Requirements and guidelines according to the GHG Protocol
Category 3.6 of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol covers all indirect GHG emissions caused by employee business travel. This includes emissions from air travel, rail travel, rental cars, private vehicles used for business travel and other means of transportation not covered by Scope 1 or Scope 2.
Important requirements
Source identification: Companies should record all transportation-related emissions resulting from business travel.
Recording methods: Calculations can be based either on travel kilometers (e.g. kg CO2e/km) or on travel costs (spend-based).
Emission factors: Use of standardized emission factors from recognized databases such as DEFRA, GLEC Framework or national environmental authorities.
Reporting period: The recorded emissions should be synchronized with the travel bookings and invoices.
Units: Emissions should be documented per means of transportation in kg CO2e/km or kg CO2e per trip.
Recording in NetCero
Follow these steps to record emissions from business trips in NetCero:
Create activity: record all relevant trip types (air, rail, car, bus) as separate activities in the system.
Assign responsibility: Designate a person responsible for data entry and maintenance.
Assign entry object: Assign each activity to the correct company 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 travel providers.
Document travel data: Record the kilometers traveled or travel expenses incurred directly in the table within the activity - based on bookings or invoices.
(optional) Excel upload: upload travel data directly via the Excel template in the created activity
Automatic emission calculation: NetCero calculates the emissions per trip and integrates them into the overall balance.
Examples of emissions from business trips
Example 1: Air travel of an employee
An employee flies from Berlin to New York and back (12,000 km total distance). If the emission factor for air travel is 0.15 kg CO2e/km, the emissions amount to
12,000 km x 0.15 kgCO2e/km = 1,800 kgCO2e (1.8 tCO2e)
Example 2: Business trip by train
An employee travels 500 km by train. If the emission factor for rail travel is 0.02 kgCO2e/km, the emissions amount to
500 km x 0.02 kgCO2e/km = 10 kgCO2e
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