Appendix 1 - Main accounting principles of Bilan Carbone®
What are the fundamental principles to be respected by Bilan Carbone® accounting?
The Bilan Carbone® method is based on accounting principles. The appendix presents these generic rules and principles for each of the 10 Bilan Carbone® categories.
The Bilan Carbone® Organisation is generalist. It applies to any organisation, regardless of its size, sector of activity or profile.
The Bilan Carbone® method is not intended to spell out special cases or conventions specific to different sectors or organisation profiles.
🔎 Several additional resources serve as practical guides for implementing the principles set out here by the Bilan Carbone® method (General Carbon Plan, ADEME Sectoral Guides). These resources notably provide usual emission factors, practical advice or assumptions in the absence of certain data, average lifespans, etc.
The definitions of the categories, the emission sources they include, and the main associated accounting principles are detailed below:
Energy
This category covers:
The Energy category therefore groups energy consumption from so-called “stationary” sources: premises, machines, etc. The emissions associated with these energy consumptions of goods or premises used by the organisation must be taken into account, whether it is owner or tenant.
Energy consumption by vehicles or other “mobile” sources (fossil fuels, organic fuels, electricity) should generally not be included in the Energy category, but in the categories Freight and Travel.
Hydrocarbons are only taken into account insofar as they are burned. If they are used as feedstock (for example petroleum products in petrochemicals), they shall not be taken into account here but in the categories Inputs.
For energy consumption from a distribution network (electricity and gas), there are two different ways in the literature to assess GHG emissions:
The location-based approach, which conforms to the physical reality of the distribution network, a single network shared by all in which it is not possible to distinguish between an electron from renewable energy and an electron from a thermal or nuclear power plant, or between a methane molecule from natural gas (i.e. fossil) or from methanisation (biogas). In all cases, the network emission factor must therefore be used (for gas this is the “natural gas” EF from Base Empreinte®, which in reality contains a very small proportion of biogas) GC: Parenthesis to delete or keep?.
The market-based approach, which conforms to contract offers (green electricity contracts, biogas, ...) and therefore allows the application of the supplier’s specific emission factor, which is generally different from that of the network.
Only the location-based approach is compliant with the Bilan Carbone® method. However, Bilan Carbone® tools may offer both approaches in order to export results in GHG Protocol or CSRD format, for which it is required to report both location-based and market-based emissions. Green electricity or biogas contracts can also be highlighted by additionally accounting for avoided emissions (subscribing to this type of contract sometimes allowing, under certain conditions, the decarbonisation of networks). The organisation shall not deduct these avoided emissions from total emissions, but may account for them and, where appropriate, report them separately.
⏳[WIP] ABC and its community will take a more detailed position on the notion of avoided emissions during 2025.
If the organisation produces energy, three cases must be distinguished:
Energy is generated from a fuel produced within the organisation (plastic waste, wood, ...). In this case, it shall avoid any double counting within the assessment. For fossil or organic fuels, the organisation should only report the emissions related to the combustion of these fuels in the appropriate subcategories, the upstream upstream emissions already being taken into account in the rest of the assessment.
Energy is generated from a fuel not produced by the organisation. In this case, the risk of double counting does not exist. For fossil or organic fuels, the organisation should report the emissions related to theupstream and to the combustion of these fuels in the appropriate subcategories.
Energy is generated from a renewable or nuclear source installed on the organisation’s site. In this case, no emissions related to the combustion are generated. However, theupstream of this energy production, namely the installation of the source and the manufacture of the equipment, must be taken into account. This can be accounted for either in the Energy category or in the Fixed assets category (depending on the organisation’s logic), which avoids double counting.
If part of the electricity produced by the organisation is intended for direct self-consumption (individual or collective self-consumption), without using the national grid, it may be accounted for in the Bilan Carbone® based on the LCA content of the various production means mobilised.
If part of the electricity produced by the organisation is intended to be sold, it remains mandatory to take into account all the emissions mentioned above, because the Bilan Carbone® is intended to account for all emissions generated by the organisation. However, the organisation may showcase this sold energy production by additionally accounting for avoided emissions. The organisation shall not deduct these avoided emissions from total emissions, but may account for them and, where appropriate, report them separately.
