My Scope 2 base year only has a location-based figure: what does the Greenhouse Gas Protocol say to add?

The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol says add the other method if you can. A location-only base year gets a market-based total where contract or residual mix data exist for that year; if not, state that location data is a proxy. A market-only base year needs instruments that met the quality criteria.

If the base year has only a location-based total

• Work out a market-based total as well, if contractual information or residual mix totals exist for that year.
• If they do not, say that the location-based result is used as a proxy because a market-based result cannot be calculated.

If the base year has only a market-based total

• Check that the contractual instruments used met the Scope 2 Quality Criteria.
• If they did not, disclose that and show a location-based total in place of the market-based one.
• Also calculate a location-based total for the base year, using emission factors for that year.

Always say

• Which year is the base year and which method it used.
• Whether location-based data stands in for a market-based figure.
• What caused any recalculation: acquisitions, outsourcing, boundary or method changes.

Why now

The guide itself says that the requirement to report Scope 2 two ways is a change that could trigger a base-year recalculation. It lists India among markets that provide contractual instruments, so an Indian company with certificates or green tariffs is in scope. A company that sets a goal shall also say which method it uses for goal and progress, including for the base year.

Factory, base year 2019-20 against 2025-26

• Base year: 1,200,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) x 0.82 = 984 tonnes (location-based). No certificates then, so the market-based figure is the same 984, stated as a proxy
• 2025-26: 1,000,000 kWh x 0.675 = 675 tonnes (location-based)
• Market-based: 400,000 kWh covered by certificates at zero, and 600,000 x 0.675 = 405 tonnes, using the grid factor in place of a residual mix
• Change from base year: location-based down 31.4%, market-based down 58.8%

The 0.82 is an example, not a Central Electricity Authority (CEA) figure for that year. 0.675 is the CEA financial year 2025-26 grid factor, an estimate.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads electricity bills into monthly kWh and carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) at the grid factor for the bill's year, so a base year and today sit in one record. Certificate retirement statements are yours to keep beside it.

• Carbon calculators
• Falling grid factor and reduction targets
• Residual mix factor for India
• Buyer asks for location and market-based Scope 2

Sources: GHG Protocol, Scope 2 Guidance (2015), CEA, CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector

Last reviewed 2026-11-04. The GHG Protocol is revising its Scope 2 rules. Check ghgprotocol.org for the current text before you file.