What energy and GHG data does the RBA Code of Conduct require from an electronics supplier?
The RBA Code of Conduct, version 8.0, requires an absolute company-wide greenhouse gas reduction goal, with energy use, Scope 1 and 2 emissions and your significant Scope 3 categories tracked, documented and publicly reported against it. You must also look for ways to cut energy use and emissions, and an audit checks the records behind each figure.
What the energy and GHG clause asks for
The clause, Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, sits in the Environment section. Version 8.0 took effect on 1 January 2024. It tightened version 7.0, which asked for a reduction goal without the word absolute and covered Scope 1 and 2 only.
- An absolute, company-wide greenhouse gas reduction goal, not only an intensity target.
- Energy consumption tracked, documented and publicly reported.
- All Scope 1 and 2 emissions tracked, documented and publicly reported against the goal.
- Significant Scope 3 categories, chosen through a documented materiality or similar process, tracked and reported too. RBA's published criteria say these must include at least category 1, purchased goods and services.
- Efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy use and emissions.
What an auditor will ask to see
An audit under the RBA Validated Assessment Program samples evidence. For this clause expect requests for the goal and who approved it, a year of electricity bills and fuel invoices, the calculation with factor sources, meter or sub-meter records for large loads, the Scope 3 materiality note, and the public report where the figures appear. A goal with no tracking, or totals with no documents behind them, is a typical finding.
Building the figures for an Indian plant
- Set the boundary: every site under your operational control that the customer's programme covers.
- Scope 1: diesel for DG sets, LPG or PNG for reflow or canteens, and refrigerant top-ups, each from invoices or service records.
- Scope 2: units from each month's electricity bill times the CEA grid factor for the location-based figure; a market-based figure needs certificates or a green tariff contract.
- Scope 3: start with purchased goods from your purchase ledger, then any other category your materiality review marks significant.
- Pick a base year and state the goal as an absolute cut in tonnes by a date, and publish progress each year, for example in a sustainability report, on your website or through CDP.
How it connects to other customer requests
Brands that use the RBA Code often also send CDP supply chain requests or ask for product footprints. Use the same year, boundary and totals in each. If a figure changes after recalculation, update it everywhere and keep the earlier version with the reason.
What Senseible does here
Senseible builds monthly Scope 1 and 2 records from your fuel invoices and electricity bills, each figure traced to its document, and keeps purchase lines in a separate supplier evidence trail for Scope 3. That is the kind of evidence an RBA auditor samples; the audit itself is carried out by an RBA-approved audit firm.
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Sources: Responsible Business Alliance Code of Conduct, version 8.0 (effective 1 January 2024), Section C Environment, Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions (responsiblebusiness.org); figures calculated with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard (category 1, purchased goods and services), GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance
Last reviewed 2026-10-18. Checked 2026-10-18 against RBA Code version 8.0 (effective 1 January 2024). The Code is reviewed periodically; confirm the version your customer cites.