By Silvana Paniagua, Director of Value Change Initiative

Bridging the gap between corporate ambition and real-world climate impact.

The challenge: From ambition to action

Across industries, climate ambition is rising. Companies are setting science-based targets, disclosing their carbon footprints, and pledging to align with the 1.5°C pathway.
But one challenge continues to loom large: how to take meaningful action on Scope 3 emissions—the indirect emissions that occur across a company’s entire value chain, from raw materials to end use.

These emissions often account for the majority of a company’s footprint, yet they are the hardest to measure, manage, and reduce. That’s where the Value Change Initiative (VCI) comes in.

“VCI exists to make standards work for people and planet — turning complex frameworks into practical pathways for action.”

Bringing order to a complex Scope 3 standards landscape

The climate action landscape is full of frameworks—each essential, but often overwhelming:

– GHG accounting frameworks like the GHG Protocol guide on how to measure emissions.

– Target-setting frameworks such as the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) or the Target Accounting and Reporting Guidance (by TCAT) define where to go.

– Disclosure frameworks specify what to report—including regulatory tools like TCFD, IFRS S2, EU CSRD, and California SB 253, as well as voluntary ones like CDP and GRI 102.

Together, these tools form the architecture of global climate accountability. Yet, many organizations still struggle to bridge the gap between understanding these standards and implementing them effectively.

That’s the space where the VCI operates—connecting the ‘what‘ and the ‘how‘.

A forum for collaboration and implementation

Since its foundation, VCI has focused on helping companies implement standards like the GHG Protocol and SBTi.

It does not create new standards; instead, it enables joint interpretation to develop shared guidance, methodologies, and tools that make existing ones actionable.

At its core, VCI is a peer-to-peer forum—a space where corporates, NGOs, and service providers collaborate to interpret Scope 3 standards, align approaches, and co-create solutions that make decarbonization achievable.

VCI and the “How to Scope 3” Question   Imagine standing in a maze of climate standards. The GHG Protocol tells you how to calculate emissions. The SBTi shows you where to go. The TCFD and IFRS S2 tell you what to disclose. And new regulations—from Brussels to California—demand transparency at every step.   But in the middle of this maze, companies are still asking the same question: How do we actually get there?   That’s where the Value Change Initiative (VCI) steps in. VCI isn’t another rulebook—it’s a collaborative forum where corporates, NGOs, and experts come together to translate high-level Scope 3 standards and GHG accounting principles into practical, workable solutions for real-world decarbonization.   Through a joint interpretation process, VCI enables stakeholders to collaborate at multiple levels—from the big picture of climate strategy to the fine details of data and methodologies. This approach helps co-create implementation pathways that organizations can tailor to their specific context.   Because VCI understands a crucial truth: There isn’t one single pathway to Scope 3 success — there are many.   Each organization’s journey depends on its maturity, ambition, and readiness to act. VCI’s role is to guide that journey—providing direction, structure, and shared learning that make progress both credible and achievable.   “VCI is where standards meet solutions — and where collaboration turns ambition into progress.”

How the VCI works

The VCI’s work revolves around a core principle: joint interpretation.

This process brings together stakeholders from across the climate ecosystem to:

– Share best practices that demonstrate what works,

– Identify gaps that need alignment, and

– Develop new approaches that push innovation forward.

The insights captured through this process become living guidance documents —practical tools that help companies operationalize Scope 3 Standards and GHG accounting step by step.

Driving innovation and influencing Scope 3 Standards

VCI doesn’t just help companies comply with today’s frameworks—it helps shape their future.

As new approaches and methodologies are tested and validated, VCI shares these insights with standard-setting bodies like the GHG Protocol and SBTi.

In doing so, it influences the evolution of global Scope 3 standards and accelerates alignment across the climate action community.

This dual role—both implementer and innovator—is what makes VCI uniquely powerful.

From complexity to clarity

Scope 3 action will never be simple—but it can be clearer. The VCI exists to transform complexity into collaboration.

By uniting diverse voices around a shared understanding of what effective climate action looks like, VCI helps ensure that global decarbonization isn’t just an ambition — it’s a process that works.

“VCI reminds us that sustainability isn’t achieved by setting targets alone. It’s achieved through the collective effort to turn those targets into reality.”

The road ahead

As regulatory pressure increases and transparency becomes non-negotiable, VCI’s role has never been more relevant. It serves as the translator between standards and practice, ambition and action.

Through collaboration and innovation, the VCI is helping build a world where climate commitments lead to measurable impact—across every link of the value chain.

Learn more about our workstreams

Explore how the Value Change Initiative supports organizations in implementing credible climate strategies and join a growing network of changemakers turning Scope 3 standards into action.