Glossary

What are the acronyms and terms used by the method?

A

Process improvement action

Actions allowing to take a step back from the Bilan Carbone®. This can concern the assessment of compliance with the principles of the Bilan Carbone®, improving data collection to gain precision and reduce uncertainties, raising the maturity level, and taking into account feedback regarding the Stakeholder engagement carried out by the organisation.

Adaptation actions

Actions in the short and medium term enabling adaptation to the consequences of climate change to ensure the resilience and survival of the organisation. They respond to the issues raised by theidentification of risks and opportunities. These actions primarily concern the Intermediate and Advanced levels.

Stakeholder engagement action

Combination of a phase of Stakeholder engagement (awareness-raising, empowerment, coconstruction, or reporting), during a stage, aimed at one or more targets, with a more or less specific adaptation of the messages according to the organisation’s profile.

Immediate actions

Actions in the short term, which make it possible to launch the action plan and motivate teams. These actions can be implemented without major difficulties and within a short timeframe

Priority actions

Actions in the short/medium term that make it possible to strongly reduce emissions, since they directly concern significant emission categories.

Strategic actions

Actions in the medium and long term concerning the organisation’s overall strategy and business model and which therefore make it possible to strongly reduce the organisation’s carbon and economic vulnerability.

ADEME, French Public Agency for Ecological Transition

ADEME, French Public Agency for Ecological Transition (formerly the Environment and Energy Management Agency), is a public establishment participating in the implementation of public policies in the fields of environment, energy and sustainable development.

🔗For more information on ADEME, here is its site.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Method for assessing the environmental footprint, multi-criteria and multi-stage, covering the entire life cycle.

Base year

Year, established at the time of the first assessment, to which each new assessment is compared. It is the same from one assessment exercise to another, unless necessary (Example: activity changes drastically).

Reporting year

Year to which the activity data collected to establish the GHG emissions assessment relate.

It therefore concerns 12 consecutive months, on a calendar or fiscal year according to the organisation's practices.

Association

Convention by which two or more persons pool, on a permanent basis, their knowledge or activity for a purpose other than sharing profits. (Source Legifrance)

An association is therefore an organisation, in the sense of the Bilan Carbone® and its organisational boundary.

Association of Professionals in Climate, Energy and Environment Consulting (APCC)

The Association of Professionals in Climate, Energy and Environment Consulting brings together actors who carry out consulting missions and support private and public organisations on a daily basis across all themes related to climate issues, assisting structures in their transition towards a mode low carbon mode, as well as on topics related to sustainable mobility.

APCC's objective is to contribute to the transition towards an economy with a low climate impact, more sober in its energy consumption and more respectful of the environment.

It focuses on the role of organisations (companies, local authorities, public establishments) in this transition. Indeed, organisations have a major role to play in facing climate, energy and environmental challenges.

On a daily basis, the objective is supported by 3 main missions, which guide all actions:

Represent the companies that support and advise companies, local authorities and public establishments on issues related to climate change, to carry their voice to bodies and stakeholders such as the Ministry of Ecological Transition, ADEME, ABC …
Embed our members in a process of exchange and continuous improvement, to enable them to be ever more relevant in their professions.
Inform, explain, provide keys and disseminate good practices to organisations on topics related to climate change and sustainable mobility, to push them to act and enable them to take concrete action.

🔗 For more information on the Association of Professionals in Climate, Energy and Environment Consulting, here is its site.

Self assessment

Monitoring the process ofBilan Carbone® evaluation internally and autonomously, using the freely accessible evaluation guide. The self assessment therefore does not call on the evaluation process by an authorised evaluator (trained and certified).

A self assessment allows internal use: target whether certain criteria of the targeted maturity levels are met or not, progress in continuous improvement, check the relevance of commissioning an external evaluation, confirm internally its maturity and therefore the interest of following up with complementary low-carbon transition measures.

A self assessment does not allow declaring the Bilan Carbone® approach as evaluated, nor communicating the obtained result externally.

Analytical dimensions

In accounting, the analytical dimension designates the variables used to measure the different production costs. It functions as a marker used to filter similar entries and retrieve groups for analysis purposes. Analytical dimensions are inherent to analytical accounting. They support strategic decisions by providing a level of detail to accounting data.

