When working with electricity emissions in the KEY ESG platform, you might come across reports that indicate the emission factor source is from the International Energy Agency (IEA). However, the specific emission factor is not always directly provided in the report. Here’s a guide to help you understand how to find and back-calculate the emission factor from your data.
Why Isn’t the Emission Factor Shown?
At KEY ESG, electricity emission factors are retrieved through an API integration with Climatiq, which uses IEA data. Unfortunately, due to the nature of this API integration, the emission factor itself is not always displayed in the report. What we do provide are the emissions calculation, the source of the emission factor (IEA), the version used, the calculation method, and the emission category. This is all the information available to us from Climatiq at present.
How to Back-Calculate the Emission Factor
If you need the exact emission factor for your electricity usage, you can calculate it manually using the data in your report. Here’s how:
Locate the relevant data:
Open the Excel report generated by KEY ESG.
Find the total electricity consumption for your organisation, typically recorded in kilowatt-hours (kWh).
Identify the total calculated emissions for that same electricity consumption, usually displayed in tonnes or kilograms of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e).
Perform the calculation:
To find the emission factor, divide the total calculated emissions by the total electricity consumption.
This will give you the emission factor in terms of emissions per unit of electricity (e.g., kg CO₂e per kWh).
Example:
Let’s say your report shows your Milan office used 50,000 kWh of electricity and the total emissions calculated by KEY ESG were 20,000 kg CO₂e.
You can find the emission factor by dividing:
20,000 kg CO₂e / 50,000 kWh = 0.4 kg CO₂e per kWh
This emission factor (0.4 kg CO₂e per kWh) reflects the emissions for your electricity usage, based on the IEA data via the Climatiq API.
Why Would You Need the Emission Factor?
Understanding your emission factor is particularly helpful if you’re calculating savings from renewable energy sources, such as solar panels. For instance, if you want to estimate the CO₂ savings based on the electricity generation capacity of your solar panels, knowing the emission factor allows you to calculate how much CO₂ emissions are avoided by using renewable energy instead of grid electricity.
Conclusion and Next Steps
While the KEY ESG platform does not display the emission factor directly, you can easily calculate it using the data provided in your report. By dividing the total calculated emissions by your electricity consumption, you can derive the emission factor yourself.
If you need further assistance or have additional questions, feel free to reach out to our support team through the in-platform chat or by emailing us at support@keyesg.com.