In Scope 3, you can search for emission factors via an external database and transfer them directly to the Climate Hub.
To add your own activity in Scope 3, you can use the Search factor (activity based) button. This button allows you to query factors from an external database. The search for spend-based emission factors is described here.
Clicking on this button opens a new window in which you can search for keywords. The search results can be filtered according to the following criteria: country (Region), database (Source), year (Year) and unit (Unit Type). Emission factors can also be pre-grouped by categories (e.g. building materials) and sectors (e.g. buildings and infrastructure), making it easier to browse through factors without needing to know the exact factor name.
Once you have found a suitable factor, you can transfer it to the Climate Hub by clicking on the add factor button. All relevant information that is important for traceability is then displayed in the Climate Hub. There you also have the option of giving the activity its own name (kind).
By clicking the checkmark, the activity appears in the overview and the company can enter its consumption values in the input column and select the unit of the input value. The emissions are then calculated automatically. The initial assessment is displayed in the top right-hand corner.
Further information
Details on the external Climatiq database can be found on the official website.
There you will find, among other things, the description of data quality:
- Emission factors can be removed if they are deemed unusable or significantly erroneous. Such factors will no longer appear in the Climate Hub.
- Emission factors that have potential issues will be marked with a quality flag.
- Incomplete consideration of emissions
The CO2e value of an emission factor may not include all gases emitted during an activity. For example, only the CO2 emissions of an activity might be considered, while other greenhouse gases are not accounted for. However, the factor is provided because it or its source is considered important enough. More information can be found in the description of the respective factor or in the source referenced.
- Climatiq has identified potential issues with the methodology of an emission factor. This could be due to the methodology deviating from generally accepted standards, or the source not providing clear information on the methodology used. Further details can be found in the description of the respective factor or in the source provided.
- Incomplete consideration of emissions
You will also find e.g. descriptions of the following sub-databases:
| data base | data type | description |
| ADEME | activity-based | ADEME (Agence de la transition écologique) is the French Agency for Ecological Transition and offers a wide range of emission factors to support the measurement and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in France. These emission factors are used to estimate greenhouse gas emissions associated with various activities, such as energy consumption and transportation. |
| AIB | activity-based | The Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB) is a European organisation that manages and promotes the use of energy attribute certificates to track the production and consumption of renewable energy in Europe. The AIB produces the European Residual Mix Report which includes data on the mix of fuels used to generate electricity in each European country, as well as the associated greenhouse gas emissions. |
| BEIS | activity-based, spend-based | The UK Government issues emission conversion factors for use by UK and international organisations to report on greenhouse gas emissions. The key responsible departments / agencies are / were: BEIS , DEFRA, DESNZ and NAEI. |
| CAEP | activity-based | The Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning (CAEP) is a public institution that conducts crucial research and offers policy recommendations on environmental issues to the Chinese government and corporations, playing a significant role in developing China's environmental strategies. |
| CBAM | activity-based | The European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is a regulatory tool designed to measure carbon emissions attributed to the production of high-carbon goods imported into the EU, aiming to promote cleaner practices in industrial production across non-EU countries. To this end, the European Commission publishes emission factors providing the necessary metrics for compliance and environmental integrity. |
| CCF | activity-based | Cloud Carbon Footprint is a free and open-source emissions measurement and analysis tool. It provides emission factors and methodology for measuring the emissions of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). |
| Circular Ecology | activity-based | Circular Ecology offers resource efficiency services, including carbon footprinting, water footprinting, life cycle assessment (LCA), circular economy and general resource efficiency. |
| Climate TRACE | activity-based | Climate TRACE (Tracking Real-Time Atmospheric Carbon Emissions) is a collaborative initiative aimed at providing precise, real-time tracking of global greenhouse gas emissions using artificial intelligence, satellite image processing and other remote sensing technologies along with academic research and publicly available data. |
| Climatiq | activity-based | |
| CLP Group | activity-based | The CLP Group is a Hong Kong-based power company that generates electricity from a variety of sources, including coal, gas, nuclear, and renewable energy. The company conducts greenhouse gas emissions accounting and reporting and provides data on its emissions performance. |
| CT | activity-based | Climate Transparency is a global partnership organisation funded by the German Government, World Bank, and several other bodies. It seeks to stimulate climate action in G20 countries through enhanced transparency. The Climate Transparency Report annually provides the emission intensity of electricity generation for various countries, based on the emissions from the respective grid mix. |
| DEWA | activity-based | The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is a government-owned utility company that provides electricity and water services to the emirate of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It is responsible for implementing policies and initiatives related to energy and water supply and conservation and promoting the use of renewable energy sources in Dubai. |
| DISER | activity-based | The Australian Government issues emission conversion factors for use by Australian and international organisations to report on greenhouse gas emissions. The key responsible departments / agencies are / were: DISER and DCCEEW. |
| EEA | activity-based | The European Environment Agency (EEA) is an EU agency that provides independent scientific and technical information to support environmental policies and sustainable development in Europe through data analysis, assessment, and reporting. |
| EEI | activity-based | The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. EEI has developed a database to support corporate sustainability reporting, especially in calculating scope 2 emissions for specific US electricity suppliers. |