Analytical dimensions can be of different kinds. At the scale of a company or group, an analytical dimension makes it possible, for example, to categorise:

The company's activities,
The physical sites,
The legal organisation (subsidiaries, franchisees)
The human organisation (teams, employees),
The projects,
The products or services,
The suppliers,
The customers.

For each of these dimensions, analytical codes define the possible values.

Analytical dimensions can be used in the Bilan Carbone® for the analytical carbon accounting, to build a reading or a nomenclature used for the operational boundary, to allocate the emissions of the GHG profile, etc. They correspond to the division of emissions by responsibilities, in order to build a transition plan with several levels of responsibility within the organisation.

Analytical dimensions are not always present in an organisation's accounting (they sometimes do not have an analytical plan). However, even without a formalised analytical plan, the organisation sometimes has a reading of its costs and budgets by axes (supplier, client, project, site, team, etc.). These axes will be used by analytical carbon accounting because they are those that allow steering the organisation.

B

Low carbon

Qualifies the ambition to contribute to the mitigation of climate change at a level consistent with the objectives of the 2015 Paris Agreement, or with future global political agreements that may replace the Paris Agreement in the coming years. A decarbonisation strategy, for example, is low carbon (or “aligned with the low-carbon pathway”) if the strategy's objectives, which include carbon performance targets, are commensurate with this level of ambition.

(Source ACT Step by Step)

Emission factor database

Documentation of emission factors that can be used when calculating the Bilan Carbone®. There are several databases detailed in the appendix. The Base Empreinte® of ADEME remains the preferred option, except in exceptional cases (Example: calculation of specific EFs for the case study of an organisation's assessment).

C

Characterisation

Characterisation does not directly concern the Bilan Carbone® since it does not influence the calculation results. It only changes the way emissions will be aggregated in the different exports (BEGES-R, ISO 14064, GHG-P), to allocate the different emission sources taken into account within the Bilan Carbone® to the correct categories and subcategories of other carbon accounting methods.

The organisation will generally have to characterise these emission sources. This characterisation depends on the Control (Approach) (operational, financial, ...) chosen by the organisation.

In operational control, for example, an emission source can generally be characterised as "Operated" or "Non-Operated", or "Supported or Not Supported". For more details, the organisation should refer to the different methods concerned.

Emission category

Set of GHG emission categories. Two categories of emissions are distinguished: direct emissions and indirect emissions.

The semantics of emission categories is mainly used for standards other than the Bilan Carbone® (such as ISO 14064-1 or BEGES-R). correspondence links are possible.

Evaluation lead

Person trained (following the training offered by ABC and its partners) and certified in theassessment of assessments, who leads the evaluation of a given assessment, ensures its proper conduct and establishes the final evaluation report. They may be accompanied by various experts depending on the complementary skills necessary for the proper conduct of the evaluation process.

CO2 equivalent (CO2eq)

Unit allowing comparison of the radiative forcing of a GHG to that of carbon dioxide, calculated using the mass of a given GHG multiplied by its Global Warming Potential (GWP), provided by the IPCC (adapted from the standard NF- ISO 14064-1:2018).

Coconstruction

This is a phase of Stakeholder engagement in the sense of the Bilan Carbone®:

The main issue of coconstruction is to value initiatives, sharing and consultation. Coconstruction is central and is therefore closely linked to other types of Stakeholder engagement: consulted stakeholders must have a sufficient level of information about the approach, which requires prior awareness-raising and effective outreach, as well as transparent reporting and communication. Coconstruction gives voice, enables participation, which helps to empower. It identifies carbon reduction axes that the organisation and its stakeholders can consider, based on their knowledge (of the process, the product, the organisation).

Objective : Confront the choice of actions with real possibilities and possible alternatives, in order to arrive at a transition plan perceived as a common project by the organisation and its stakeholders.

Indicator : Level of participation in the coconstruction of the transition plan.

Compatibility

Here the capacity of the Bilan Carbone® to be used to meetother frameworks. The notion of “compatibility with” does not guarantee reciprocity.

Carbon offsetting

Mechanism to fully or partially compensate an organisation's GHG emissions, which can be triggered directly by a process located outside the organisation's operational boundary, or indirectly by the purchase of GHG reductions in the form of carbon credits, made by a third party (adapted from the standard NF-ISO 14069:2013).