⏳[WIP] ABC and its community will take a more detailed position on the notion of avoided emissions during 2025.
Other direct emissions
This category covers so-called “non-energy” direct emissions, i.e. all direct GHG emissions not related to the use ofenergy :
In all of these subcategories, all GHGs shall be taken into account, including those not considered under the Kyoto Protocol. These emissions are frequent within the Industrial Processes, Cold Production and Other direct GHG emissions subcategories. The organisation shall therefore be particularly careful to include these GHGs in its Bilan Carbone®. Several (non-exhaustive) examples of the GHGs concerned depending on the processes:
For the subcategory “Direct GHG emissions related to agriculture”, the fermentation of agricultural waste is not to be taken into account: this is simply a return to the atmosphere of CO₂ that was taken up shortly before during plant photosynthesis.
For the subcategory “Direct GHG emissions related to cold production”, only refrigerant leaks that occur during use by the organisation are to be taken into account. Leaks that occur at end-of-life of equipment are to be taken into account in the Direct wastecategory. If the organisation manufactures equipment for which such leaks occur, these shall be accounted for in the Use and End-of-lifecategories. The energy consumption required for cold production is by definition in the Energy.
For the subcategory “Direct GHG emissions related to land-use change”:
For a land-use change leading to an instantaneous release of GHGs from stock, the organisation shall take into account all of the associated release, without amortisation, in the year of the assessment. For changes whose kinetics are slower (forest to cropland, for example), the time to return to equilibrium depends on soil and climatic conditions. This duration is a local, regional or national value if possible. Otherwise, the stock change is by convention considered to occur over 20 years (default value defined by the UNFCCC). The entirety of this impact shall be taken into account in the year of the assessment during which this change occurs. In reality, GHGs will be released over 20 years until a new equilibrium is reached. Be careful not to double count this land-use change in the case of“Fixed asset” of a construction.
Land-use changes leading to GHG storage shall under no circumstances be taken into account within the Bilan Carbone®. However, they can be estimated by additionally accounting for sequestered emissions. The organisation shall not deduct these sequestered emissions from total emissions, but may account for them and, where appropriate, report them separately.
⏳[WIP] ABC and its community will take a more detailed position on the notion of sequestered emissions during 2025.
Inputs: goods and materials
This category covers:
This category covers all flows of goods and materials entering the organisation, whether consumed on site (and potentially found in its Waste) or incorporated into the organisation’s production. The only goods that shall not be taken into account within this category are those that will fall under the category Fixed assets.
This category includes not only raw materials, but also semi-finished products or manufactured products “incorporated” into the organisation’s activities. In particular, it covers materials used by the activity to be incorporated into its own production, for example:
Basic materials (metals, plastics, glass, etc.) for a manufacturer of manufactured objects
Agricultural products in the case of agri-food companies, or for a restaurant (including company canteens)
Raw materials and reagents in the case of chemical companies
Materials needed to package incoming materials.
In the case of a trading activity, upstream emissions, namely the manufacture of products sold, must be taken into account in this “Inputs: goods and materials” category. However, the emissions associated with theUse and to the End-of-life of these products (or services) sold are so-called “downstream” categories.
An organisation that acquires goods or materials from recycling takes into account the impact of the recycling process (and therefore the regeneration of the material) within this category.
The consumption of meals by the organisation’s staff during the working period must be taken into account within this category, even if staff consume these meals outside the organisation.
Goods and materials shall be accounted for whether they are purchased, leased or donated. In the particular case where inputs are recovered by the organisation when they were intended for no use (expired foodstuffs, clothing, etc.), and provided that the organisation can justify it, the organisation will not take into account the GHG emissions associated with the production of these inputs. However, the GHG emissions associated with the rest of the supply chain (distribution in particular) must always be taken into account. Note: for the reuse of fixed assets, refer to the “ Fixed assets ” category (digital, buildings, vehicles, machinery, furniture, …).
Regarding the subcategory “Goods and materials using a monetary approach”, if the organisation uses spend-based factors, it may adjust these spend-based factors according toinflation that applies to its purchase or leasing of goods and services.
