# How do I calculate emissions from a freight invoice or lorry receipt?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/how-to-calculate-emissions-from-a-freight-bill

Take the actual weight carried and the distance travelled from the lorry receipt, freight bill or e-way bill, multiply them to get tonne-kilometres, then multiply by a well-to-wheel emission factor for that transport mode. Use actual weight, not charged weight, and record where each number came from.

## Where each input sits on Indian paperwork

- Weight: the lorry receipt (LR, bilty or consignment note) shows actual weight and often a separate charged weight. Use actual weight. Charged weight can be a minimum or a volumetric figure.
- Distance: the LR shows from and to. The e-way bill for the same consignment records the approximate distance in km, which is the best printed source. If neither has it, use a road distance between the two pincodes and note the tool used.
- Mode and vehicle: the LR or e-way bill gives the vehicle number and mode (road, rail, air, ship). Vehicle size helps choose a truck factor.
- The freight invoice itself: SAC 9965 (goods transport) or 9968 (courier), the amount and GST. The amount alone is not activity data.

## The formula

Emissions (kg CO2e) = weight (tonnes) x distance (km) x emission factor (kg CO2e per tonne-km).

ISO 14083 and the GLEC Framework ask for well-to-wheel factors, which include fuel production as well as burning it. Take the factor from the GLEC default tables, your carrier's own data, or a sourced national figure, and write the source and edition next to the result.

## Edge cases

- Part load: if your goods shared the truck, weight x distance already allocates by mass. Do not use the full truck's fuel.
- Full truckload with fuel data: if the carrier gives litres of diesel for your trip, fuel x factor is more accurate than tonne-km.
- Multi-leg shipments: calculate each leg (truck to port, ship, truck) with its own mode and distance, then add.
- Empty return trips: GLEC default factors already assume typical empty running. Do not add them again.

## Which scope it goes in

Freight you pay a transporter for is Scope 3: Category 4 for inbound goods and outbound goods where you pay for the transport, Category 9 where the buyer pays. Your own trucks burning your own diesel are Scope 1, calculated from fuel slips instead.

## Worked example: one truck consignment

- LR actual weight: 12 t (charged weight 15 t, ignored)
- E-way bill approximate distance: 1,650 km
- Activity: 12 x 1,650 = 19,800 tonne-km
- Factor (illustrative): 0.10 kg CO2e per tonne-km, well-to-wheel
- 19,800 x 0.10 = 1,980 kg CO2e, about 2.0 tonnes

The 0.10 factor is illustrative only. Replace it with a sourced road freight factor for the vehicle class, from the GLEC Framework or your carrier.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads freight invoices and lorry receipts and classifies transport lines (SAC 9965, 9967 or 9968) as Scope 3 Category 4. A line gets a figure only when the weight, distance and mode are printed and an approved factor exists for that mode; otherwise it shows Needs Data instead of guessing from the amount.

- [GLEC Framework explained](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/glec-framework-explained-msme-freight-emissions)
- [Logistics emissions calculator](https://senseible.earth/calculators/logistics-emissions)
- [Freight bill with no weight or distance](https://senseible.earth/answers/freight-bill-has-no-weight-or-distance)
- [Is freight Category 4 or 9?](https://senseible.earth/answers/is-freight-scope-3-category-4-or-9)

Sources: [Smart Freight Centre, GLEC Framework v3 (2023)](https://www.smartfreightcentre.org/en/our-programs/emissions-accounting/global-logistics-emissions-council/), [ISO 14083:2023, GHG emissions arising from transport chain operations (iso.org)](https://www.iso.org), [GHG Protocol Technical Guidance for Calculating Scope 3 Emissions (2013), Category 4](https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-value-chain-scope-3-standard)

Last reviewed 2026-10-15.