We propose and describe a corporate carbon reporting framework intended tostrengthen the credibility and transparency of the existing net-zero pledges. We refer tothis framework as the Time-Consistent Corporate Carbon Reporting (TCCR) standard. Firms adhering to the TCCR framework would commit to disclose: (i) firm annualcarbon emissions determined according to a core metric which we define as the DirectNet Emissions (DNE), (ii) an initial forecast of the firm's future emissions trajectory upto the year 2050, and (iii) periodic revisions of the forecast emission trajectories for theremaining years up to 2050. In addition to DNE disclosures at the corporate entitylevel, we advocate for firms to adopt a system of accumulating and reporting carbon balances at the product level. When added up across all products and services soldto the firm's customers, these carbon balances would effectively absorb the firm'sannual DNE, and the carbon balances accumulated in the production inputs from thefirm's upstream suppliers. Borrowing a concept from the construction industry, thissequential process would ensure that products delivered to a firm's customers reflectthe embodied carbon accumulated through the entire upstream supply chain.
