How often should I update the emissions figures I give a buyer: every year, every order or every batch?

Question

Senseible · Accepted Answer

Update company Scope 1 and 2 once a year, for a full twelve months. Update a product footprint when something significant changes, such as a new main supplier, process or power source, and otherwise refresh it with each year's data. Figures per order or per batch are rarely worth producing unless the buyer pays for them. The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard is built on annual inventories compared against a base year, and buyer questionnaires such as CDP and EcoVadis come once a year. Track monthly to manage your energy, but send the buyer a full twelve-month figure so it can be compared year on year. The GHG Protocol Product Standard ties updates to significant changes in the product's life cycle rather than to a calendar. Set your own significance threshold in your method note and apply it consistently. A new main material supplier, or a change in recycled content. A process change, such as a new furnace or a switch from diesel to PNG. A change in electricity source: rooftop solar, green tariff, open access. A new production site, or an error found in the old calculation. The PACT data model from WBCSD carries a reference period and a validity period with each product footprint, so a buyer knows which year the data describes and until when to rely on it. Fill both honestly. Check the current PACT Technical Specifications for any default period before relying on one. Batch figures need energy metering and material tracing for each batch, which few MSMEs have. A per-order figure is usually the product footprint multiplied by quantity, not new data. If a buyer asks per shipment, send footprint x quantity and name the period the footprint is based on. Indian companies work April to March, while many EU buyers ask for the calendar year. Monthly records let you add up January to December. Always say which twelve months you used.

How often should I update the emissions figures I give a buyer: every year, every order or every batch?

Company figures: once a year

Product footprints: on significant change

Validity periods in data exchange

Per order or per batch

Matching the buyer's year

Worked example: a calendar-year figure from financial-year records

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