2.4 - Operational boundary

Which emission sources should be included in the operational boundary?

Source: Freepik

All GHG emissions generated by the organization's establishments, equipment and installations (i.e.: from the organisational boundary), constitute the operational boundary of the assessment.

The definition of the operational boundary is done in 3 steps:

1. Identification of emission sources;

2. Breakdown of these emission sources according to the emission category nomenclature of the Bilan Carbone®;

3. Identification of indirect emissions and delimitation of the operational boundary

1️⃣ Identification of emission sources

The organization must identify the emission sources that will constitute its Bilan Carbone®.

The identification of emission sources is iterative. The mapping of the organization's flows feeds the definition of the boundaries that delimit the study (organisational, temporal, operational). Conversely, the definition of the boundaries will constrain the identification of emission sources. The two reflections thus feed each other.

Identify the flows for which the organization is responsible and dependent.

The organization must identify all incoming, internal and outgoing flows: energy flows, fluids, raw materials, people, products (goods and services), and waste that are necessary for the activity, regardless of who is "responsible" for them.

From a carbon dependency perspective: if one of the flows listed above influences, or is influenced by, the organization's activity, then it must be included in the boundary. If a flow is carbon-bearing, it means that the organization's activity is vulnerable (fossil energy prices, carbon tax, model compatible with a low-carbon world, etc.) and that it is necessary to quantify this flow. Theprimary objective of the Bilan Carbone® is to know what to act on and how.

This makes it possible to prepare the accounting phase, being certain to include all direct and indirect emissions of the organization, and to be exhaustive when collecting activity data.

Accounting for emissions “by dependency” makes it possible to build a transition plan that will act on the compatibility of the activity towards a low-carbon model.

Requirements related to the mapping of emission sources

The organization must identify all emission sources to be taken into account during its Bilan Carbone®. Here are different recommendations to be achieved for each of the 3 maturity levels.

Initial, Standard and Advanced Level: criteria F1, F2 and F3

The organization must produce a flow mapping.

The elements to be mapped are energy flows, fluids, raw materials, people, products (goods and services), and waste, inspired by the model below.

Figure 2.4.1: Example of a flow mapping

Example of iterative development of a flow mapping:

1. 🔄 Diagram the organization's chart by listing all buildings, agencies, subsidiaries, groups of clients and suppliers, etc. that orbit around it. This step will make it possible to define the organisational boundary.

2. 🔄 For each building, agency, etc., map all incoming, internal and outgoing flows that generate emissions, and the emission categories concerned by these flows. It is this identification of emission sources that will be used to define the operational boundary. This process is iterative because it makes it possible to identify any omissions in the organisational boundary.

3. 🔄 For each flow present on this flow mapping, the associated activity data must then be specified to build the data collection matrix. This construction process is iterative and evolves between the ideal data to collect and the data available.

4. 🔄 Finalize the flow mapping thus obtained, with all relevant information.

Optional: quantified flow mapping

Depending on the organization's maturity, it is recommended to quantify this flow mapping. This illustrative and educational resource is part of the recommendations in terms of stakeholder engagement for the maturity levels Standard and Advanced on data collection and the reporting of the emissions profile.

⏳ For information, an example diagram of a quantified flow mapping will be inserted here soon.

The flow mapping base obtained previously can be completed with the following 2 steps:

1. 🔄 Iteratively complete this mapping throughout the collection with the activity data values opposite the main flows. Finalize the quantified flow mapping thus obtained, with all relevant information.

2. 🔄 For reporting, the mapping is completed by the emission values opposite the main flows. It serves as a visual basis for a better understanding of the results and the link between physical flows and GHG emissions.

The quantified mapping then serves as a dashboard. It can thus serve as support for an annual monitoring of significant activity data.

Optional for an Advanced Level: analytical mapping

To express the Bilan Carbone® in coherence with analytical carbon accounting, the organization must identify the same emission sources (those for which it is responsible and dependent), but keeping the objective of then breaking them down according to an "analytical" mapping which will cross accounting codes and analytical dimensions.

It identifies supported and unsupported emissions. Supported emissions come from activities financed by the organization. They therefore appear in accounting exports. Unsupported emissions are not financed by the organization, but are still obligatorily included.

• Supported emissions are mapped from the company's accounting data. To identify supported emissions, an analysis of the accounting exports is carried out to identify all account classes:

  • Representing a physical flow,

  • For which there is a cost or depreciation ongoing during the analyzed period.

  All identified account classes must be included in the Analytical Carbon Accounting as one or more emission categories.

• Emissions not financed by the company must be added. To account for unsupported emissions, it is possible to carry out a flow mapping or any other method to identify the list of emission categories exhaustively. The objective is to identify all physical flows on which the organization's activities depend and which are not financed by the organization. These flows must be integrated into the Analytical Carbon Accounting as one or more emission categories.

⏳[WIP] The organization will soon find a correspondence table listing all accounting codes to be reviewed in order to identify the emission sources that should be considered within the Bilan Carbone®.

A resource proposed in the annex provides a reusable flow mapping template.

2️⃣ Emission category nomenclature

The emission sources generated by the organization's activity (direct or indirect) must be distributed within the different categories of the Bilan Carbone®.

List of categories and sub-categories of the Bilan Carbone®:

Figure 2.4.2: Nomenclature of categories and sub-categories of the Bilan Carbone®

Descriptions of the categories and sub-categories of the Bilan Carbone®:

Figure 2.4.3: Nomenclature of categories and sub-categories of the Bilan Carbone®

Other nomenclatures:

Several nomenclatures exist and can be combined. The important thing is to be exhaustive on the boundary because it is easy toexport these results into several different nomenclatures at the same time (Bilan Carbone® categories, categories and items of the regulatory BEGES and ISO 14064-1, structure of the analytical plan, GHG-P scopes, etc.).

