Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions double counting occurs when GHG emissions are counted more than once in a GHG Inventory.
The dual monetary and activity-based approach, as well as the multiplicity of data sources used when conducting a GHG inventory (primary and secondary data, emission factors, etc.), can lead to certain emissions being counted twice.
Therefore it's crucial to be attentive to this aspect for all modules found under the Data - Physical Overview tab.
💡 Example of potential double-counting
In my "Building Module" (activity-based module), I've indicated that the company has consumed 10 MWh of electricity over a given period. This figure is multiplied by the carbon intensity of the electricity grid (activity-based approach).
My company's accounting file (monetary-based module) includes an invoice for the purchase of the same 10 MWh of electricity I've logged in my "Building Module". This transaction is categorized as an "Electricity" expense, and the amount is multiplied by the corresponding monetary emissions (monetary approach).
❗ GHG emissions induced by the consumption of these 10 MWh of electricity appear twice in my Greenly platform. It is important to follow the steps below so that they are not counted twice in your final report.
How to avoid double counting?
Whenever the data is available for a given source of GHG emissions, the activity approach is chosen over the monetary approach.
To avoid double counting, expenses corresponding to activities that have been included on a different module in the platform must marked as "Activity Data Duplicate".
Select the expenses and click on the "Activity Data Duplicate Handler" section to flag the transactions as "Activity Data Duplicate".
By doing so, the "Status" column of the transaction will be updated to show that it is an "Activity Data Duplicate" and its emissions will be put to 0 while retaining the information of the original emission category.
🌟 Helpful Tips
In case you made a mistake, you can unflag the transactions by doing the exact same process. Only the final button will change:
You can easily find the transactions marked as "Activity Data Duplicate" via the filter in the Categorization Module:
💡 Example to follow
In my "Building Module" (activity-based module), I've indicated that the company has consumed 10 MWh of electricity over a given period. This figure is multiplied by the carbon intensity of the electricity grid (activity-based approach).
My company's accounting file (monetary-based module) includes an invoice for the purchase of the same 10 MWh of electricity I've logged in my "Building Module". This transaction is flagged as an "Activity Data Duplicate" expense. Therefore, its emissions are put to 0 kgCO2e.
👏 GHG emissions induced by the consumption of these 10 MWh of electricity are therefore only counted once, using the activity-based approach.