This guide assists you in the first steps of carbon accounting: identifying your company’s relevant emission sources, which determines the data you need to collect. Follow these steps:

Choose Emission Scopes: Define which emission scopes to include: scope 1, scope 2, scope 3.
Determine Reporting Period: Set a footprint reporting timeframe, typically a calendar or fiscal year.
Create Locations: Define which locations should be included in the footprint assessment and create them on the Company page.
Select Emission Sources: For each location, identify relevant emission sources, based on operations and equipment used.

After completing these foundational steps, you can start the data collection process to accurately assess your emissions. More comprehensive details on each step are available in the following sections.

Step 1: Choose emission scopes

The GHG Protocol developed the ‘Scopes’ system, a widely used method categorizing emissions by source. To determine the data you need to collect, start by choosing the scopes to include:

Scope 1 includes direct emissions from your company's activities.
Scope 2 includes indirect emissions from the energy your company purchases.
Scope 3 involves emissions from your company's entire value chain.

💡 TIP: If you are new to carbon accounting, we recommend starting with Scope 1 and Scope 2 emission sources.

Step 2: Determine the Reporting Period

Choose a specific time period to measure your company’s carbon footprint. Most companies use either the calendar year or their financial year. Using the right reporting period helps you keep track of emissions regularly and plan your carbon management better.

Step 3: Define Locations for Assessment

Locations are the base for carbon accounting. Often, data is specific to a location, such as an electricity bill for the main office in London. Define which locations you want to include in the assessment and create them on the Company page.

Step 4: Select Relevant Emission Sources

What is an Emission Source?

An emission source is any company activity that leads to emissions directly or indirectly.

Below is a table that defines each emission source, categorizes it by scope.

Scope 1 and 2 emission sources

Emission Source Name	Description	Examples of Emission-Generating Activities
Heating and Fuels	Emissions from the use of fuel in company vehicles and equipment, and fuels and energy used for heating purposes.	Utilizing biodiesel for company-owned delivery trucks. Employing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power forklifts. Using district heating systems to warm office spaces during winter months. Operating natural gas-powered generators for emergency power supply.
Electricity	Emissions from electric equipment such as lights, machines, computers, and other tools.	Utilizing energy-efficient LED lighting across company facilities. Operating electric-powered machinery in manufacturing lines. Employees using computers and other electronic devices in daily office operations. Charging electric vehicles at company-provided stations.
Fugitive and Process	Fugitive emissions are accidental gas leaks, and process emissions result from specific industrial activities.	Routine maintenance leading to refrigerant leaks from HVAC systems. Accidental release of methane from broken gas pipelines within industrial sites. Leakage of chemicals from storage tanks due to faulty seals. Carbon dioxide released during the calcination phase in cement manufacturing. Emissions from chemical reactions in the production of iron and steel. Releasing byproducts from chemical synthesis in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Scope 3 Upstream Emission Sources (3.1 to 3.7)

Emission Source Name	Description	Examples of Emission-Generating Activities
3.1 Purchased Goods and Services	Emissions from goods and services bought by the company.	Materials, fresh ingredients, components, packaging, and parts. Office furniture, office supplies, and personal protective equipment. Accounting services, cloud storage, IT support, R&D, construction. Subcontracted services.
3.2 Capital Goods	Emissions from the purchase of capital assets.	Equipment, IT hardware, infrastructure. Machinery (bought, not leased). Buildings and facilities (bought, not leased). Vehicles like cars, trucks, helicopters, etc.
3.4 Upstream Transportation and Distribution	Emissions from the transportation of goods and services to the company.	Transportation services performed using external vehicles. Third-party transport and distribution. Inbound logistics of material. Movement of materials and products between facilities. Warehousing purchased products.
3.5 Waste Generated in Operations	Emissions from the disposal and treatment of waste generated in the company’s operations.	Recycling. Incineration. Composting. Wastewater treatment.
3.6 Business Travel	Emissions from employee travel for business.	Air, rail, and bus travel. Car travel in rental or employee Owned cars. Hotel stays.
3.7 Employee Commuting	Emissions from employees traveling to and from work.	Public transportation. Private vehicles. Can be estimated based on employee count.

