Our buyer says our carbon figure is higher than the database value. What do we say?
Database values are averages for a region or technology, often older and with a different boundary. Your figure comes from your own bills. Show the boundary, factors and period behind yours, and point out which differences are real: fuel type, grid share, yield. A measured figure usually beats an average.
Check first
- Same unit and boundary?
- Same grid factor and year?
- Materials included in one but not the other?
Then explain
If yours is higher for a real reason, such as diesel generator use, say what you plan to do about it. If it is a boundary mismatch, line them up.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads bills, fuel invoices and production records into dated, fingerprinted records, so the figure you send a buyer can be traced to its documents.
Sources: GHG Protocol Product Standard, GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard, CEA CO2 Baseline Database, version 21.0
Last reviewed 2026-10-22.