4.5 - Emission profile
What exports, aggregations, and displays of quantified results?
As a reminder, the emissions from each emission source of the organisation are estimated as follows:
Emission from a source = Activity data x Emission factor = Result ± Uncertainty
This sub-section deals only with the emission profile, i.e. the aggregation and presentation of results for all emission sources included within the perimeters defined previously, obtained at the end of the accounting stage, and which feed the interim presentation.
The final reporting stage presents the remaining deliverables expected at the end of the approach.
Emission Profile in Bilan Carbone® Format
The emissions from all of the organisation's activities must be distributed across the 10 emission categories and 48 emission subcategories of the Bilan Carbone®. These categories reflect the organisation's major flows and provide a clear vision of the areas where it is a priority to act.
Each emission must only be accounted for in a single emission subcategory (and therefore in a single emission category). For each emission subcategory, the emission profile must clearly display:
The associated emissions, in tCO2e or kgCO2e
The associated uncertainties, in the reporting format requested
The share of emissions accounted for via Spend-based emission factors (specific and non-specific), as a percentage. The organisation may choose to distinguish between a share in specific Spend-based emission factors and a share in non-specific Spend-based emission factors
This emission profile must be presented to the appropriate stakeholders.
The Bilan Carbone® emission subcategories are structured as follows:
🌐 English version of this image.
The definitions of emission categories, the emission sources they include and the associated general accounting principles are detailed in the Annex.
It is recommended to present the final emission profile with and without the "Use in dependency" subcategory. The 2 results are complementary and the Bilan Carbone® must be able to provide indicators suited to each lever of action.
These two subcategories lead to different analyses and therefore different actions within the transition plan. The "Use in responsibility" subcategory will generally lead towards actions improving the energy efficiency of products (during their use phase), reducing product weight, or reducing the consumption of materials induced by the use of the product or service. Conversely, the "Use in dependency" subcategory targets more strategic actions: resilience of the business model, or actions carried out in cooperation with the downstream value chain to reduce emissions in this category.
It is recommended to personalise the organisation's emission profile, in order to facilitate as much as possible the correct understanding of results and the subsequent development of the transition plan. This personalisation can for example include the following actions:
Rename a category or subcategory to align it with the internal reality of the organisation. For example, the subcategory "Outbound freight" could be renamed "Product distribution".
Merge certain categories or subcategories together
Separate certain categories or subcategories into several distinct categories or subcategories
The organisation must briefly justify its choices if these involve a variation from the format presented above.
🔎 The personalisation of the emission profile can be based on an " analytical " reading.
To correctly analyse the results of this accounting stage and thus prepare the development of the transition plan, it is recommended that the organisation also enriches its emission profile:
By creating charts or visuals highlighting the different results obtained and the points deserving particular attention
By creating charts or visuals popularising the results, for example by comparing the order of magnitude of the emissions obtained with reference activities (for example combustion of a litre of oil, plane journey)
By detailing the distribution of emissions within each of the assessment's emission categories, and by analysing these results for each category in more or less detail, depending on the importance of that category within the Bilan Carbone®. The three most important categories in the assessment must be subject to detailed analysis
By establishing complementary indicators derived from the results obtained. Some classic examples include:
A carbon intensity per k€ of revenue, in tCO2e/k€ or kgCO2e/k€
A carbon intensity per full-time equivalent (FTE), in tCO2e/FTE or kgCO2e/FTE
A carbon intensity per unit of work, in tCO2e/unit or kgCO2e/unit
By making the link between emissions and the activity data or emission factors involved when relevant
For a Standard or Advanced level, it is recommended to report the activity data and associated emissions on the flow map, in order to obtain a quantified flow map.
Other Emission Profile Formats
The organisation can present these results in the formats expected by other carbon accounting methods, using the correspondence tables below. All Bilan Carbone® tools allow results to be exported in these formats. For these exports to work, the organisation must characterise each emission source in these tools. This characterisation depends on the type of control chosen by the organisation. For more detail, the organisation must refer to the relevant methodologies. It is recommended to export all GHGs accounted for during the Bilan Carbone®, even those relating to optional categories in certain standards.
BEGES-R
If the organisation wishes to present these results in GHG Protocol format, it must publish its emissions in tCO2e, including the following GHGs: CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, NF₃, SF₆, HFCs, PFCs, CO₂b. These emissions must be broken down by type of GHG.
It can use the following correspondence table to obtain its emission profile in BEGES-R format:
CSRD (ESRS E1-6 and E1-5)
For an export aimed at meeting CSRD requirements (ESRS E1-6), the organisation may use either the GHG Protocol format or the ISO 14064-1 format. It must however also take NF₃ into account.
For a CSRD export, the organisation must also provide certain activity data in order to meet the requirements of ESRS E1 (E1-5). The table below indicates the activity data from the Bilan Carbone® that can be used to meet these requirements.
⏳[WIP] A future resource will be produced and made available to provide a correspondence table between Bilan Carbone® activity data and ESRS E1-5. These correspondences will be integrated into the Bilan Carbone® tool exports.
GHG Protocol
If the organisation wishes to present these results in GHG Protocol format, it must publish its emissions in tCO2e, including the following GHGs: CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, HFCs, PFCs, SF₆. The inclusion of CO₂b and other gases is optional. These emissions must be broken down by type of GHG.
It can use the following correspondence table to obtain its emission profile in GHG Protocol format:
ISO 14064-1
If the organisation wishes to present these results in ISO 14064-1 format, it must publish:
GHG removals, in tCO2e
The organisation can use the correspondence table between Bilan Carbone® categories and BEGES-R and ISO 14064-1 categories (located further up this page) to obtain its emission profile in ISO 14064-1 format.
Analytical Carbon Accounting
If the organisation uses analytical accounting, emissions will be distributed according to the accounting codes and analytical axes, established specifically for the organisation, which best reflect its structure and mode of operation (activities carried out, internal processes, etc.). Different analytical axes can be used for each emission category (for example purchases can be distributed by supplier, and energy by site).
Consequently, a generic correspondence table cannot be envisaged.
However, the organisation will find below a correspondence table listing all the accounting codes that will need to be reviewed in order to identify the emission sources that must be considered within the Bilan Carbone®. When an emission source does not give rise to monetary expenditure (unsupported emissions), it obviously remains to be taken into account within the Bilan Carbone®.
The table below presents the correspondence with the nomenclature of an accounting plan.
⏳[WIP] These correspondences will be integrated into the Bilan Carbone® tool exports.
Requirements relating to the production of the emission profile
Here are the requirements to be met, which are similar for all 3 maturity levels:
Initial, Standard or Advanced Level: criteria N1, N2, and N3
For these three maturity levels, the emission profile must be presented in Bilan Carbone® format. Any choice made by the organisation that would involve a variation from this format must be briefly justified.
Do you have a comprehension question? Consult the FAQ. The method is living and therefore subject to change (clarifications, additions): find the change log here.
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