The subcategory “Material intended for packaging” of products sold or distributed makes it possible to visualise the overall contribution of the “waste by destination” that this packaging represents, even though it is not directly disposed of by the entity that puts it into circulation. The emissions taken into account in this subcategory are linked to the production of plastics, paper, metals, etc. that are necessary for making the packaging. The emissions related to the End-of-life of this packaging (which will occur almost immediately after being put into circulation) are considered in the relevant category. These individualised subcategories can be aggregated.
It is rare for this “Inputs: goods and materials” category not to require investigation outside the organisation to obtain some specific emission factors. This may require asking certain suppliers to carry out their own GHG reporting and transmit it to the organisation. In the absence of real, physical or customised information, a subcategory is nevertheless dedicated to materials for which spend-based emission factors are used. All the limitations mentioned in the Bilan Carbone® method apply to this subcategory.
Inputs: services
This category covers:
Tertiary services (excluding transport) consumed by the organisation may, for example, include:
IT services
Telecommunication services
Maintenance, servicing, cleaning
Banking services
Training
Advertising
Fees of all kinds (lawyers, accountants, etc.)
Regarding digital, this category covers the organisation’s “digital uses” that involve an indirect impact (external servers, data processing and storage, data transport across networks, etc.). The other digital impacts are the subject of different subcategories.
If the organisation uses spend-based factors, it may adjust these spend-based factors according toinflation that applies to its purchase or leasing of goods and services.
It is rare for this “Inputs: services” category not to require investigation outside the organisation to obtain some specific emission factors. This may require asking certain suppliers to carry out their own GHG reporting and transmit it to the organisation. The supplier’s Bilan Carbone® Organisation is allocated pro rata to the organisation’s expenditure and the supplier’s turnover (turnover is representative if the supplier’s activity is homogeneous). This makes it possible to construct a so-called “specific".
” spend-based factor. In the absence of real, physical or customised information, a subcategory is nevertheless dedicated to materials for which spend-based emission factors are used. All the limitations mentioned in the Bilan Carbone® method apply to this subcategory.
Freight
This category covers:
This category covers all freight transport carried out on behalf of the organisation, regardless of ownership of the means of transport, with the distinction being made by the nature of the journey. It includes:
Transport of products that come from outside and are delivered within the organisational boundary (transport of purchases from suppliers to the organisation, for example).
So-called internal transport, where the point of departure and the point of arrival are within the organisational boundary
Transport of products that leave the organisation and are shipped “elsewhere” (to customers, users, or suppliers in certain very specific cases)
“Inbound freight” and “Outbound freight” shall not be confused with the names “Upstream freight” and “Downstream freight” from the If the Bilan Carbone® is to be used for reporting of the. These notions are distinct: Within the Bilan Carbone®, types of freight are distinguished according to the organisational boundary, while in the Regulatory GHG Assessment, upstream freight corresponds to freight whose costs are borne by the organisation, and downstream freight corresponds to freight whose costs are not borne by the organisation. Mapping correspondences is possible between these two nomenclatures.
The category takes into account road, air, sea, river and rail transport. It considers all criteria having a strong influence on emissions, including: distance, journey duration, vehicle load factor, etc. The organisation shall consider the outbound trip and the empty return rate on the return trip.
In the case of air transport, the organisation shall by default take into account the formation of contrails. If not taken into account, the organisation shall justify this, for example by proving that contrails are not formed on the journey in question (their formation depends on altitude and various meteorological factors).
If transport is carried out using vehicles owned by the organisation, it may choose to account for the emissions associated with the manufacture of the vehicle in the “Freight” or “Fixed assets” categories, taking care to avoid double counting.
Travel
This category covers:
The category takes into account road, air, sea, river and rail transport.
The Home-to-work travel subcategory covers all trips to come to work. It therefore includes, in the broad sense, trips from the current place of residence to the place of work and the associated return, without forgetting any journeys related to the lunch break.
The Visitors’ travel subcategory covers at least the following cases and any other similar case:
Travel by customers of a shop or a company
Visits for professional reasons (suppliers, certifiers, auditors, etc.) or similar (job candidates)
Travel by the organisation’s users
Travel by audiences, tourists and visitors hosted by the organisation
Visits as part of the organisation’s public relations policy
If the organisation is able to prove that certain visitors’ travel is not undertaken exclusively for an activity within its operational boundary, or is undertaken for a completely different reason, with participation in the said activity being incidental, it may use allocation rules that it defines in order to take into account only a share of such travel.
