What are the entry rules for gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 figures in CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) questions 7.6 and 7.7?

Enter gross figures in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), never negative. CDP says a zero suggests you measured and it equals zero. Estimates are acceptable if the approach and data are transparent; for 7.6, CDP says to outline this in the methodological details column.

The rules CDP prints

• Gross, not net: negative numbers are not allowed. Offsets do not come off these figures.
• Putting in zero suggests that you have measured your emissions and that they are equal to zero.
• Emissions estimates are acceptable, as long as the estimation approach (what is estimated and how) is transparent and the data are adequate to support the objectives of the inventory. For 7.6, CDP says to outline this in the methodological details column.
• Units: metric tonnes of CO2e. The figure goes in as a plain number with up to 3 decimal places and no commas.
• Carbon dioxide (CO2) from burning biomass or biofuel does not go in 7.6. CDP says to report it in 7.12.
• Leaving a cell blank: CDP's blank instruction covers the Scope 2 location-based column when 7.3 says you are not reporting it, and Scope 3 categories you did not evaluate. For an unmeasured Scope 1 source, my reading is to explain it in the methodological details and list it as an exclusion in 7.4.1 rather than enter zero.

Scope 2 has extra rules

• The market-based column appears only if you said in 7.3 that you are reporting a market-based figure. If you said in 7.3 that you are not reporting a location-based figure, leave that column blank.
• CDP says methane and nitrous oxide emissions should be included in the emission factor for electricity. CDP asks for CO2e, so if your factor covers CO2 only, add the other gases.
• Methodological details for 7.7 should include at least the measurement approach, emission factors, inputs and assumptions, and your rationale, and a summary of any contractual instruments.

The end date

Only the past-year rows take an end date. In the online system the reporting-year row has no end date cell. For a past year, CDP assumes the start date is exactly 365 days before the end date you enter: 31/12/2023 gives 01/01/2023. The reporting period must be one full year that has already passed. In the April 2025 edition past-year end dates run only up to 19/11/2024, and CDP changes that window each cycle, so check the form you are sent.

Past-year rows

The number of past-year rows depends on how many past years you chose to provide in question 1.4. The linked answer on first responses covers them.

Example entry for financial year 2025-26

• Scope 1: 42,000 litres of diesel x 2.645 kilograms (kg) per litre = 111,090 kg = 111.09 tonnes of CO2. Refrigerant top-ups not measured: say so in the methodological details and list them as an exclusion in 7.4.1.
• Scope 2 location-based: 560,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) x 0.675 kg per kWh = 378,000 kg = 378.0 tonnes of CO2.
• Both factors cover CO2 only. CDP asks for CO2e, so add methane and nitrous oxide if your factor leaves them out, or use a CO2e factor.
• Scope 1 and 2 together: 111.09 + 378.0 = 489.09 tonnes of CO2 before that addition, the figure 7.45 uses later.

Quantities are example numbers. 0.675 is the Central Electricity Authority CO2 factor for financial year 2025-26 (0.710 for 2024-25).

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into monthly records, so the litres, kilowatt hours and months are in one place to copy from. It does not enter your answers in the CDP portal, and refrigerant top-ups need your own service records.

• CDP first response: five past years
• CDP 7.3: market-based Scope 2
• CDP 7.12: biogenic carbon
• Free calculators

Sources: CDP, Full Corporate Questionnaire Module 7 reporting guidance (April 2025 edition)

Last reviewed 2026-11-06. Wording is from CDP guidance for its 2025 corporate questionnaire. Check the version your customer sent. The 365 day arithmetic is CDP's own; the advice on unmeasured Scope 1 sources is my reading.