Source and activity data
You will need to gather the correct activity data to determine which greenhouse gas (GHG) your company will be responsible for reporting. In this context, activity data is associated with a specific activity that generates GHG emissions, for example, natural gas heating, electricity use, air conditioning, business travel, water use, etc.
For each activity, your company must determine the source of the data, e.g., if the data comes from a bill or a meter on site (if neither of them, it’s common to use average data from, e.g., published databases, government statistics, or industry associations).
Once your company has determined the source, you will also have to determine what unit it is expressed in, for example:
Sometimes, a single activity will include more than one GHG type. For example, burning natural gas includes CO2, CH4, and N2O. To smoother this process, companies use emission factors.
What are emission factors?
Emission factors are ”A factor allowing GHG emissions to be estimated from a unit of available activity data (e.g., tons of fuel consumed, tons of product produced) and absolute GHG emissions.”
Governmental institutions, service providers, or academic research organizations often provide emission factors. Worldfavor uses emission factors from DEFRA , EPA, and AIB. For example, DEFRA is the department of His Majesty's Government responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries, and rural communities in the United Kingdom. It is a best practice and open source for emission factors.