The French regulatory GHG assessment methodology and guidelines is called "Bilan d'Emissions de Gaz à Effet de Serre (BEGES)". The current version is the fifth one (BEGES v5). It is the French equivalent of the GHG Protocol.
Category 4 corresponds to indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to the purchase of products (goods and services).
Emissions allocated to this category are included in the broader and more common Scope 3 classification. Scope 3 emissions correspond to non-energy related indirect emissions that are induced by upstream and downstream operations and activities outside the organisational boundary of the legal entity.
This category is divided into 5 sub-categories.
Sub-category 4.1 - Purchases of goods
Emissions related to this sub-category are caused by extraction, production and processing of products, consumables and raw materials that are purchased by the organisation.
Emissions related to the purchase of fixed assets are not included in this sub-category, but in sub-category 4.2 "Capital goods".
Purchases of products
Product-related emissions are estimated via a monetary approach, using the carbon intensity of the supplier or of the sector of activity, or by using product-specific monetary emission factors.
Accuracy can be improved by implementing an activity-based approach, using other metrics and flows (quantity, tons, litres, etc. of purchased products, raw materials used to manufacture the product, energy used in the industrial process, life cycle assessment, etc.).
Consumable purchases
Emissions related to consumable purchases are automatically computed via a monetary approach: monetary ratios of food purchases, paper, plastic, metals, etc. are included in Greenly's database.
Accuracy can be improved via an activity-based approach (by specifying the quantities consumed). An activity-based approach will be implemented in priority for the most important sources of GHG emissions.
Once the emissions have been computed via an activity-based approach, automation is ensured by estimating a consumable-specific monetary emissions factor.
Raw material purchases
Emissions related to the production of raw materials are computed using Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). These emissions are then divided by the price of the raw material, a monetary emission factor is estimated and calculations can be automated.
However, for the purchase of raw material, it is preferable to use an activity-based approach and multiply physical quantities and flows (kg/lbs, liter/gallon, etc.) by activity EFs.
Greenly plans to connect to business management software products via APIs (e.g. SAP) to automatically collect the most up-to date activity-based data.
Sub-category 4.2 - Capital goods
Emissions related to this sub-category are caused by the manufacturing of the company's fixed assets: buildings and other infrastructures, vehicles, machinery, IT equipment, furniture, etc.
Unliked the GHG Protocol, these emissions are amortized over the life of the asset. For example: if, on average, the construction of a computer emits 300 kgCO2e and if one assumes a lifespan of 3 years, accounted emissions are of 100 kgCO2e per year for three years.
Building
Construction
Emissions related to the construction of a building are estimated by using an average kgCO2e per square meter (or square foot) ratio for each building type (office, housing, data centre, warehouse, etc.). These ratios are estimated via emission factors that are provided by public agencies and bodies. Total emissions are then amortized over 50 years.Renovation
Renovation-related emissions are amortized over 10 years, and are accounted for using a monetary approach. A more in-depth study can be carried out to gain in accuracy (e.g. component analysis).
IT equipment
IT-related emissions are computed via an activity-based approach using data provided by the organisation (IT equipment inventory). Average emission factors by type of equipment, the latest life cycle assessments published by manufacturers (Apple, Dell, Lenovo, Boavizta), etc. are included in Greenly's database. Therefore, a high level of accuracy can be obtained for IT equipment GHG emissions.Vehicle fleet
Emissions related to the manufacturing of vehicles are computed based on the number and type of vehicles used.
Accuracy can be improved when manufacturers publish life cycle assessments of their vehicles.Furniture
For most cases, furniture-related GHG emissions account for a very small part of the organisation's total emissions. Therefore, to estimate these emissions, a kgCO2e per employee ratio is used.
Accuracy can be improved by collecting and using additional data.
Sub-category 4.3 - Waste management
Emissions related to this sub-category are caused by the transport, treatment and disposal of waste (incineration, compost, landfill, recycling, etc.) generated by activities and operations within the organisational perimeter of the legal entity.
Waste-related emissions are accounted for in different ways. In most cases, these GHG emissions represent a very small part of the organisation's total emissions. Therefore, a kgCO2e per employee ratio is used. Accuracy can be improved by collecting further data: the weight and type of waste generated by the company.
Emissions related to the treatment and disposal of industrial and construction waste are systematically computed by collecting data on the type and weight of waste generated.
Sub-category 4.4 - Upstream leased assets
These emissions are related to assets that are leased by third parties (who own them) to the organisation (vehicles, machinery, buildings, etc.).
The method used to compute these emissions is the same as for sub-category 4.2 "Capital goods".
Sub-category 4.5 - Purchases of services
Emissions related to this sub-category are induced by the purchase of services (banking, advertising, consulting, technical studies, digital services, etc.).
Purchases of services
As activity-based data resulting from activities and operations of service companies are very diverse, monetary emission factors are used to estimate total emissions related to these activities. Emissions are computed by multiplying the amounts spent by a monetary emission factor (in kgCO2e/€).
These emission factors are computed using two methods:Carbon intensity of the service provider. When the service provider report and disclose their GHG emissions publicly or share data directly with Greenly (via Greenly Corporate Impact or Supplier Engagement), total emissions are divided by the company's turnover and a monetary ratio is computed.
Carbon intensity of a business sector. For companies that do not publish a GHG assessment, the carbon intensity of the business sector is used instead. This method is widely used for MSMEs, who do not often share information on their environmental impact. The data used comes from studies carried out by Greenly or from public databases. The accuracy can then be improved by engaging service providers in the process or by using other metrics (e.g. number of FTE).
Focus on digital services
Total GHG emissions induced by digital services are estimated via a monetary approach, using either the carbon intensity of the service provider or the one of the sector (data centre, IT licence, SaaS, video conferencing, web advertising, etc.).
Accuracy can be improved by carrying out an activity-based study. Greenly has become a true expert in this field and can compute the carbon impact of digital products, particularly the one of data centres, with great accuracy. Indeed, a specific study can be done using the type of storage, cloud computing and processing power, the amount of data transfers, etc. and the country where resources and data centres are located.