Carbon Footprint Calculator
Measure and understand the environmental footprint of your organization with this easy-to-use calculator, using DEFRA standards.
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Methodology
DEFRA Standards and Carbon Accounting
This calculator uses the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) greenhouse gas conversion factors for company reporting. These factors are updated annually and provide a consistent approach to emissions calculations.
Emissions Scopes
Our calculator covers:
- Scope 1 (Direct Emissions): From sources owned or controlled by your organization, such as fuel consumption in company vehicles, natural gas for heating, and refrigerant leakage.
- Scope 2 (Indirect Emissions): From purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling consumed by your organization.
Calculation Methodology
For each emission source, the calculation follows the formula:
CO₂e = Activity Data × Emission Factor
Where:
- Activity Data: The quantity of activity (e.g., kWh of electricity, liters of fuel)
- Emission Factor: The DEFRA conversion factor for that specific activity
- CO₂e: Carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (in kg)
The calculator accounts for all major greenhouse gases, not just carbon dioxide (CO₂). These include:
- Methane (CH₄) - Approximately 28-36 times more potent than CO₂ over a 100-year period. Methane comes primarily from livestock, waste decomposition, and natural gas systems.
- Nitrous Oxide (N₂O) - About 265-298 times more powerful than CO₂. Common sources include agricultural fertilizers, industrial processes, and fuel combustion.
- Fluorinated gases - Up to thousands of times more potent than CO₂, used in refrigeration and air conditioning.
All these gases are converted to CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalent) using their Global Warming Potential (GWP) values, providing a standardized way to measure and compare emissions from different sources.
Understanding Organizational Carbon Footprint
An organizational carbon footprint represents the total greenhouse gas emissions generated directly and indirectly by all activities across an organization. This comprehensive view includes emissions from operations, energy use, supply chain, and even how products are used after they leave your organization.
Measuring your entire organizational footprint provides a more complete picture of your environmental impact than looking at individual facilities or processes alone. It helps identify hotspots, prioritize reduction efforts, and track progress over time.
ISO 14064-1 Methodology
The ISO 14064-1 standard provides a globally recognized framework for quantifying and reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the organizational level. It enables organizations to identify their emissions sources, improve transparency, and support emissions reduction strategies through consistent and credible accounting practices.
For reporting purposes, the ISO framework divides GHG emissions into three categories (Scopes 1, 2, and 3), which are further broken down into five key points across Upstream, Organizational, and Downstream Activities:
1. Direct Emissions and Removals – Scope 1
These are direct GHG emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by the organization.
Includes:
- Process emissions (e.g., chemical processes)
- Stationary combustion and fugitive emissions (e.g., boilers, HVAC leaks)
- Emissions from the owned fleet
These are the most controllable emissions for an organization and must be measured directly wherever possible.
2. Indirect Emissions from Imported Energy – Scope 2
These are indirect emissions resulting from the generation of electricity, heating, or cooling that the organization purchases and consumes.
Includes:
- Electricity
- Imported steam, heat, or cooling
These are calculated based on utility data and national/international emissions factors.
3. Indirect Emissions from Transportation – Scope 3
These are indirect emissions from transport-related activities not owned or controlled by the reporting organization.
Includes:
- Upstream: Transport of goods, business trips, commuting, and remote work
- Downstream: Transport of sold products after they leave the organization
These require coordination with logistics partners, travel data, and often involve estimation methodologies.
4. Indirect Emissions from Products Used by an Organization – Scope 3 (Upstream)
These emissions stem from goods and services the organization uses in its operations.
Includes:
- Purchased goods and capital goods
- Waste disposal
- Rented equipment
- Production of electricity prior to purchase (pre-combustion phase)
This scope encourages scrutiny of supply chain impacts and vendor practices.
5. Indirect Emissions from the Use of Products by Others – Scope 3 (Downstream)
These emissions occur after a product leaves the organization, including its use, end-of-life treatment, and impact of affiliated businesses.
Includes:
- Product usage by customers
- Franchises and investments
- Rented equipment and disposal of products
These can be complex to estimate but are essential for a full lifecycle analysis.
The calculator currently focuses on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, providing a solid foundation for organizational carbon accounting. Future versions will expand to include more Scope 3 categories for a more comprehensive footprint analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should my organization measure carbon emissions?
Understanding your carbon footprint is the first step toward sustainability. It helps identify areas for improvement, set reduction targets, meet regulatory requirements, and demonstrate environmental responsibility to stakeholders.
What is the difference between Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions?
Scope 1 covers direct emissions from owned sources. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heat, and cooling. Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions in a company's value chain (not included in the current calculator version).
How complete are the emissions factors from this calculator?
The calculator currently includes emission factors for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, as these tend to be easieast to track for an organization of small to medium size. To keep it concise, at the moment only the most relevant factors and units of measurement from the DEFRA database where included.
How accurate is this calculator?
The calculator uses official DEFRA conversion factors, which are widely recognized for corporate emissions reporting. The accuracy depends on the quality of your input data. For most organizations, this provides a good approximation of emissions, suitable for internal decision-making and sustainability reporting.
Is this calculator hosted in a backend?
No, the process occurs entirely in the frontend. This project inteds to showcase the potential for automating the core of carbon accouting tasks in a way that is clear and easy to use. The calculator is built using React and Next.js, and all calculations are performed in the browser.
Will more features be added in the future?
The calculator is a work in progress. Future updates may include the option to export results into PDF or Excel, and potentially the addition of Scope 3 emissions categories. Stay tuned for updates!