Sponsors (3)
The bill improves consistency and reliability of value‑chain (scope 3) emissions reporting—helping policymakers, investors, and consumers target climate impacts—but risks imposing substantial administrative and compliance costs across companies and supply chains, especially if thresholds are broad or guidance conflicts with existing frameworks.
Utilities, energy companies, and affected businesses get standardized methods and thresholds for measuring scope 3 emissions, making compliance and year-to-year comparability simpler.
Taxpayers and the public benefit from improved reporting of value‑chain (scope 3) emissions, which helps policymakers and consumers identify major GHG sources and target reductions for climate mitigation.
Investors, regulators, and reporting firms gain from clearer QA/QC and missing‑data methods that increase emissions-data reliability and reduce uncertainty when evaluating corporate emissions performance.
Utilities, small businesses, and their suppliers may face significant added administrative and compliance costs to calculate, monitor, and report scope 3 emissions—especially if thresholds are broad or set low—raising costs across supply chains.
Small businesses, downstream suppliers, and state/local governments could be pulled into large new reporting obligations if reporting thresholds are broad or low, expanding regulatory burden beyond major emitters.
State governments and firms may incur transitional costs if EPA guidance differs from existing state or private reporting protocols, requiring reconciliation across multiple frameworks despite preserving other authorities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
EPA must study and issue guidance within 1 year on how designated facilities calculate and report scope 3 (value-chain) greenhouse gas emissions above EPA-set thresholds.
Official title: To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a study, and publish guidance on, calculating and reporting scope 3 emissions.
Introduced February 25, 2026 by Donald Sternoff Beyer · Last progress February 25, 2026
Requires the EPA Administrator to complete a study and issue binding guidance within one year on how direct emitters should calculate and report scope 3 (value-chain) greenhouse gas emissions above Administrator-set thresholds. The law defines key terms (direct emitter, greenhouse gases, scope 3) and lists required elements of the guidance including recommended thresholds, calculation methods by source category, monitoring frequency, QA/QC, methods to estimate missing data, and recordkeeping and reporting instructions. Preserves existing Presidential, federal agency, and state authorities under current law. The provision creates a timeline and framework for standardizing how covered facilities measure and report indirect value-chain emissions but does not itself impose reporting requirements or new penalties beyond the guidance and thresholds the Administrator will set.