How do I choose the right emission factor?
Which emission factor databases do I need for my carbon report?
How do I manage multiple databases?
If you’ve just started with carbon reports, you’ve probably already asked yourself these questions.
Navigating carbon management can be challenging, even more so when you want your carbon report to be precise. In this case, you need precise emission factors to measure and track the evolution of carbon footprints.
But with so many sources and methodologies, how do you select the right emission factor and manage multiple databases efficiently?
In this article, we will explore emission factors (EFs), how they are calculated, and where to find them. We will also discuss how to choose the right emission factor databases with practical use cases and how the Tapio platform helps you navigate this complexity.
What are emission factors?
An emission factor is a coefficient determining the quantity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by a specific activity.
By multiplying the activity data (e.g., energy consumed, distance travelled by employees etc.) by the emission factor, you can estimate the emissions generated, typically expressed in CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e). CO₂e is a standardised unit including various greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases.
When using emission factors, it is important to remember that they come with a degree of uncertainty. Each database assigns a percentage of uncertainty based on the hypothesis and methodologies used to calculate the EF. This data is taken into account when calculating the uncertainty of the whole carbon report.
Where to find emission factors: emission factor databases
Emission factors are available through various databases, which may be free or require a paid license. Databases can be general or specific to certain sectors.
General public emission factor databases
Some of the free public emission factor databases are general databases that cover multiple sectors. Most databases are specific to a country, as the same activity might not have the same impact on climate change, depending on where it’s taking place.
These databases are useful for service companies, for example.
Examples of general public databases:
- International: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Emissions Factor Database
- France: The Base Empreinte® of the Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME)
- United Kingdom: The conversion factors database of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
- United States: The Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Specialised public emission factor databases
Sector-specific databases provide more precise emission factors for particular industries.
These databases can be useful for manufacturing and building companies, for example.
Here are a few examples:
- INIES: French database with data on the building sector
- Agribalyse: French database specialising in the food industry and agriculture-related products by the ADEME
- GLEC’s database (Global Logistics Emissions Council): database specialising in logistics and the transport sector
Licensed emission factor databases
Sometimes, you will have to purchase a license to access emission factor databases.
Licensed databases are usually more comprehensive and cater to the needs of more specific industries.
Here are a few examples:
- EcoInvent: one of the most complete databases for building and manufacturing companies. It’s not only used for carbon reports but for Life Cycle Analysis as well
- Agri-footprint: a database that specialises in agriculture and food industry-related data
How do you choose the right emission factor?
Selecting the appropriate emission factor and EF database is essential for accurate carbon reporting. When deciding, you need to consider the following factors: geography, sector, methodology, unit of measurement and date.
1. Geography: where your company operates
You will need to choose your national emission factor database. If a national database doesn’t exist in your country, you will need to use a database from a nearby, similar territory.
Emission factors are influenced by the location. For example, something produced in Germany might have to travel a longer distance to be transported than in a smaller country such as the Netherlands. Similarly, the energy mix in France might produce fewer emissions than that of a country such as Poland, affecting the intensity of the emission factor.
For Belgian companies, Tapio uses ADEME’s Base Empreinte because a similar database doesn’t exist for Belgium. However, emission factors specific to Belgium’s energy mix are available, so we use EFs specific to the Belgian territory for energy-related activity data.
2. Sector: the industry of your company
Depending on the sector of your company, you might need more specific emission factors.
If you are a service company, ADEME’s Base Empreinte will be enough. However, if you work in specialised industries, such as building or manufacturing, and want a more precise carbon report, you might need to use EcoInvent, for example, for construction materials or raw materials.
3. Methodology: GHG Protocol or Bilan Carbone?
Based on which methodology you’re using for your carbon report, you will need to use emission factors differently.
In fact, some databases are created following the Bilan Carbone Methodology, and others follow the GHG Protocol. As far as EFs are concerned, the difference between Bilan Carbone and GHG Protocol is the amortisation of purchased goods.
This means that if you’re doing a carbon report following the GHG Protocol, you shouldn’t use an emission factor from ADEME’s Base Empreinte as it is. To make it adhere to the GHG Protocol methodology, you will need to exclude the part of an ADEME’s emission factor corresponding to the amortisation of purchased goods.
4. Unit of measurement
Emission factors can be expressed in various units, such as kg CO₂e per kWh, kg CO₂e per tonne of material, or monetary unit (e.g., per euro of expenditure). The activity data should match the units of the chosen emission factor to ensure accurate calculations. If not, you will have to convert the unit of measurement of the activity data.
5. Publishing date
Emission factors are periodically updated to reflect changes in technology and practices. Using outdated factors can lead to inaccurate reporting, so make sure that the database you’re using is the latest version available.
Use cases: using multiple emission factor databases
In some cases, you might need to use a mix of databases. Here are some examples where you might need to do so.
As complicated as this might sound, all these emission factors were already available on the Tapio platform. This allowed our carbon expert to easily find the most suitable emission factor, without having to rely on external sources and exiting the platform.
Use case 1: a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer
Let’s take the example of one of Tapio’s clients: a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer. In this case, we had to use three databases.
- ADEME’s Base Empreinte for activity data related to more common activities
- EcoInvent for EFs related to raw materials, to be able to differentiate, for example, between different kinds of gold used to manufacture the watches
- Energy-related emission factors that correspond to Switzerland’s energy mix
Use case 2: Base Design, an international design agency
Base Design, despite being a more simple service agency, we’ve still had to use multiple emission factor databases. In particular, that’s because it operates both in Belgium and in the United States. For activity data related to the United States, we’ve had to use the EPA’s database.
Managing multiple emission factor databases on the Tapio platform
Handling various databases manually can be time-consuming and easily lead to errors. Tapio’s platform simplifies this by offering access to emission factors from global and regional databases, such as ADEME, Ecoinvent, DEFRA, and CO2 emissiefactoren.
On the Tapio platform, climate consultants can:
- Add or edit private or public emission factor databases
- Add or edit individual emission factors with similar privacy options
- Automatically receive emission factor suggestions based on activity data input
- Verify the origin and methodology of each emission factor for quality assurance
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Tapio is a carbon management software that allows companies and consultants to calculate and reduce carbon emissions.