CCA fact sheet
Analytical Carbon Accounting
Type : Practical guide to carbon accounting
Date : 2024
Author : Mobeetip
Target : Companies
Analytical Carbon Accounting is a method for calculating the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions on which the organisation depends. Analytical Carbon Accounting is a carbon accounting approach that produces a GHG Profile (and therefore indicators on the organisation's impact and dependence on GHG emissions) according to several customisable boundaries, based on the operational reality specific to each organisation.
🔎 The references of the Bilan Carbone® method to analytical carbon accounting are based on the Analytical Carbon Accounting Guide, published at the initiative of Mobeetip.
What are the objectives of the approach?
Analytical carbon accounting makes it possible to:
build a Bilan Carbone® at different hierarchical levels, enabling each responsible person with the capacity to implement actions to monitor the impact of their decisions through the study of emissions at their level. The idea is therefore to break down the emissions profile by internal stakeholder (e.g.: business unit, team, site) to facilitate decision-making; and by external stakeholder (e.g.: customer, supplier) to facilitate the implementation of the transition plan (LCA, specific EF, supplier questionnaire, downstream study, etc.).
build the skeleton of the Bilan Carbone® according to the organisation's chart of accounts, at minimum for each boundary that the company supervises from a financial point of view for the purposes of cost optimisation or gains. Thus the organisation has the means to steer its decisions via a financial cost and a carbon cost.
These principles are compatible with the expectations of the Bilan Carbone® method. It is indeed possible to obtain a Bilan Carbone® by expressing the results (GHG profile and actions) with a so-called “analytical” reading (according to analytical axes or categories). Analytical carbon accounting therefore makes it possible to position the organisation's Bilan Carbone® as a decision-making and impact, risk and opportunity study tool in the face of energy and climate issues
Specific glossary
Terms specific to analytical carbon accounting from the glossary are recalled below:
What is (are) the target(s) of the approach?
As a reminder, the Bilan Carbone® method is divided into 3 main maturity levels (Initial, Standard and Advanced).
Analytical carbon accounting is possible for all maturity levels. The objectives of the approach will advance the organisation in its transition journey.
It is recommended and relevant for a Advanced level to put in place analytical carbon accounting to obtain interpretative keys by area of responsibility, and to enable the organisation's Bilan Carbone® to be used as a decision-making tool.
Does the approach rely on a specific methodology?
The methodological principles are compatible with the expectations of the Bilan Carbone® method, provided that further reflections are followed at each step of the approach.
Methodological supplements are presented in the dedicated sections of the Bilan Carbone® method guide and are recalled below.
Organisational boundary
To express the Bilan Carbone® with a so-called “analytical” reading, in coherence with analytical carbon accounting, the organisational boundary considers or defines the Analytical dimensions of the organisation.
Temporal boundary
To express the Bilan Carbone® in coherence with analytical carbon accounting, the temporal boundary considers a complete accounting period, reflecting as accurately as possible the organisation's activity as a whole.
Operational boundary
Identification of emission sources
To express the Bilan Carbone® in coherence with analytical carbon accounting, the organisation must identify the same emission sources (those for which it is responsible and dependent), while keeping the objective of subsequently allocating them according to an so-called “analytical” mapping which will cross-reference accounting codes and analytical axes.
It identifies supported and non-supported emissions. Supported emissions come from activities financed by the organisation. They therefore appear in accounting exports. Non-supported emissions are not financed by the organisation, but are still mandatorily 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 classes of accounts:
Representing a physical flow,
For which there is a cost or depreciation in progress over the analysed period.
All identified account classes must be included in Analytical Carbon Accounting as being one or more emission categories.
Emissions not borne by the company must be added. To account for emissions not borne, it is possible to produce a flow mapping or any other method allowing the exhaustive identification of emission categories. The objective is to identify all physical flows on which the organisation's activities depend and which are not borne by the organisation. These flows must be integrated into Analytical Carbon Accounting as one or more emission categories.
⏳[WIP] The organisation will be able to find a correspondence table listing all accounting codes to be reviewed in order to identify the emission sources that must be considered within the Bilan Carbone®.