In the case of air transport, the organisation shall by default take into account the formation of contrails. If not taken into account, the organisation shall justify this, for example by proving that contrails are not formed on the journey in question (their formation depends on altitude and various meteorological factors).
If transport is carried out using vehicles owned by the organisation, it may choose to account for the emissions associated with the manufacture of the vehicle in the categories Travel or Fixed assets, taking care to avoid double counting.
Direct waste
This category covers all emissions related to the management of waste produced (collection and treatment) within the organisation. It is divided into different subcategories, each covering a category of waste:
This category includes waste in all its forms (solid, liquid or gaseous). The origin of waste varies (consumables after use, manufacturing waste and residues, packaging of purchases, staff catering, etc.). The subcategories break down waste by waste category, which implies an internal monitoring policy.
Waste treatment can typically lead to GHG emissions:
Either through the fermentation of organic waste in landfill or biological treatment facilities (methanisation plant or composting centre)
Or through the combustion of plastics (plastic often comes from fossil energy, such as petroleum or transformed gas).
Or through material regeneration processes in the case of recycling (see below)
In all cases, these emissions are in addition to those related to the operation of the waste management process (waste collection, buildings for storage, etc.).
For this category, it will most often be necessary to question the waste managers who manage these processes.
For information, hazardous waste (for example Special Industrial Waste - SIW - or Healthcare Activity Waste - HAW) does not generate emissions due to its toxicity, but due to the amount of fossil energy used for its transport, confinement, storage or treatment.
Most emission factors used for waste include the collection of this waste. If this collection has already been accounted for within the Freight category by the organisation, care must be taken not to double count here.
Focus on waste recycling
From the perspective of greenhouse gas emissions, recycling on the one hand generates emissions related to its new transformation into a usable material (for example metal smelting), and on the other hand avoids emissions for the manufacture of the same new or low-recycled material.
In the case of waste treatment by recycling, the waste emitter includes the impacts of collection and the operation of the sorting centre. The waste emitter does not include the impact of the material regeneration (recycling) process. With this method, waste directed to the recycling stream is not accounted for as waste, but as a secondary flow of supply of raw material.
It is up to the organisation that arranges this recycling, as well as organisations that consume recycled material (in their Inputs – goods and materials), to include the material regeneration phase. If the organisation’s waste that is recycled is subsequently used as an input by this same organisation, there is then no double counting of the recycling process.
Care should be taken regarding the quantity of waste actually recycled, based on the declarations of the organisation recycling the waste, or failing that on national or local statistics.
🔎 The Bilan Carbone® and the GHG Protocol are aligned on this methodological allocation of recycling. Conversely, ISO 14064-1 and the Regulatory GHG Assessment attribute the impact of this recycling to the waste emitter, in the same way as other treatment methods. These two types ofexports are provided for and can be explained educationally.
It is essential to accompany the analysis of results with an educational explanation, presenting not only the impacts of the Wastecategory, but also quantifying their repercussions across the organisation’s entire value chain.
Impact of recycling: Sending waste for recycling does not mean that it no longer emits greenhouse gas emissions. Their quantification makes it possible to estimate the impacts related to the regeneration of the material. This perspective serves as a reminder that the best strategy remains reducing waste generation (and material losses) at source.
Avoided emissions from the use of recycled material: residual and recycled waste enables other actors to use recycled material instead of virgin material, thus avoiding certain emissions associated with the extraction and processing of primary resources.
⏳[WIP] ABC and its community will further develop the methodology related to avoided emissions in 2025. At this stage, these emissions shall not be deducted from the organisation’s total emissions, but they can be accounted for separately and reported if necessary.
Fixed assets
This category covers all emissions related to the material manufacture of durable goods (with a certain lifespan or subject to accounting depreciation by the organisation), including:
The Fixed assets category concerns thepurchase or lease long-term of these assets.
In the case of infrastructures, this generally concerns any construction other than a building (roads, parking, etc.).
