About openGHGRP
For more than a decade, the U.S. EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) has served as the nation’s primary mechanism for facility-level greenhouse gas emissions reporting, producing publicly accessible data that informs regulatory policy, market decisions, environmental research, and corporate accountability. Recent federal actions have signaled the potential long-term deferral or effective discontinuation of the program.
openGHGRP is a voluntary, university-hosted program designed to serve as a reliable interim solution that preserves continuity in greenhouse gas emissions reporting during this period of uncertainty.
The openGHGRP program is a bridge — not a permanent replacement. It is intended to maintain data infrastructure, institutional capabilities, transparency, and reporting culture until a permanent institutional home is found.
openGHGRP is built on five core principles:
Fidelity to established standards.
1
openGHGRP follows the GHGRP Continuity Basis, with no modifications to the underlying reporting rules. This approach preserves credibility and ensures that data collected through openGHGRP remains directly comparable to the GHGRP.
Preservation of institutional capacity.
2
Many companies have invested significantly in the people, processes, and systems required to meet GHGRP obligations. openGHGRP allows these organizations to maintain active reporting programs, retain trained staff, and avoid the costly and time-consuming process of rebuilding capabilities in the future.
Prevention of data fragmentation.
3
Without a unified voluntary alternative, the reporting landscape risks fracturing into a collection of inconsistent, sector-specific, or regionally variable schemes. openGHGRP offers a structured, credible program that diverse stakeholders can rally around.
Transparency and data access.
4
Publicly available reported data will be made accessible through dashboards and query tools substantially similar to EPA's historical FLIGHT and Query Builder systems. openGHGRP intends to maintain free public access to these data for as long as the program operates and resources allow.
openGHGRP is a bridge – not a permanent replacement. It will only last as long as it is needed and supported.
5
Readiness for transition.
openGHGRP is led by researchers and staff at the Center for Energy and Environmental Systems Analysis (CEESA), an organized research unit of the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. The program is committed to broad, inclusive participation. Our team actively engages — and welcomes involvement from — companies, trade associations, environmental NGOs, state and federal government agencies, investors, and other stakeholders with an interest in the continuity and quality of national GHG emissions data.
The initial development of openGHGRP was supported through the Energy Emissions Modeling and Data Lab (EEMDL), a program sponsored by Cheniere Energy Inc., EQT Corporation, and Williams. This included the build-out of core technical infrastructure, including the relational database, ingestion of historical data, user interface tools, and reporting capabilities.
Building on this foundation, a new Industrial Affiliates Program (IAP) has been created at CEESA to operationalize openGHGRP. The openGHGRP team is currently recruiting IAP members and is pleased to confirm the following energy-industry, electricity-sector, and environmental organizations have made IAP funding commitments so far:
American Exploration & Production Council
American Gas Association
American Petroleum Institute
Chevron
Edison Electric Institute
Environmental Defense Fund
Interstate Natural Gas Association of America
For more information on openGHGRP and how you can get involved, visit the “Join Us” page.