Accounting

Process of collecting and exploiting the different data necessary to carry out a Bilan Carbone®.

Consultant

Person external to the organisation, who advises, directs and guides the approach.

Assessment review

Carry out an inspection of the state of an assessment with regard to the requirements of a standard.

Control (Approach)

The standard ISO 14064-1 or the BEGES-R describe two approaches to determine the organisational boundary:

The “share of capital” approach: installations and equipment are included in the organisational boundary in proportion to its equity stake in them.
The “control” approach: International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) define “control” as "the power to direct the financial and operating policies of an entity in order to obtain benefits from its activities".
- Financial control: 100% of the equipment and installations over which it exercises financial control are included in the organisational boundary. An entity has financial control of an operation if it is able to carry out financial and operating policies on the operation, with a view to deriving economic benefits from its activities (source: NF - ISO 14064-1:2018).
- Operational control : 100% of the equipment and installations over which it exercises operational control, i.e. that it operates, are included in the organisational boundary. An entity has operational control of an operation if that entity, or one of its subsidiaries, has full authority to initiate and implement its operating policies at the operational level (source: NF - ISO 14064-1:2018).

The Bilan Carbone® adopts the “operational control” approach for the definition of the organisational boundary.

Coordinator

The Coordinator of the Bilan Carbone® drives the approach. They can be a person internal or external to the organisation.

D

Monitoring system

A monitoring system, such as a dashboard, makes it possible to track the actions of the transition plan and the indicators. It is filled in periodically internally by the Bilan Carbone® lead. A tool is provided by ABC with the tools from version 9 of the Bilan Carbone® method, but alternatives are accepted.

The use of this system does not imply imposed modalities of discussions around monitoring; these are at the organisation's discretion.

This tool also allows the recalculation of significant emissions, which serve as performance indicators of the transition plan.

Documentation

Process similar to the results presentation intended for internal use only. It aims at the continuous improvement of carbon accounting within the organisation. The documentation is useful for future handovers and renewals.

Activity data

Quantitative measure of a given activity causing GHG emissions or removals (adapted from the standard NF ISO 14064-1:2018).

An activity data can be actual (physical or accounting), extrapolated, statistical or estimated.

E

Standard deviation and geometric standard deviation

The standard deviation and the geometric standard deviation are two statistical measures used to assess the dispersion or variability of data.

The standard deviation is a measure of dispersion for additive or normalised data (for a Normal distribution, whereas the geometric standard deviation is adapted to multiplicative data or for a Log-normal distribution.

Carbon accounting scale

In the context of carbon accounting, four main scales are generally distinguished: Territory, Individual, Product, Organisation. More details in introduction.

Direct GHG emissions

GHG emissions from sources owned by or controlled by the legal entity / organisation (adapted from the standard NF-ISO 14064-1/2018).

To be distinguished from indirect emissions.

Indirect GHG emissions

GHG emissions that result from the operations and activities of the legal entity / organisation but originate from GHG sources not owned by or not under its control (adapted from the standard NF-ISO 14064-1:2018).

To be distinguished from direct emissions.

Induced emissions

Direct and indirect GHG emissions in the organisation's value chain.

The Bilan Carbone® quantifies and acts on induced emissions.

See definition of Pillar A.

To be distinguished from avoided and sequestered emissions.

Avoided emissions

Reductions in other stakeholders' emissions achieved by an organisation's activities, products and/or services. These reductions therefore occur outside its operational boundary. They are evaluated with respect to a baseline scenario.

Within the framework of the Bilan Carbone®: an organisation can determine the GHG emissions avoided by an activity. The organisation shall not deduct these avoided emissions from the total emissions, but may account for them and, where appropriate, report them separately.

See definition of Pillar B.

To be distinguished from induced and sequestered emissions.

Significant emissions

Within the operational boundary of an organisation, it is accepted that certain sources of indirect GHG emissions do not contribute significantly to the total indirect emissions and may, in some cases, be excluded from the assessment. Significant emissions are then the GHG emissions quantified and reported by an organisation, in accordance with the criteria of significance defined by the organisation (notion derived from theISO 14064-1 and the BEGES-R).

