Requirements and guidelines according to the GHG Protocol
Category 3.10 of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol includes all indirect GHG emissions that arise when customers further process products sold before they are transferred to their final form of use. These emissions are downstream emissions and are not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 of the reporting company.
Key requirements
Source identification: Companies should record all products that are further processed by customers, e.g. semi-finished products or components for end products.
Recording methods: Calculations can be based on energy consumption for further processing or using industry-specific benchmarks.
Emission factors: Use of standardized emission factors from recognized databases such as IPCC, Ecoinvent or national environmental authorities.
Reporting period: Recorded emissions should be synchronized with sales and production data.
Units: Emissions should be documented per product category in kg CO2e per unit of quantity (e.g. per kg, piece, liter).
Recording in NetCero
Follow these steps to record emissions from the further processing of sold products in NetCero:
Create activity: record all relevant sold products that are further processed 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 customers or industry organizations.
Document processing data: Record processed quantities or energy consumption directly in the table within the activity - based on customer information or industry statistics.
Automatic emission calculation: NetCero calculates the emissions per processed product and integrates them into the overall balance.
Examples of emissions from the further processing of products sold
Example 1: Metal components for car manufacturers
A company sells 5,000 tons of metal components to car manufacturers every year. If the average energy consumption for further processing is 3,000 kWh per tonne and the emission factor for electricity is 0.4 kg CO2e/kWh, the emissions amount to
5,000 tons x 3,000 kWh x 0.4 kgCO2e/kWh = 6,000,000 kgCO2e (6,000 tCO2e)
Example 2: Plastic granulate for the packaging industry
A company sells 2,000 tons of plastic granulate to packaging manufacturers. If the emission factor for processing plastic is 1.5 kg CO2e/kg, the emissions amount to
2,000,000 kg x 1.5 kgCO2e/kg = 3,000,000 kgCO2e (3,000 tCO2e)
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