This is the most common method: companies collect data on their operations and activities and then multiply these with emission factors to estimate the amount of carbon emissions that these operations and activities are releasing into the atmosphere.

Activity data * emission factor = CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions

As an example:

Activity data is a quantitative measure of a level of activity. On the Cozero platform, companies need to enter their own activity data, depending on which activity data and units are available to them. Cozero is taking care of doing the necessary unit conversions and applying the right emission factor to calculate emissions.

An emission factor is a coefficient which allows the conversion of activity data into GHG emissions. It is the average emission rate of a given source, relative to units of activity or process/processes (e.g., kg CO2e emitted per liter of fuel consumed, kg CO2e emitted per kilometer traveled, etc.).

To calculate GHG emissions from company data, Cozero also applies emission factors from its extensive database. The user can also add their own emission factors when entering data into Log (e.g. when the company has supplier-specific data to improve accuracy and relevance).

This approach refers to when a company is using physical measuring devices and equipment to directly quantify carbon emissions. Direct measurement should be more accurate than calculating emissions with emission factors and activity data, however not all companies can apply this method.

On Cozero, the user can enter a CO2 value directly when direct measurement has been undertaken.

Please get in touch with our team if you require additional support in the calculation of emissions.