Requirements and guidelines according to the GHG Protocol
Category 3.2 of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol includes all indirect GHG emissions from the manufacture and supply of capital goods such as machinery, vehicles, buildings or IT infrastructure. According to the GHG Protocol, these emissions must be reported in the year of purchase and may not be amortized over several years.
Important requirements
Source identification: Companies should record all capital goods that cause relevant emissions.
Recording methods: The calculation can be carried out using supplier-specific data, average values or environmental product declarations (EPDs).
Emission factors: Companies should use standardized emission factors from recognized databases such as Exiobase, Ecoinvent or national environmental authorities. NetCero offers both volume-based and expenditure-based factors, allowing companies to quantify emissions using either supplier data or financial-based calculations.
Data granularity: Capturing as much detail as possible by investment category or Supplier improves accuracy.
Reporting period: The recorded purchase should be assigned to a consistent reporting period (e.g. calendar year).
Units: Capital goods should be documented in the units relevant to them (e.g. kg, pieces, square meters).
Special case: Consideration of leased capital goods
According to the GHG Protocol, leased capital goods should be accounted for differently depending on the leasing model. Finance leases can fall under Scope 1 or 2, while operating leases are recorded in Scope 3.
Recording in NetCero
Follow these steps to record emissions from capital goods in NetCero:
Create activity: record all relevant investments as separate activities in the system.
Assign responsibility: Designate a person responsible for data entry and maintenance.
Assign data entry object: Assign each activity to the correct business unit to ensure clear allocation.
Select emission factors: Users standardized emission factors from the NetCero database or external sources.
Define your own emission factors: Add company-specific factors if more accurate data is available from Suppliers.
Document investment data: Record the amount invested directly in the table within the activity - based on invoices or reports.
Automatic Emission Calculation: NetCero calculates the emissions per activity and integrates them into the overall balance.
Examples of emissions from capital goods
Example 1: Purchase of machinery
A company buys a production machine with a CO2e balance of 20 tons, based on an industry-specific average value or supplier-specific data.
Example 2: Fleet expansion with company vehicles
A company purchases 10 new company vehicles. If the emission factor per vehicle is 5 tons of CO2e, the emissions amount to 50 tCO2e.
Example 3: Construction of a new office building
A company constructs an office building with a total construction CO2e balance of 500 tons. The calculation is based on a life cycle approach (LCA) or input-output modeling to correctly capture all upstream emissions. The emissions recorded are: 500 tCO2e
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