Emission category nomenclature
Several nomenclatures exist and can be combined. The important thing is to be exhaustive about 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 GHG Assessment and ISO 14064-1, structure of the analytical plan, scopes of the GHG-P, 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 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).
Activity data collection method
To express the Bilan Carbone® with a so-called “analytical” reading, in coherence with analytical carbon accounting, the activity data must be collected by analytical axis, and therefore allocated by responsibility (suppliers, customers, sites, etc.). Accounting codes make it possible to be exhaustive about the Supported emissions by the organisation. The associated data sources are thus linked to each accounting code (for example an export of purchases for accounting code 601321), then to the Analytical dimensions (for example an export of purchases broken down by suppliers).
Data sources shall incorporate the analytical dimensions identified as relevant for the analysis of results. The absence of analytical dimensions in a data source necessary for splitting emissions according to that analytical dimension may justify abandoning that analytical dimension. Adding the analytical dimension to the data source will be a Process improvement action of the approach.
In analytical carbon accounting, the matrix indicates for each activity data point the accounting code and the associated analytical axis.
Emission profile export
If the organisation uses analytical accounting, emissions will be distributed according to the accounting codes and the Analytical dimensions, established specifically for the organisation, which best reflect its structure and mode of operation (activities carried out, internal processes, etc.). Different analytical dimensions may be used for each emission category (for example purchases can be distributed by supplier, and energy by site)
Therefore, a generic cross-reference table cannot be envisaged.
Nevertheless, the organisation may find below a cross-reference table listing all the accounting codes that should 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 expenditures (non-supported emissions), it must of course still be taken into account within the Bilan Carbone®.
⏳[WIP] A forthcoming resource will be produced and made available in September 2024 to provide a correspondence table with the nomenclature of a chart of accounts. These correspondences will be integrated into the exports of Bilan Carbone® tools.
Stakeholder engagement
For organisations following analytical carbon accounting, the times of coconstruction of actions can be carried out by analytical axes corresponding to internal stakeholders of the organisation (site, team, project, product, subsidiary, franchisee, activity). This makes it possible to identify potential actions at all scales of the organisation.
Construction of the action plan
To express the Bilan Carbone® with a so-called “analytical” reading, in coherence with analytical carbon accounting, each action must include, in addition to the information above, the analytical axes concerned.
If actions can correspond to several analytical axes: they will be subdivided into several action sheets, identified on a single axis so as to have only one responsible party associated. For example, to act at the site level, creating one action sheet per site manager makes the action operational, involves only the managers of the sites concerned, while enabling the management of aggregated actions at the scale of all sites.
This operational breakdown of the action for each responsible person (by internal analytical axis: team, activity, project ...) ; and by external stakeholders (by external analytical axis: suppliers, customers), makes it possible to put emissions and actions into perspective for each analytical axis, and therefore to track results.
Regarding the “ process improvement actions ”, specific actions for structuring analytical carbon accounting can be considered.
Definition of the transition trajectory
To express the Bilan Carbone® with a so-called “analytical” reading, in coherence with analytical carbon accounting, the overall trajectory of the organisation can rely on trajectories by analytical axes. Reduction objectives and potentials will not necessarily be the same depending on the activities, teams or any other selected analytical axes. Each responsible person commits to their own trajectory and their own emissions. The consolidation of the trajectories and actions envisaged by each responsible person helps to feed or verify the coherence of the overall trajectory.
Results presentation
It is possible to obtain a Bilan Carbone® compatible with the expectations of analytical carbon accounting, by expressing the results (GHG profile and actions) with a so-called “analytical” reading (according to analytical axes or categories). This makes it possible to build a Bilan Carbone® at different hierarchical levels (areas of responsibility), and to steer decision-making via a financial cost and a carbon cost. For this, and in addition to all the Bilan Carbone® deliverables, additional information must be reported :
The list of analytical axes selected for the study
The temporal boundary of the last accounting period
The list of analytical axes selected for the study, taken into account by emission category
The list of accounting codes taken into account and linked to the emission categories
For each area of responsibility: the allocation of the emission profile, the reduction trajectory and the action programme
The fact sheets of the Overview of carbon accounting methods and tools are the result of a synthesis work by ABC. We welcome your feedback or questions on this form.
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