The California Air Resources Board (CARB) released new guidance on Sept. 2 giving companies additional flexibility as they prepare for the state's first greenhouse gas emissions reporting deadline on Nov. 10.
California's SB 253 requires companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue that do business in the state to report their Scope 1 emissions — those produced directly by the company — and Scope 2 emissions — indirect emissions from purchased energy — during the first reporting cycle.
CARB said it would "exercise enforcement discretion" during the 2026 reporting cycle. Companies may use Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions data from their previous fiscal year based on information they already had or were collecting when CARB issued an enforcement notice in December 2024. Companies that were not collecting or planning to collect the data at that time may instead submit a statement on company letterhead stating that they will not report emissions data during the first cycle.
