Greenhouse Gases

Greenhouse Gas Protocol

Companies shall account for the 7 greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃).

In addition to those GHGs, companies may also provide emissions data for other GHGs (e.g., Montreal Protocol gases). Information on emissions of those additional GHGs may be reported separately from the scopes (i.e., out-of-scope).

For each scope 1 and 2 category, emissions shall be reported separately for each of the seven GHGs. For each scope 3 category, emissions shall be reported in tonnes of CO₂-equivalent (CO₂e), and reporting emissions of each GHGs separately is optional when applicable.

(sources: GHGP Corporate Standard, p3 and p63 and GHGP Corporate Value Chain Standard, p119)

Emission Factors and Activity Data

Emission calculations under the GHG Protocol are generally based on the collection of activity data and the application of emission factors. Activity data refers to the quantified measure of an activity that results in GHG emissions (e.g., fuel consumed, electricity used, distance travelled). An emission factor is a coefficient that quantifies the emissions per unit of activity data (e.g., kg CO₂ per kWh). Emissions are calculated by multiplying activity data by the appropriate emission factor.

(sources: GHGP Corporate Standard, Chapter 6 “Identifying and Calculating GHG Emissions”, p40–45)

Why all seven Greenhouse Gases matter

Although carbon dioxide (CO₂) often represents the largest share of total emissions, other greenhouse gases covered under the GHG Protocol may also contribute significantly to overall climate impact. These gases are converted into CO₂-equivalent using their respective Global Warming Potentials (GWP), allowing emissions to be assessed on a common basis.

(sources: GHGP Corporate Standard, p3)

Implementation by Carbon+Alt+Delete

Carbon+Alt+Delete covers all 7 GHGs under the GHG Protocol: carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃).

We report splits on all GHGs in all 3 scopes. Where the initial split is unknown in the EF database, this is reported as an "unknown split CO2e".

We store and display emissions per GHG in CO₂e values (for easier interpretation). Emissions are converted using 100-year Global Warming Potentials (GWP100), and the specific GWP100 coefficients applied depend on the AR used in the EF datasets (AR4 and AR5).

Out-of-scope reporting of other non-Kyoto GHGs is currently not yet available.

Treatment of Other Greenhouse Gases

Where emission factors include gases that fall outside the Kyoto Protocol gases and NF₃, these emissions are grouped under the “Other” category in detailed reporting tables. Emissions reported under “Other” are considered out-of-scope for the organizational inventory total. As such, they do not contribute to the in-scope total displayed in dashboards or consolidated inventory figures.