In the case of vehicles, if the accounting performed within the category Travel include a component dedicated to the manufacture of the vehicle, the organisation shall ensure these emissions are not double counted, which may be, at the organisation's choice, accounted for within the "Fixed assets" or "Transport" category.
When the organisation is a large entity that manages an annual flow of renewal or increase of its fixed assets, it is recommended to treat this category as an annual flow rather than as depreciation of the existing fleet. This choice will then be most relevant for defining emission reduction actions, based on recurring annual purchases. This is particularly relevant for property development or construction organisations, for car dealerships, etc.
Finally, intangible emissions (brands, concessions, licences, etc.) must not be depreciated.
Depreciation period:
By convention in the method, the manufacturing emissions of these assets are spread over a certain period, which shall be the theoretical lifetime of the asset in question within the organisation. Either this duration is estimated at purchase or at the start of use of the asset (by the manufacturer, via a Life Cycle Assessment, ...), or it is a default value that differs according to the type of asset. The theoretical lifetime within the organisation (planned period of use) can differ from the physical lifetime. For example, an organisation that renews its vehicle fleet every 3 years.
This period is called the depreciation period, and must be indicated within the Bilan Carbone®. It is said that the emissions are subject to depreciation, or that the asset is capitalised. These emissions must be accounted for every year (when the organisation prepares an assessment), until the end of the asset's depreciation period, after which the asset is considered physically "depreciated" and no further emissions shall be accounted for. This allocation is made in order to render emission profiles, produced at successive intervals, comparable with each other.
Period and duration of consideration in the assessment:
If the organisation no longer uses the depreciated asset, and that asset is transferred to another user (premises, vehicles, furniture still in good condition, ...), the organisation shall no longer account for the associated emissions. If the asset is not reused, the organisation must continue to account for these emissions.
If the organisation acquires an asset already partly depreciated (moving into constructed premises, acquisition of refurbished digital equipment, reuse, ...), it must account for the depreciated emissions only over the remaining depreciation period of the asset. In the event the organisation does not know the previous period of use, the Bilan Carbone® method recommends using conservative estimates (i.e. relatively short previous use durations). If the asset is considered depreciated, the manufacturing-related emissions are no longer to be capitalised (this does not exclude any emissions related to procurement, renovation, repair, etc.).
End-of-life
This category covers all emissions related to the future end-of-life of products that have been sold or distributed within the temporal boundary:
This will involve calculating the amount of GHG that all products/services supplied or distributed during the assessment year (or failing that during the temporal boundary of the assessment) will emit at their end of life. For example, if you produce refrigerators at a rate of 5,000 units per year, each appliance emitting 500 grams of gas at end of life, the emissions attributable to the end of life of your annual production are: 5,000 x 0.5 = 2,500 kilos, i.e. 2.5 tonnes of gas per year.
At its "end of life", a product or service can generate emissions: fermentation for carrot peelings sent to landfill, CO2 emissions from a plastic toy sent to an incinerator, etc. The organisation may not know with certainty the end of life of the products (goods or services) distributed in the assessment year (or failing that during the temporal boundary of the assessment). It will then be necessary to define end-of-life scenarios: either by estimating the energy required for end-of-life treatment (sub-category "Energy consumption at end of life"), or by considering the treatment channels of the materials used in the distributed products, and their mixes in the distribution territories (sub-categories "Waste treatment at end of life" and "Packaging treatment at end of life").
The End of life category does not concern products or services whose very use implies destruction: a candle, a litre of fuel, a firework rocket, ... In these cases, the emissions fall under the Use.
The sub-category "Packaging treatment at end of life" for sold or distributed products allows visualising the overall contribution of the "waste by destination" that these future packaging, even though they are not discarded directly by the entity that places them on the market. The emissions accounted for in this sub-category are related to the end of life of these packagings (which will occur almost immediately after they are put into circulation). Emissions related to the production of the plastics, papers, metals, etc. required to make the packaging are considered in the sub-category Material destined for packaging. These individualised sub-categories can be aggregated.
Use & Dependence
This category covers:
Once a product (good or service) is with the customer or user, its use can generate GHG emissions.