Sequestered emissions or negative emissions

Absorption of GHGs present in the atmosphere, directly (carbon sinks belonging to the organisation) or indirectly (through financing of GHG sequestration projects).

Within the framework of the Bilan Carbone®: an organisation can identify GHG sinks and reservoirs that capture and concentrate GHGs to avoid their release into the atmosphere (forest growth, soil preservation, etc.). The organisation shall not deduct these sequestered or negative emissions from the total emissions, but may account for them and, where appropriate, report them separately.

See definition of Pillar C.

To be distinguished from induced and avoided emissions

Operated emissions and non-operated emissions

The emissions accounted for may be characterised as follows:

Emissions referred to as “operated” are those directly generated by activities under an organisation's direct control. This includes emissions from the organisation's installations, its vehicle fleet, leased and used assets, etc. These emissions are considered as "direct emissions" in the classification of emissions according to the ISO 14064 standard.
“Non-operated” emissions are those that come from activities that are not directly under the organisation's control, but that are associated with its activities indirectly. This may include emissions generated by suppliers, upstream and downstream transport activities, etc. These emissions are generally classified as "indirect emissions" in the emissions classification.

These categories do not depend on the notion of ownership or leasing of emission sources by the organisation, but on operation and use.

These elements do not directly concern the Bilan Carbone® since they do not influence calculation results. This characterisation only changes the way emissions will be aggregated in the different exports (BEGES-R, ISO 14064, GHG-P).

Supported emissions and non-supported emissions

The emissions accounted for may be characterised as follows:

“Held” emissions refer to the direct emissions of categories for which the organisation owns the goods or equipment. These emissions are considered as "direct emissions" in the classification of emissions according to the ISO 14064 standard.
“Non-held supported” emissions are categories for which the organisation does not own the goods or equipment but bears the costs. Supported emissions come from activities financed by the organisation. They therefore appear in accounting exports. These emissions are generally classified as "indirect emissions" in the emissions classification.
“Non-held non-supported” emissions are categories for which the organisation does not own the goods or equipment and does not bear the costs. These emissions are generally classified as "indirect emissions" in the emissions classification.

These elements do not directly concern the Bilan Carbone® since they do not influence calculation results. These two characterisations only changes the way emissions will be aggregated in the different exports (BEGES-R, ISO 14064, GHG-P).

Equipment

Vehicle, tool, machine or engine, fixed or mobile, which can be defined within a geographic boundary or an organisational entity.

Within the framework of a Bilan Carbone® and regardless of the targeted maturity level, 100% of the equipment and installations over which the organisation exercises operational control, i.e. that it operates and uses, must be included in the organisational boundary. Any other choice must be justified.

Evaluation team

Person(s) responsible for verification and validation of the assessment. The entire evaluation team is trained to the Bilan Carbone® method. The evaluation team is led by an evaluation lead. They are trained and certified in the assessment of assessments.

The entire team meets the following competencies and principles:

Evaluation expertise (training and certification)
Sectoral Bilan Carbone® expertise
Optional - Ability to attest with limited assurance (participation in the process of an accountant or statutory auditor. This is not mandatory, but provides another level of evaluation attestation)
Integrity
Impartiality
Professional conscience
Professional judgement

Facility

An organisation's facility is generally identified by its SIRET (14-digit unique identification code of an establishment of an organisation with a SIREN number). The first 9 digits of the SIRET number are the SIREN number of the organisation to which the facility belongs.

Assessment of an assessment

Process ensuring the reliability and transparency of assessments and their results. It also makes it possible to identify blocking points and improvements between two assessments of an organisation. The assessment includes verification and validation of the assessments.

The assessment of the Bilan Carbone® follows the instructions described in the Guide d'évaluation des bilans. It is an optional procedure within the Bilan Carbone® approach.

Accounting exports

Chart of accounts and analytical accounts are stable over time for a given organisation without major structural modification.

In each accounting period, the organisation records all revenues and costs of its activity in accounting entries (posting to debit or credit). This accounting is done in accounting journals (e.g.: purchase journal, sales journal, bank journal…).

