_CO2 balancing

In this case, electricity consumption is not included in your Scope 2, as you do not conclude the electricity contract yourself and therefore have no direct link to electricity procurement. Instead, the consumption falls under Scope 3 (purchased goods and services) of your company. For the client who concludes the electricity contract, the same consumption is recorded as a Scope 2 emission.

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Scope 3.12 records the greenhouse gas emissions from the disposal of products at the end of their life. This takes into account the expected disposal routes - i.e. recycling, landfill, incineration or other processes. Standard emission factors are applied for each route. In practical terms, this means that you estimate or use industry-specific statistics on what percentage of your products are typically recycled and how much flows into other disposal routes. Example: 80% of steel is recycled, 20% goes into other disposal channels. The CO₂ for your products in category 12 are calculated on this basis.

In practice, missing information on the type of fuel is usually replaced by assumptions based on national averages or standardized emission factors. It is important that the data source used and the assumptions made are documented transparently.

It is common practice to query the commuting distance and the mode of transport (e.g. car, public transport, bicycle, on foot) and link them to suitable emission factors. Many databases already take into account average fuel distributions or consumption values per distance, so that reliable results are possible even without specifying the exact fuel type.

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This depends on who is operating the vehicle:

• Operational leasing (transfer of use with own operation): If the vehicle is operated by the company and made available to employees, including fuel, the emissions from fuel consumption fall under Scope 1 (direct emissions).
• Financial leasing or external operation: However, if the vehicle is operated by an external provider (e.g. rental car with fuel, cab, car sharing), the emissions are included in Scope 3.6 Business travel.

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If a company operates its own data center, the electricity consumption is accounted for in Scope 2.
If, on the other hand, external data centers or cloud services are used, the associated electricity consumption is included in Scope 3.1 Purchased goods and services, as the emissions are generated by the service provider.

The disposal method is crucial, as the choice of emission factor depends directly on whether waste is recycled, incinerated or landfilled. In practice, it is often difficult to obtain this information in detail. If precise information is not available, you can work with average values or industry-specific studies - for example with assumptions such as Paper waste is around 90% recycled and 10% incinerated.

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The 5% significance threshold applies to the inclusion of Scope 3 categories as part of the completeness of the greenhouse gas balance. Whether a category must be included in the balance sheet therefore does not depend on the materiality analysis according to CSRD, but solely on this quantitative limit.

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Yes, in the form of a so-called rough spend-based approach: average emission factors per euro of expenditure are applied to total sales or purchasing volumes. This provides initial orientation values - especially when data is incomplete.

Important: The informative value is limited because there is no differentiation between CO₂ and CO₂ product groups. Our recommendation: Introduce at least a rough classification of product groups in order to identify relevant emission hotspots and derive targeted measures.

There is currently no uniformly prescribed calculation methodology, e.g. for vehicle fleet emissions. However, it is expected that better data bases, standardization (GHG Protocol, ESRS) and technological development will lead to the establishment of more uniform methods in the coming years. Until then, the following applies: transparency of the method is crucial, and the more precise the data, the better the control effect.

For IT services such as webinars or Office365, usage data (e.g. number of users, data volume, runtime) can be recorded and multiplied by suitable emission factors. There are factors for data transmission, cloud server operation or video conferencing, for example. Office365 usually runs.usually runs under Scope 3, own servers possibly under Scope 2 (power consumption).

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Yes - this is part of established practice under the GHG Protocol, particularly in Scope 3. In reality, primary data is not available for all supply chains or activities. Therefore, many companies combine expenditure-based and activity-based approaches to create an emissions inventory that is as complete and robust as possible.

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Different recording methods mean that the corporate carbon footprint (CCF) is only comparable between companies to a limited extent - especially in Scope 3. Nevertheless, more detailed, activity-based data enables significantly better internal management, for example for reduction targets or in communication with stakeholders.

Transparency about the method used is key here.

No - according to CSRD and ESRS E1, the greenhouse gas inventory must be complete and include all relevant emissions, including Scope 3. The double materiality analysis does not serve to exclude categories in advance, but helps to focus on material emission sources and control the depth of data collection and reporting.

Scope 3 categories with little influence must also be taken into account - at least on an estimated basis (e.g. using the spend-based method) in order to ensure completeness, transparency and comparability. Only if a category is demonstrably irrelevant can it be excluded with justification. Potentially CO₂ areas in particular should never be omitted without good reason.

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If the company itself is not the contractual partner for the energy supply - e.g. electricity or heat is purchased from the landlord via the utility bill - these emissions are included in Scope 3.8.

Only if the company concludes the energy contract itself does the energy consumption fall under Scope 2.

The Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF) maps the greenhouse gas emissions of the entire company - across all activities, locations and processes. The Product Carbon Footprint (PCF), on the other hand, focuses on the emissions of an individual product over its entire life cycle.

Both perspectives are interlinked, but are based on different system boundaries and questions. The PCF can reflect parts of the CCF (e.g. material consumption, transportation), but the CCF also covers company-wide emissions that are not included in any specific product - for example from administration, business travel or IT infrastructure. Therefore, the sum of all PCFs does not automatically result in the CCF.

The CCF is mandatory under ESRS E1, for example, while the PCF is not. However, a central database (e.g. material, energy, logistics data) that can be used for both CCF and PCF is ideal.

1. Scope 1 emissions (Direct emissions - Consumed): Direct emissions from sources that a company owns or controls, such as fuel burned in company vehicles and heating oil used in company-owned facilities.
2. Scope 2 emissions (Indirect emissions - Purchased): Indirect emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heating and cooling. This energy is generated outside the company, so the emissions are indirect and cannot be controlled directly by the company.
3. Scope 3 emissions (Indirect emissions - Utilized): All other indirect emissions that occur in a company's value chain, including upstream and downstream activities. Examples include energy consumption for the production of materials supplied to the company and emissions at the end of the product life cycle.
4. Complexity of calculating emissions: Scope 3 emissions are the most difficult to measure as they include activities that are not directly controlled by the company. They usually form the largest part of a company's emissions, unless it owns significant physical assets.
5. Practical example: A T-shirt manufacturer would include direct emissions from energy consumption in its own factories (Scope 1 and 2). Scope 3 would include upstream emissions such as energy for cotton processing and transportation of raw materials and downstream emissions such as the decomposition of T-shirts in landfills.

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1. Differences between CO2 neutrality and net zero: Although often used interchangeably, CO2 neutrality and net zero differ significantly. Both concepts are concerned with offsetting emissions, but differ in their approaches and requirements.‍
2. Explanation of CO2 neutrality: An organization can achieve CO2 neutrality by measuring its emissions and purchasing offsets to compensate for them. This approach does not require an actual reduction in the organization's own emissions, but helps to achieve an immediate environmental impact.‍
3. Requirements for net zero: Net zero, regulated by the Science-Based Targets Institute, requires significant emissions reductions in all areas (Scope 1, 2 and 3) by 90% without relying on offsets. The focus is on tangible measures such as the use of renewable energies, energy efficiency projects and electrification.‍
4. Alignment with global warming targets: To achieve net zero, an organization must set long- and short-term targets that are aligned with the global 1.5-degree warming scenario. This alignment ensures that the organization's goals contribute to the broader effort to maintain a habitable planet.‍
5. Verification and authenticity: Net zero requires external verification of targets and progress as it follows a recognized standard. This is important to avoid accusations of greenwashing and to ensure that climate targets are meaningful and make a sustainable contribution to environmental protection.

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