# Should a small MSME get an ISO 14064-1 verified inventory, or is a GHG Protocol report enough?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/iso-14064-1-verified-inventory-worth-it-msme

A GHG Protocol report is enough for most small MSMEs until someone asks for more. Get an ISO 14064-1 inventory verified to ISO 14064-3 when a buyer, lender or programme asks for verification in writing, or when the number will back a public claim or a loan term.

## When a self-prepared report is enough

- A buyer questionnaire asks for Scope 1 and 2 totals and your method, with no mention of verification.
- You are measuring for the first time and want to find the big sources before spending on an audit.
- A listed customer collects value chain data for BRSR. Since SEBI's 28 March 2025 circular, value chain disclosures and their assessment or assurance are voluntary, so a customer may ask but cannot cite SEBI to require verification.

## When verification earns its cost

- A buyer contract, supplier code or programme requires a verified inventory or names ISO 14064-3.
- A green loan or sustainability-linked loan ties pricing to an emissions figure, and the lender wants independent checking.
- You will publish a reduction claim, a carbon neutral statement or a target progress figure.
- Your inventory feeds a customer's assured report and they ask you to back your share.

## What verification adds over a good report

A self-prepared report can follow the GHG Protocol or ISO 14064-1 equally well. Verification adds an independent opinion that the numbers are free of material error, after the verifier samples invoices, meter readings and calculations. The method does not change; the trust a reader can place in it does.

## A sensible order for a small firm

1. Year 1: build the inventory to the GHG Protocol, with a source document behind every Scope 1 and 2 line.
2. Fix gaps: missing bills, unclear units, estimates without labels.
3. Year 2: if anyone asks for verification, prepare to ISO 14064-1 and get quotes for limited assurance on Scope 1 and 2.
4. Widen to Scope 3 only when a reader needs it verified.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible builds a self-declared inventory from your bills and invoices with the source file and factor on every line; its Verified status means rule checks passed, which helps you get ready for an independent verifier.

- [Limited vs reasonable assurance](https://senseible.earth/answers/limited-vs-reasonable-assurance-emissions)
- [ISO 14064 vs the GHG Protocol](https://senseible.earth/answers/iso-14064-vs-ghg-protocol)
- [GHG inventory verification cost](https://senseible.earth/answers/ghg-inventory-verification-cost-india)
- [BRSR Core value chain timeline](https://senseible.earth/answers/brsr-core-value-chain-assurance-timeline)

Sources: [ISO 14064-1:2018 and ISO 14064-3:2019 (iso.org)](https://www.iso.org), [GHG Protocol Corporate Standard](https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard), [SEBI circular on assurance or assessment and value chain disclosures, 28 March 2025](https://www.sebi.gov.in/legal/circulars/mar-2025/measures-to-facilitate-ease-of-doing-business-with-respect-to-framework-for-assurance-or-assessment-esg-disclosures-for-value-chain-and-introduction-of-voluntary-disclosure-on-green-credits_93102.html)

Last reviewed 2026-10-18. BRSR value chain dates follow SEBI's 28 March 2025 circular; check for a newer circular.