# Which carbon intensity metric should my business use: per tonne of product, per rupee of revenue or per employee?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/which-carbon-intensity-metric-to-use

Manufacturers should lead with emissions per tonne (or unit) of product, because it moves only when real emissions or output change. Report per rupee of revenue when BRSR or a lender asks for it. Use per employee only for offices and services, where people are the main driver of energy use.

## Per unit of product

Tonnes CO2e per tonne of output, per piece or per square metre tracks efficiency directly. It is the basis of India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme targets for obligated sectors and is what most buyers compare. Its weak point is a mixed product range: a factory making simple and complex products should use one common unit or report by product line.

## Per rupee of revenue

BRSR Core asks listed companies for Scope 1 and 2 emissions per rupee of turnover, also adjusted for purchasing power parity, and allows a physical output intensity too. Revenue intensity is easy to compare across companies, but price changes move it. A price rise lowers intensity even if emissions stay the same.

## Per employee

Useful for IT, services and offices, where electricity, travel and commuting scale with staff. For a factory it says little, because automation or contract labour can change the denominator without changing emissions.

## Rules for any metric

- Report absolute emissions alongside any ratio. The GHG Protocol treats ratios as additional indicators, not a replacement.
- State the numerator: which scopes, and the period.
- Keep the denominator definition fixed across years, or restate past years when it changes.
- For revenue intensity, note big price or currency effects in the year.

## Worked example: one factory, three metrics

- Scope 1 and 2: 500 t CO2e; output 2,000 t; revenue Rs 40 crore; 80 employees
- Per tonne of product: 500 / 2,000 = 0.25 t CO2e per tonne
- Per crore of revenue: 500 / 40 = 12.5 t CO2e per Rs crore
- Per employee: 500 / 80 = 6.25 t CO2e
- Prices rise 10 percent, nothing else changes: revenue intensity falls to 500 / 44 = 11.4, while per tonne stays 0.25

## What Senseible does here

Senseible gives Scope 1 and 2 totals from your invoices and bills; you supply the output, revenue or headcount denominator. It does not choose the denominator or check your production and turnover figures.

- [BRSR intensity per rupee and PPP](https://senseible.earth/answers/brsr-emission-intensity-per-rupee-ppp)
- [India CCTS targets](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/india-carbon-credit-trading-scheme-targets)
- [Specific energy consumption](https://senseible.earth/answers/how-to-calculate-specific-energy-consumption)

Sources: [GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, Chapter 9 (ratio indicators)](https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard), [SEBI BRSR Core circular (July 2023)](https://www.sebi.gov.in/sebi_data/attachdocs/jul-2023/1689087475880.pdf)

Last reviewed 2026-10-15.