Requirements and guidelines according to the GHG Protocol
Category 2.2 of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol covers emissions from purchased heat that is used within the operational boundaries of a company. These emissions fall under Scope 2 (indirect emissions) and are caused by the provision of energy by external suppliers.
Important requirements
Source identification: Companies should identify all sites and processes that purchase heat from external suppliers.
Consumption measurement: This can be recorded from invoices, energy management systems or consumption reports.
Emission factors: Companies should use the specific emission factors for the energy source supplied or use national averages.
Site-based and market-based reporting: The GHG Protocol distinguishes between site-based (average grid values) and market-based (contractually secured) emission factors.
Reporting period: The recorded consumption should be assigned to a consistent reporting period (e.g. calendar year).
Units: Purchased heat should be documented in megawatt hours (MWh) or gigajoules (GJ).
Recording in NetCero
Follow these steps to record emissions from purchased heat in NetCero:
Create activity: record all relevant consumption sources (e.g. office buildings, production facilities) as separate activities.
Assign responsibility: Designate a person responsible for data collection and maintenance.
Assign recording object: Assign each activity to the correct business unit to ensure clear allocation.
Select emission factors: Users standardized emission factors from the NetCero database, based on the energy source supplied.
Define your own emission factors: Add company-specific factors if accurate Supplier or contract data is available.
Document heat consumption: Record consumption directly in the table within the activity - based on measurements or invoices.
Automatic emission calculation: NetCero calculates the emissions per activity and integrates them into the overall balance.
Examples of emissions from purchased heat
Example 1: Office building with district heating
A company purchases 1,000 MWh of district heating per year. If the location-based emission factor for district heating is 0.2 kg CO2e/kWh, the emissions amount to
1,000,000 kWh x 0.2 kgCO2e/kWh = 200,000 kgCO2e (200 tCO2e)
Example 2: Production plant with process heat
A factory uses 50,000 GJ of purchased heat per year, which is supplied by an external provider. If the emission factor for this heat is 0.15 kg CO2e/MJ, the emissions are
50,000,000 MJ x 0.15 kgCO2e/MJ = 7,500,000 kgCO2e (7,500 tCO2e)
This article has been machine translated. In case of errors, please contact [email protected].