Different formats exist to export this accounting in its entirety:

The FEC (Fichier des Ecritures Comptables): standardised accounting file, notably used by the French administration to carry out fiscal controls of companies. It transcribes all accounting entries but does not include analytical entries.
The general ledger: standardised accounting file, its structure is however configurable to some extent to allow the organisation to adapt its accounting to its needs. However, it does not allow analyses of the organisation's activity because it follows general accounting, its ultimate objective being the preparation of annual accounts (balance sheet, income statement and notes).
The analytical ledger: non-standardised accounting file, which nevertheless includes mandatory fields. It includes all analytical allocations and allows analytical analysis of accounting.

This definition refers to the guide of analytical carbon accounting.

F

GHG emission factor or removal factor (EF)

Coefficient relating activity data to GHG emissions or removals (standard NF-ISO 14064-1:2018).

An emission factor (EF) can originate from databases, be developed by the organisation, or be a coefficient called “spend-based” (specific or non-specific).

Radiative forcing

It is the difference between the solar energy received by the Earth and the energy radiated to space, caused by a change in the factors influencing the climate. This measure is expressed in watts per square metre (W/m²). This measure is currently positive, the incoming energy is greater than the outgoing energy: this is referred to as global warming.

G

Greenhouse gases (GHGs)

Gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, natural or anthropogenic, that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths in the infrared radiation spectrum emitted by the Earth's surface, the atmosphere and clouds. This property causes the greenhouse effect.

Water vapour (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4) and ozone (O3) are the natural greenhouse gases of the Earth's atmosphere.

There are a large number of anthropogenic greenhouse gases, such as halocarbons and other substances containing chlorine or bromine, grouped under the Montreal Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol includes CO2, N2O, CH4, SF6, NF3, HFCs and PFCs (adapted from the Fifth IPCC report – CLIMATE CHANGE 2013 The Physical Science Basis, p1455).

Governance

Framework aiming to define how to control the different stages of the approach optimally.

Within the framework of the Bilan Carbone®, the organisation shall set up management and internal governance enabling the completion of the approach and the attainment of the associated criteria. The organisation shall ensure that participants have the necessary methodological skills and are trained in the use of the tools employed, as well as in the construction and implementation of transition plans.

H

Time horizon

Deadlines of a transition objective : generally short, medium or long term.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)

Hydrofluorocarbons are a family of gases composed only of hydrogen, carbon and fluorine atoms. They are GHGs included in the Kyoto Protocol.

I

Uncertainty

Parameter associated with the result of a quantification that characterises the dispersion of values that can reasonably be attributed to the quantified quantity (standard NF-ISO 14064-1:2018).

Estimates and measurements inherently carry a margin of error; the vast majority of scientific methods tend to associate values called uncertainties with the results of measurements or estimates. These uncertainties make it possible to arrive at a 95% confidence interval, that is an interval [Value 1; Value 2] in which the true value of what is measured or estimated has a 95% chance of lying.

The Bilan Carbone method makes it possible to determine uncertainties qualitatively and quantitatively.

Inflation

Inflation corresponds to a general increase in the prices of goods and services in an economy.

Facility

Material element (building, roadway or other type of infrastructure) or production process that can be defined within a geographic boundary or an organisational unit.

Confidence interval

A confidence interval is an interval intended to contain an unknown parameter that one seeks to estimate. A confidence interval is constructed by a method from data. The constructed interval may or may not contain the value of the unknown parameter. One assigns it a level of confidence often expressed as a percentage: the most common is the 95% level. This means that the method has a 95% chance of producing an interval containing the true value of the unknown parameter.

L

Deliverables

Set of documents, papers and information obtained at each stage of the approach, compiled for the Results presentation and reporting.

Log-normal distribution

A random variable X is said to follow a log-normal distribution with parameters $\mu$ and $\sigma ^{2}$ if the variable $Y=\ln(X)$ follows a normal distribution with mean $\mu$ and variance $\sigma ^{2}$ .

Normal distribution

A normal distribution is an absolutely continuous probability distribution that depends on two parameters: its mean, a real number denoted μ, and its standard deviation, a positive real number denoted σ. The probability density of the normal distribution with mean μ and standard deviation σ is given by:

$f(x)={\frac {1}{\sigma {\sqrt {2\pi }}}}\operatorname {e} ^{-{\frac {1}{2}}\left({\frac {x-\mu }{\sigma }}\right)^{2}}$ .

