Calculation Foundation in Continia Sustainability
In Continia Sustainability, Environmental Journals serve as the central repository for importing or registering data and calculating initial emissions. This article outlines how data is processed and aligned with emission factors to determine the final emissions.
The Facility Journal
The Facility Journal facilitates the reporting of emissions generated by a company's operations in owned, leased, or franchised facilities. Emissions are categorized and allocated based on the facility's ownership structure, ensuring accurate reporting across different types of operational control.
Note
To achieve dual reporting, both location-based and market-based emission factors must be defined in the Electricity Emission Type card. The two EFs must have the same unit type; either energy purchased or currency.
| Activity | Formula |
|---|---|
| Purchased energy | Energy x EF1 |
Currency x EF 1 | |
| Stationary combustion | Fuel x EF |
Currency x EF | |
| Fugitive Emissions | Gas x EF |
Currency x EF | |
| Industrial Processes | Gas or Fume x EF |
- Includes electricity, steam, cooling, heating.
The Vehicle Journal
The Vehicle Journal is intended for recording data related to the use of vehicles owned or leased by the company or as part of a franchise. Fleet activities should not be reported using spend-based calculations, as this method cannot accommodate the dual reporting requirements for Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs). As a result, the system does not allow reporting these activities using currency amounts.
| Activity | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel vehicles | Fuel x EF | - |
Distance x Fuel efficiency x EF | When specified, Fuel efficiency allows the system to use distance data to convert it into fuel volume, enabling more accurate carbon accounting. | |
Distance x EF | - | |
| Electric vehicles | Electricity x EF | - |
Distance x kWh/km efficiency factor x EF | For electric vehicles, when reporting distance-based data, the user must specify the kWh/km efficiency. This allows the system to calculate the kWh consumed and determine electricity emissions using both location-based and market-based approaches. | |
| Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles | Fuel x EF | - |
Electricity x EF | - | |
(Distance x Utility Factor x kWh/km efficiency factor x Electricity EF) + (Distance x (1-Utility Factor) x Fuel EF) | When reporting distance for a plug-in hybrid vehicle, it is essential to determine which portion of the travel was done using the thermal engine (fuel) and which using the electric engine. To address this, the solution incorporates an Utility Factor, defined both in the general setup and in the environmental account card. This factor represents the portion (%) of the travel completed with the electric engine over the total distance. To calculate emissions for fuel combustion and electricity consumption, the system follows these steps:
This process ensures accurate emissions reporting for both fuel and electricity consumption in plug-in hybrid vehicles. |
The Goods Journal
The Goods Journal enables the registration of all products, materials, goods, and services purchased by the company. It is essential to specify whether each expense is a capital or operational expense in the environmental account, as this determines the allocation of emissions to the appropriate Scope 3 categories. If this information is not provided, the system will block the posting and display an error message.
| Activity | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Purchased Goods and Services | Quantity x EF | Quantity can be expressed in terms of mass (weight), volume, or number of items, depending on the units specified by the defined emission factor. |
Currency x EF | Always verify whether the emission factors are based on prices that exclude or include VAT. | |
| Capital Goods | Quantity x EF | Quantity can be expressed in terms of mass (weight), volume, or number of items, depending on the units specified by the defined emission factor. |
Currency x EF | Always verify whether the emission factors are based on prices that exclude or include VAT. |
The Transport Journal
In the Transport Journal, users record transportation activities to and from the company. It's important to indicate whether the activity is upstream or downstream in the environmental account card or journal, as this determines how emissions are categorized.
| Activity | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Upstream and downstream transport and distribution | Distance x EF | - |
Distance x Laden code x EF | Laden defines the level of load or cargo carried by the vehicle. Some emission factor sets provide transport emission factors that are differentiated by the level of laden. | |
Currency x EF | - |
The Waste Journal
The Waste Journal records data on waste generated during company operations. It is essential to report the treatment or disposal method in the environmental account card or journal, as emissions are directly linked to this information.