The emissions of all that has been sold or distributed by the organisation in the assessment year (or failing that during the temporal boundary of the assessment) are accounted for over their estimated operating lifetime. Average values of energy consumption and leaks related to the use of products (goods and services) are required, as well as their average lifetime.
These emissions can easily become predominant compared with those of other categories of the Bilan Carbone®.
Many scenarios are concerned, such as for example:
The sale of cars implies accounting for petrol, possibly refrigerant fluid leaks for air conditioning, and emissions associated with maintenance services (manufacture and transport of spare parts, heating of premises used for this function, etc.), over the average mileage of the vehicle model;
Electricity production for household appliances (obviously very variable depending on the country of use);
Gas combustion for an entire dwelling (for a housing developer), or for a cooker (gas consumed thereafter over the average lifetime of a cooker);
Emissions from trips if the organisation finances exchange scholarships between countries (which often amounts to financing travel, notably air travel).
Future leaks of refrigerant fluids if the organisation sells air-conditioning systems;
N₂O emissions if the organisation produces nitrogen fertilisers;
Acetylene combustion if the organisation sells blowtorches;
Maintaining the cold chain if the organisation sells frozen products;
Car travel if the organisation sells products in a hypermarket.
Other examples are offered below.
For the use of material goods sold or distributed, it is therefore about accounting for the production of energy and material consumed.
For the use of services sold or distributed, an approach based on the impact at the end customer can be adopted by using the carbon intensity of the final product.
Accounting for the Use category does not require allocation rules: however, such allocations (use of fuel by vehicles equipped with headlights, pro rata to the weight of the headlight) can be operationally relevant to provide indicators, steer the transition plan, etc.
Focus on the sub-categories Responsible use and Dependent use:
These emissions are classified in the sub-categories "Responsible use" and "Dependent use", respectively according to the degree of responsibility or dependence.
It is recommended to present the emission profile final with and without the sub-category "Dependent use". The two results are complementary and the Bilan Carbone® shall be able to provide indicators adapted to each lever of action.
An organisation is never completely responsible for a downstream emission, nor completely dependent. This separation is therefore at the organisation's discretion, according to what will be most useful to steer its actions.
Responsible use: covers the emissions necessary for the direct use of these products, that is the emissions generated at the time of their use over their entire lifetime.
In the case of goods, these emissions are generally due to energy consumption or consumables (fuel for vehicles, ink cartridges for printers, electricity for electronic devices, etc.).
In the case of services, they are due to the direct application of the service in question. Thus, if it is a key service for the creation of a good, the material consumption necessary for the creation of the good is to be taken into account. For example, an architectural firm working on plans for a building should integrate the material consumption associated with the construction. An organisation providing online training should include the energy used by users to operate their electronic devices over the duration of the training.
Dependent use: when the use of products sold or distributed by the organisation is conditioned by the use ofother products, this sub-category covers the additional emissions related to the manufacture or use of these other goods and services (excluding infrastructures or other collective goods and services) over their entire lifetime.
The question of dependent use often arises when the product (good or service) is not a final product but an intermediate product. Its use is then conditioned on the use of another product. This dependence is a vulnerability of the organisation which must quantify it.
Several intermediate products may be necessary before the final product. It is recommended to focus on the most significant product(s) with regard to the Use category: if the organisation sells steel to make a car body, itself sold to a car manufacturer: it indeed considers the fuel use of the car.
Conversely, "at the end of the chain", it is not required to include public infrastructures, and other collective goods or services (ports, roads, public services, etc.) even if the organisation is obviously dependent on them. This dependence may appear in theanalysis of risks and opportunities.
Examples and comparisons on responsible use and dependent use:
Some non-exhaustive examples are provided here to help organisations appropriate these concepts. As a reminder, and in summary:
-> in responsibility : it is the product (good or service) itself that consumes or emits during its use phase.
-> in dependence : the use of the product (good or service) is conditioned on a consumption or emission.
A company supplies meal trays to airlines
Use (consumption) of energy for the cold chain then cooking.