To express the Bilan Carbone® according to other nomenclatures, frameworks or standards, additional steps may be necessary.

For example:

• To obtain an export consistent with the regulatory BEGES, characterisation of the emission sources is necessary (characterise an operated, supported, etc.)

• To obtain an export consistent with the analytical carbon accounting, it is necessary to divide the identified emission sources in the accounting exports by analytical dimensions (site, activity, team, supplier, client…). Note that the axes may differ for each source (for example energy will be divided by site, or purchases by supplier).

3️⃣ Identification of indirect emissions and delimitation of the operational boundary

The notion of indirect emissions

🔎 The ISO 14064-1 standard distinguishes direct emissions (sources controlled by the organization) from indirect emissions (sources necessary for the organization's activities).

The Bilan Carbone® method aims to be exhaustive and includes all emitting flows in a carbon dependency logic, and therefore all direct and indirect emissions.

Where do indirect emissions stop?

• "Do the indirect emissions of a headlight manufacturer include the headlight's electricity consumption during its use? Or also the vehicle's fuel consumption over its lifetime?"

• "Do the indirect emissions of an advertising campaign include the energy consumption of the advertising spots? Or also the products it promotes?"

• "Do the indirect emissions of a museum include the travel of foreign tourists? Or only pro rata to their stay near the museum?"

☑️ The answer to these frequent questions is systematically " Yes ".

The extent of the consideration of indirect emissions is determined on a case-by-case basis, for example depending on sectors of activity. The organization may refer to theannex to help determine the boundary.

This is not about quantifying the organization's climatic influence (or climate shadow), which is complementary to the carbon footprint for result analysis and action prioritisation.

Some indirect activities will simultaneously generate induced, avoided and sequestered emissions. As noted here, these emissions belong to different pillars of climate action, and are thus strictly non-combinable: neither additive nor subtractable.

The notion of significant indirect emissions

It is accepted that some sources of indirect GHG emissions, within an organization's operational boundary, do not contribute significantly to the total indirect emissions. For an emission to be considered significant, it must meet at least one of the significance criteria.

The notion of significance can be useful to set priorities during accounting, when choosing actions or when monitoring results. These significance criteria allow, for example, toidentify the actions most efficient for reducing the organization's GHG emissions.

🔎 Some international standards (ISO 14064-1), or national (BEGES-R), propose identifying the emission sources significant for the organization.

The organization may refer to theannex to help determine significance. In the Bilan Carbone®, the procedure to limit the boundary to significant emissions is possible for the Initial level only.

Requirements related to the operational boundary

The organization must delimit the operational boundary to be considered during its Bilan Carbone®. Here are different recommendations to be achieved for each of the 3 maturity levels.

Initial Level: criterion E1

The Bilan Carbone® method aims to be exhaustive and includes all emitting flows in a carbon dependency logic, and therefore all direct and indirect emissions.

The organization refers to theannex to help determine significance : in summary, emissions are considered significant if they are substantial from a quantitative point of view (magnitude or importance criterion), if they are directly influenced by the organization (influence and leverage criterion), if they contribute to exposure to risks and opportunities (strategic importance and vulnerability criterion), if they are deemed significant for the organization's sector of activity (sector guidance criterion), if they result from core activities outsourced by the organization (subcontracting criterion), and if they are likely to mobilise employees (staff engagement criterion).

Concerning emissions deemed non-significant, the Bilan Carbone® method recommends including them as much as possible to cover the entire boundary, if necessary with assumptions generating a higher uncertainty .

At a minimum, it is requested for an Initial level to take into account all direct emissions and between 80% and 100% of the organization's indirect emissions.

🔎 This corresponds to the magnitude or importance criterion as defined by the regulatory GHG Assessment or the ISO 14064-1 standard: "Indirect emission categories estimated as substantial from a quantitative point of view are to be retained. A minimum magnitude threshold to be considered is expressed as a percentage. It establishes the minimum proportion of indirect emissions of the operational boundary to include. The magnitude threshold must not be less than 80%."

The organization may rely on several resources detailed in the annex to include all its significant indirect emissions.

Emission sources considered non-significant are justified, documented and reported (categories concerned and non-significance criterion).

When repeating the assessment, making accessible data previously unknown or unquantified should be an objective of the organization, to progressively account for 100% of indirect emissions.

Standard and Advanced Level: criteria E2 and E3

The Bilan Carbone® method aims to be exhaustive and includes all emitting flows in a carbon dependency logic, and therefore all direct and indirect emissions.

It is requested for a Standard and Advanced Level to include in the assessment all the organization's direct and indirect emissions, whether significant or less significant.

The notion of significance criteria remains relevant for the organization:

• Indirect emission sources that meet several of the 6 criteria must be given particular attention at all levels (regular and tracked accounting, low uncertainty, priority actions).

• Indirect emission sources that meet none of the 6 criteria do not necessarily require regular monitoring, priority actions and can be accounted for with high uncertainty.

The organization may for this rely on several resources detailed in the annex.

🔎 If the Bilan Carbone® is to be used for reporting of the regulatory GHG Assessment, the operational boundary considered here, whatever the maturity level, complies with regulatory expectations, notably regarding the magnitude criterion and its justification. In this case, it constitutes the reporting boundary.

All information on the operational boundary is documented and reported.

---

Do you have a question about understanding? Consult the FAQ. The method is living and therefore likely to evolve (clarifications, additions): find the track of changes here.