💡 TIP: Scope 3.7 (Employee Commuting) emissions can be estimated based on the number of full-time employees and remote work policies.

Scope 3 Downstream Emission Sources (3.8 to 3.15)

For downstream categories, emissions must be calculated externally and uploaded into the platform as pre-calculated values:

Emission Source Name	Description	Examples of Emission-Generating Activities
3.8 Upstream Leased Assets	Emissions from leased assets.	Leased office buildings or vehicles.
3.9 Downstream Transportation and Distribution	Emissions from transporting sold products.	Outbound logistics. Warehousing of sold products.
3.10 Processing of Sold Products	Emissions from further processing of sold intermediate goods.	Manufacturing of sold components.
3.11 Use of Sold Products	Emissions from the use of sold products.	Energy consumption of electronics or vehicles.
3.12 End-of-Life Treatment of Sold Products	Emissions from product disposal.	Recycling. Incineration. Landfill.
3.13 Downstream Leased Assets	Emissions from assets leased by customers.	Leased vehicles. Leased office buildings.
3.14 Franchises	Emissions from franchise operations.	Activities of franchise-owned stores.
3.15 Investments	Emissions associated with investments.	Equity. Debt. Project finance.

Scope 3 upstream emission sources

Emission Source Name	Description	Examples of Emission-Generating Activities
Purchased Goods and Services	Emissions from the production of goods and services bought by the company. This can include raw materials, manufacturing services, and any other inputs into the company's products.	Production-related products like materials, fresh ingredients, components, packaging, and parts. Non-production-related products including office furniture, office supplies, and personal protective equipment. Hands-off services including accounting services, cloud storage, IT support. Hands-on services including research and development, education, construction. Subcontracted services.
3.2 Capital Goods	Emissions from the capital goods bought by the company. This category includes assets such as machinery, buildings, and equipment.	Equipment, like IT hardware and infrastructure. Machinery (bought, not leased). Buildings (bought, not leased). Facilities (bought, not leased). Vehicles (car, truck, helicopter, etc.).
3.4 Upstream Transportation and Distribution	Emissions from the transportation of goods and services to the company. This includes emissions from the transportation of raw materials to the company’s location by third-party vehicles not owned or controlled by the company.	Transportation services, performed using external vehicles. Third-party transport and distribution used by your organization Inbound logistics of material. Outbound logistics (of sold products). Movement of material and products between your organization's facilities. Storing purchased products in warehouses, distribution centers, and retail facilities.
3.5 Waste Generated in Operations	Emissions from the disposal and treatment of waste generated in the company’s operations.	Disposal and treatment of waste generated by your organization in facilities: recycling, incineration, composting, and wastewater treatment.
3.6 Business Travel	Emissions from transportation used by employees for business-related travel. This includes travel by airplanes, trains, taxis, and other modes not owned or controlled by the company.	Transport of employees for business-related activities in vehicles not owned or operated by the reporting company. Air, rail, bus travel. Car travel in rental cars or employee-owned cars (excluding commuting). Hotel stays.

Calculation Flexibility

• Platform-Calculated Emissions: Categories 3.1 to 3.7 can be calculated directly in the platform using consumption data or activity-based input (Only for Scopes 3.4, 3.5 and 3.6).

• Pre-Calculated Emissions: Categories 3.8 to 3.15 require pre-calculated values to be uploaded for reporting.

Emission Scopes and Operational Boundaries

Getting Started with Accounting for Scope 3 Emissions

Identifying Relevant scope 3 categories for your business

Expenditures to Exclude from Your Emissions Calculations

Double counting of emissions within a company

Define what emissions to track