| Electricity Info | activity-based | ElectricityInfo.org is an independent website providing consumers with environmental information on the UK electricity supply industry including emission factors of fuel mix electricity data so they can make an informed choice about their electricity supply. |
| EMA | activity-based | The Energy Market Authority (EMA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Singapore. They issue average CO2 emission emitted per unit of electricity. |
| EPA | activity-based, spend-based | The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the United States government agency that provides regularly updated default emission factors for organisational greenhouse gas reporting in the United States. |
| EPPO | activity-based | The Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO) of Thailand issues the average CO2 emission emitted per unit of electricity. |
| EXIOBASE | spend-based | EXIOBASE is a global, detailed Multi-Regional Environmentally Extended Supply-Use Table (MR-SUT) and Input-Output Table (MR-IOT). It was developed by harmonising and detailing supply-use tables for a large number of countries, estimating emissions and resource extractions by industry. Subsequently, the country supply-use tables were linked via trade creating an MR-SUT and producing MR-IOTs from this. The MR-IOT can be used for the analysis of the environmental impacts associated with the final consumption of product groups. |
| GEMIS | activity-based | GEMIS, or the Global Emission Model for Integrated Systems, is a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) software tool developed by IINAS, the Institute for Integrated Environmental Assessments. The tool is designed to analyse and model the environmental impacts of various technologies, products, and services. GEMIS covers a wide range of sectors, including energy, transport, materials, and agriculture, among others, providing reliable and consistent emission factors. |
| GHG Protocol | activity-based | The GHG Protocol is the de-facto standard-setting organisation for greenhouse-gas accounting. As well as producing guidance on estimating and categorising emissions, it also provides a set of the most commonly-used emission factors including energy consumption, transportation, waste management, and industrial processes. |
| GLEC | activity-based | The Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) is a partnership between industry, government, and non-governmental organisations that aims to develop and promote a standardised approach for measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions from logistics supply chain activities, including freight transport by road, rail, air, and sea. |
| Government of Canada | activity-based | Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for coordinating environmental policies and programs as well as enforcing environmental regulations. Canada's Official Greenhouse Gas Inventory offers comprehensive data and insights on Canada's environmental footprint through greenhouse gas emission records. |
| Green-e | activity-based | Green-e is a certification program in the United States focusing on renewable energy and carbon offset products and services, providing greenhouse gas emission factors for energy sources such as electricity. |
| Greenview | activity-based | Greenview is a sustainability platform that provides the Hotel Footprinting Tool, utilizing data from over 27,000 hotels in the Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking index. |
| HKEI | activity-based | HKEI (Hong Kong Electric Investments) is a Hong Kong-based power company that generates electricity from coal and gas. The company reports the carbon dioxide emissions factor for the electricity it generates and supplies to customers, which is calculated based on the emissions from its power plants. |
| IPCC | activity-based | The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a United Nations body that assesses the scientific evidence related to climate change and offers guidance to governments and policymakers on climate-related issues. IPCC provides a range of emission factors in their reports including energy-related emissions, industrial processes, agriculture, and land use and waste management activities. |
| Market Economics Limited | spend-based | Market Economics Limited is an independent New Zealand-based consultancy that specialises in market and economic analysis and environmental and ecological research. |
| MfE | activity-based | The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) is the government agency responsible for environmental policy and regulation in New Zealand, providing guidance and resources on greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and reporting including emission factors of different GHG emissions sources. |
| Netherlands Enterprise Agency | activity-based | The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) is a government agency, part of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. It fosters sustainable business practices by offering crucial resources. |
| OEKOBAUDAT | activity-based | The German Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development, and Building provides the OEKOBAUDAT, an extensive database of emission factors for materials and equipment used in construction and building design. |
| OpenIO-Canada | spend-based | OpenIO-Canada is an open-source, Environmentally Extended Input-Output (EEIO) model and tool designed to estimate the life cycle impacts of products and services in Canada. |
| STC-Nestra B.V. | activity-based | STC-Nestra B.V. is a consulting and engineering firm based in the Netherlands that specialises in sustainable transport solutions. One of the services offered by STC-Nestra B.V. is the calculation and reporting of transport emissions, such as greenhouse gas emissions associated with sea transport. |
| UBA | activity-based | The Umweltbundesamt (UBA) is the Federal Environment Agency of Germany and is responsible for promoting sustainable development through scientific research, providing advice on a wide range of environmental issues to the government, businesses, organisations, and the public. The UBA reports emission factors for electricity, fuel, and transport among others. |
| UNECE | activity-based | The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is one of the regional commissions of the United Nations, focused on improving economic relationships between European countries and enhancing cooperation for sustainable development. Among its various publications is the document on Integrated Life-cycle Assessment of Electricity Sources, which provides comprehensive emission factors for different electricity generation methods. |
| WRAP | activity-based | WRAP provides a comprehensive database for scope 3 food and drink emission factors, employing a consistent methodology that enables businesses to measure and track their supply chain greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To form this comprehensive repository, WRAP synthesizes information from numerous distinct sources including academic publications among others. |