We paid for fuel in advance. Which year do the emissions go in?
Count fuel in the year you burn it, not the year you pay. An advance is a payment, not consumption. Use delivery dates and your stock register to place each lot, and carry unburned stock into the next year.
The rule
The GHG Protocol counts emissions when combustion happens. Payment timing never moves emissions between years.
What to keep
- The advance receipt or contract.
- Each delivery challan with its date and quantity.
- A year-end stock count of fuel still in the tank.
Splitting it
- Paid in March for 12,000 L, delivered April to September
- Opening stock 0, closing stock 1,500 L
- Burned in the year: 10,500 L x 2.68 kg = 28,140 kg CO2
What Senseible does here
Senseible keeps each figure tied to its invoice, factor and method version, so a verifier can trace any number back to the document it came from.
Sources: GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2: Energy
Last reviewed 2026-10-22.