Note
According to the GHG Protocol, you may also report the distance traveled by the waste management company from your facility to the treatment or disposal site. However, this feature is not currently supported by Continia Sustainability.
| Activity | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Waste generated in operations | Quantity x EF | Quantity is defined by the volume or weight of waste produced by the reporting company. |
Currency x EF | - |
The Travel Journal
The Travel Journal is designed to collect data on distances traveled for business purposes and overnight stay accommodations. Users should note that business travel using company-owned or leased vehicles should not be recorded in this journal. Instead, such travel should be accounted for in the Vehicle Journal.
| Activity | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Business land, air, sea travels | Distance x EF | Distance quantity includes the mileage traveled by land, sea, and air. |
Fuel consumed x EF | An approach often used when collecting data from rental cars involves tracking fuel consumption through receipts. | |
Electricity x EF | - | |
Currency x EF | - | |
| Overnight stay | No. Nights x EF | - |
Currency x EF | - |
The Commuting Journal
Data for calculating employee commuting emissions can't be pulled directly from Business Central. Instead, users need to gather this information manually, either by conducting an internal company survey (from all employees or a sample) or by using national statistics.
| Activity | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Employees commuting | Distance x EF | The distance quantity entered, must account for the following: Distance traveled (round trip), Number of days traveled, Number of employees using this mode of transportation. |
The Sold Product Journal
The Sold Products Journal facilitates the calculation and reporting of emissions associated with the direct use phase of products sold by the company. This encompasses the total expected lifetime emissions of each product. Examples of such products include:
- Energy-consuming products - vehicles, buildings, appliances, data centers, and web-based software.
- Fuels and feedstocks - petroleum, natural gas, and other types of fuels.
- Products emitting greenhouse gases - items that either contain or release GHGs during use, such as A7C systems, fire extinguishers, and fertilizers
| Activity | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Processing of Sold Products | Quantity x EF | The quantity of a product might be represented by the number of items or by its volume or mass. The emission factor represents the emissions related to the processing of that quantity according to the customer use of the product in its own processes. |
Currency x EF | - | |
| Use of Sold Products | Quantity x EF | The quantity of a product might be represented by the number of items or by its volume or mass. The emission factor represents the emissions related to the use of resources linked to the usage of the sold product by the costumer. |
Currency x EF | - | |
| End-of-life of Sold Products | Quantity x EF | The quantity of a product might be represented by the number of items or by its volume or mass. The emission factor represents the emissions related to the disposal or treatment methods of the various components of the product. |
Currency x EF | - |
The Investment Journal
The Investment Journal supports the calculation and reporting of emissions related to investment and, particularly scope 1 and 2 emissions of the investee project. For this reason, the user should collect information about scope 1 and 2 activities (electricity and fuel consumption, gases emission) or use directly the amount invested to estimate the related emissions.
| Activity | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Investments | Energy x EF | Purchased energy by the investee or investment project including electricity, steam, cooling, heating. |
Fuel x EF | Quantities of fuel consumed within the project. | |
Currency x EF | Amount invested in the project. | |
Gas or Fumes x EF | Gas or fumes produced by the project. |
Additional calculation features include:
- Standardized Results in kgCO2e - all emission results are expressed in kilograms of CO2 equivalent (kgCO2e), ensuring consistency and comparability across various emissions and activities. Additionally, the detailed journal emission line FactBox offers a breakdown of each of the six Kyoto Protocol greenhouse gases, highlighting their individual contributions to the overall result. This allows for a more granular understanding of the emissions profile.
- Unit Conversion for Quantities:
- When the quantity entered is in a unit of measure different from that used by the emission factor, the system automatically performs a unit conversion.
- For example, if the emission factor is given in kgCO2e per liter and the quantity entered is in gallons, the system will convert gallons to liters before calculating the emissions.
- The results of this conversion are displayed in the detailed emission journal line FactBox, providing transparency and clarity on how the final emissions were derived.
- Currency Exchange Conversion:
- If the entered amount is in a currency different from that used by the emission factor, the system automatically applies the relevant currency exchange rate.
- The original amount is displayed in the main journal line for reference.
- The FactBox displays the converted amount, allowing users to view both the original entry, and the amount used in the final emission calculation.
- This feature is especially beneficial for companies operating across various countries with different currencies, ensuring accurate and consistent emission reporting.
These features enhance the accuracy, transparency, and usability of the emission reporting system, providing users with clear and consistent data for better environmental management and decision-making.