Use (consumption) of fuel for the entire aircraft
A company performs chemical surface treatments on certain parts of a car engine
/
Use (consumption) of fuel by vehicles equipped with these parts
A company that manufactures cars
Use (consumption) of fuel by the vehicles
/
A company conducts foundation sizing studies (for ski lift pylons)
Use (consumption) of material for the manufacture of the foundation
Use (consumption) of energy to operate the ski lift
A company that manufactures container carriers
Use (consumption) of fuel by the container carrier
/
A container carrier company (transporting containers)
/
Carbon intensity of the transported products
A company that manufactures car headlights
Use (consumption) of energy by the headlights to illuminate
Use (consumption) of fuel by vehicles equipped with these headlights
A company that markets advertising panels
Use (consumption) of energy by the panels (backlit for example)
Carbon intensity of the products promoted by the advertising
A company that installs electric vehicle charging stations
Use (consumption) of energy by the charging sessions
/
This table does not serve as a general rule, and logical reasoning must be carried out on a case-by-case basis, following the recommendations of practical guides.
Focus on the use of financial investments made
This sub-category covers financial investments and equity participations. It does not designate the organisation's purchases (goods or services). The organisation accounts for this sub-category according to the Bilan Carbone® of the organisations or projects supported, or by the choice of economic sectors of operation of the assets.
⏳[WIP] ABC and its community will position themselves in more detail on emissions related to financial investments made during 2025.
Other accounting principles concerning multiple categories
Owner or tenant
In a Bilan Carbone®, emissions are to be taken into account even if the organisation is only a tenant of the premises or vehicles. In accordance with operational control, it is the notion of operation and use that shall be retained.
In tools, it may be relevant to differentiate these two uses: either to better steer actions (actions to be undertaken may differ depending on the rental or ownership nature), or because this causes differences in exports (BEGES-R).
Inflation
In the event the organisation uses spend-based ratios, it may adjust these spend-based ratios according to the inflation that applies to its purchases or leasing of goods and services.
If the organisation is able to calculate the specific inflation rate experienced by the product or service concerned between the date of creation of the EF and the date of the assessment, it shall use this calculated inflation rate. For example, an organisation that uses the same provider for its advertising campaigns every year, and that observes a 10% inflation on the provider's rates (for the same service) between the year of EF creation and the current year should adjust the EF by this 10% inflation.
If the organisation is not able to calculate this specific inflation rate, it can rely on inflation measures of the different countries concerned, preferably by sector.
Digital
The carbon impact of digital within the Bilan Carbone® requires the aggregation of several sub-categories if it is to be treated as a single bloc by the organisation:
The " digital equipment " owned or leased are material goods, therefore they are accounted for either in the Input goods and materials if they are consumables (peripherals, etc.), or in the Fixed assets if they are capitalised assets (computers, printers, etc.)
The " digital usages " of the organisation:
If they involve an indirect impact (external servers, processing and storage of data, data transport on networks, etc.), they are accounted for in the Input services in the sub-category Digital usages.
Conversely, if they involve a direct energy consumption by the organisation (for example the electricity consumption of a computer), they are a priori already accounted for in the category Energy, and must not be double counted.
External "digital usages" induced by the organisation's activities (for example consultation on end-user terminals of external users, beneficiaries or clients) are accounted for in the category Use, like other products and services provided by the organisation.
Future packaging
Aggregating the two sub-categories allows addressing in one go the manufacturing and end-of-life emissions of packagings:
Material destined for packaging, included in the category Input goods and materials
Packaging treatment at end of life, included in the category End-of-life
Among the reasons why specific information on packaging is necessary, by individualising them within the whole of incoming materials:
A packaging does not obey the same specification as the product, and for the same product, the packaging can strongly depend on the transport modalities to be followed
The product's customer (or beneficiary) generally does not ask the same of packagings as of the product
Packagings are an operational responsibility distinct from that of the product, which generates specific information
Marketing and commercial constraints for packaging and product are not identical
The fate of discarded packagings can be apprehended statistically (because they will be discarded everywhere), so it is possible to assign average emission factors for their end of life
Avoided and sequestered emissions
⏳[WIP] The Bilan Carbone® methodology does not treat avoided emissions or sequestered emissionsIt is recommended to rely on the avoided emissions calculation guide (Pillar B) and on the guide to building a carbon sequestration strategy (Pillar C). A forthcoming update of the Bilan Carbone® method is scheduled for summer 2025 to provide guidelines on the quantification of avoided emissions.
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