Requirements and guidelines according to the GHG Protocol
Category 3.12 of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol covers all indirect GHG emissions that arise when products sold are disposed of, recycled or otherwise treated at the end of their life cycle. This includes emissions from the landfilling, Incineration, Recycling or reuse of products.
Important requirements
Source identification: Companies should record all products that are disposed of or recycled after use.
Recording methods: Calculations can be based on disposal methods, average recycling rates and material compositions.
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 based on the estimated disposal of products sold.
Units: Emissions should be documented per product category in kg CO2e per unit of measure (e.g. kg, pieces).
Recording in NetCero
Follow these steps to record emissions from the end-of-life treatment of sold products in NetCero:
Create activity: record all relevant sold products that are disposed of or recycled 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 recycling companies or disposal service providers.
Document disposal data: Record material composition, recycling rates or disposal methods directly in the table within the activity - based on industry standards or company statistics.
Automatic emission calculation: NetCero calculates the emissions per disposal scenario and integrates them into the overall balance.
Examples of emissions from the end-of-life treatment of sold products
Example 1: Landfilling of electronic products
A company sells 50,000 electrical devices per year with an average weight of 3 kg per device. If 30% of the products end up in Landfills and the emission factor for electronic landfill is 1.2 kg CO2e/kg, the emissions are
50,000 x 3 kg x 30% x 1.2 kgCO2e/kg = 54,000 kgCO2e (54 tCO2e)
Example 2: Incineration of textile products
A company sells 5,000 tons of textile products per year, 40% of which are incinerated. If the emission factor for the Incineration of textiles is 2.0 kg CO2e/kg, the emissions are
5,000 tons x 40% x 2.0 kgCO2e/kg = 4,000 kgCO2e (4 tCO2e)
This article has been machine translated. In case of errors, please contact [email protected].