more than 40,000 professionals globally. 

Her new role will require all of her technical expertise and consulting experience, where attention to detail and strategic thinking are essential.

The role of data

Data will also be a cornerstone of Amy's work. For her "precise and comparable data has proven something of a holy grail" in emissions tracking. She also argues that the current approach "simply won't be sufficient going forward". 

The controversy surrounding double-counting in carbon accounting remains a significant issue. 

Proponents of the prevailing method argue that it incentivises multiple actors to reduce emissions rather than creating confusion about overall pollution levels.

Whether Carbon Measures can bridge this divide while attracting the necessary scale of industry participation is yet to be seen. 

However its group of 20 foundational backers is composed of some of the world's largest firms suggesting momentum is building. 

"We’re advancing a ledger-based carbon accounting framework that provides accurate verifiable and timely company- and product-level data" Amy explains. 

"We’re united in the belief that when measurement is accurate and regulatory standards are clear, markets drive competition and innovation toward the most efficient solutions."

Cross-industry support for a new framework

Amy sees the next few years as critical in the race to net zero. "We are at a critical point in history," she explains. 

"We see and feel the impact of climate change in our daily lives and collectively we aren’t moving fast enough to materially reduce carbon emissions."

The mission has a broad appeal because it addresses a universal issue. Amy says: "We also know that people around the world need homes with reliable affordable energy roads hospitals data centres and modern infrastructure." 

Leaders of Carbon Measures' member companies have been vocal in their support. 

Ana Botin, Executive Chair of Santander says that accurate and transparent calculation of carbon emissions "is the foundation for meaningful climate action." 

Francois Jackow, CEO of Air Liquide – another backer – stated that harmonised product-level carbon intensity standards will enable investors "to reward low-carbon solutions."

Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, believes that "the first step to reducing global emissions is to know where they're coming from. Today we don't have an accurate system to do this." 

The oil major has advocated for a global system for measuring the carbon intensity of different products for several years. 

Amy views this enthusiasm for change as a chance to refine processes ahead of the 2050 deadline. "I see an incredible opportunity to build on existing progress and apply proven accounting principles to what the world needs most: accurate measurement to bring about real carbon emissions reductions" she says.