The curve of this density is called the Gaussian curve or bell curve, among others. It is the best-known representation of these distributions.

M

Data collection matrix

Summary of all activity data and emission factors used during the accounting process, serving as the organisation's documentation (sources, assumptions, uncertainties, value and unit).

Stakeholder engagement

Stakeholder engagement here designates all the processes that will lead the organisation to transmit the right messages to the right targets. It continues throughout the Bilan Carbone® approach.

To achieve Stakeholder engagement, the Bilan Carbone® approach involves outreach the issues to raise awareness, empower the stakeholders, consult, then reported and communicate the results.

O

Objectives of the approach

The Bilan Carbone® approach has three main objectives:

Mobilise the organisation's internal and external stakeholders in a transition approach, through awareness-raising, empowerment, coconstruction and reporting of the transformations enabled by the transition plan.
Account in the most rigorous and comprehensive way possible for the organisation's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, whether direct or indirect, covering the organisation's responsibility and dependency boundaries.
To develop an ambitious, manageable, operational transition and GHG emissions and vulnerability reduction plan for the organisation that is consistent with the emissions accounting.

Objectives of the transition plan

Results that the organisation proposes to achieve over a given period, thanks to its transition plan.

Within the Bilan Carbone® approach, they aim to reduce GHG emissions and enable the organisation to become more resilient. They are set at several time horizons : short, medium or long term. They are consistent with the organisation's overall objectives and integrated into its overall strategy.

OCCF

Observatory of Carbon Accounting in France.

🔗 More information in the bibliography.

Climate shadow

See Bibliography.

Organisation

Person or group of persons having a role with responsibilities, authority and relationships enabling them to achieve their objectives (source ISO 14064-1).

Entity incorporated as a capital company or having another status, private or public law, that has its own administrative and functional structure. (Example: company, association, local authority, public establishment, company, corporation, firm, authority, institution, or a part or combination of the preceding entities).

P

Stakeholders

Stakeholders around the organisation can be distributed as follows. They will be solicited in distinct phases of Stakeholder engagement.

Project team, internal leads
Management
Other internal collaborators (employees, salaried staff, volunteers)
Upstream external stakeholders (suppliers)
Downstream external stakeholders (customers)
Other external stakeholders (financial and technical partners, local actors, professional federations, or other partners on strategic issues for the organisation such as education, innovation, development).

Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)

Perfluorocarbons are a family of gases composed only of carbon and fluorine atoms. They are GHGs included in the Kyoto Protocol.

Reporting boundary

Notion specific to a regulatory carbon accounting exercise of an organisation. It concerns the emissions contained within the operational boundary that will actually be accounted for in the assessment exercise. It can therefore be part of the operational boundary.

Operational boundary

All emission sources taken into account during an organisation's carbon accounting exercise as well as their allocation by emission category.

Organisational boundary

All sites, installations and equipment taken into account during the organisation's carbon accounting exercise.

Temporal boundary

Specific period of time for an organisation's carbon accounting exercise.

Legal entity

Organisation with legal personality, identified by a SIREN number. Notion specific to a regulatory carbon accounting exercise of an organisation.

When the Bilan Carbone® is used for regulatory reporting, its organisational boundary shall be that of a Legal entity subject to the applicable regulation.

Pillar A

See definition of induced emissions.

To contribute to the overall reduction of emissions, an organisation shall reduce its own direct and indirect emissions (Pillar A) to the levels required by decarbonisation scenarios compatible with the Paris Agreement.

Unless an exception applies, Pillar A “reduction of the organisation's emissions” is prioritised over the other two pillars B and C, due to its role in the organisation's dependence on a system based on fossil fuels, and its influence on the risks and opportunities that the organisation will have to integrate into its strategy.

The Bilan Carbone® quantifies and acts on Pillar A.

Pillar B

See definition of avoided emissions.

To contribute to the overall reduction of emissions, an organisation shall reduce the emissions of others (Pillar B). It then evaluates and increases its contributions to the decarbonisation of third parties:

Either through its distributed or sold products and services that substitute a more carbon-intensive solution for end customers
Or through financing emission reduction projects outside its value chain (purchase of certified emission reductions, direct equity investments in low-carbon projects, low-carbon energy contracts under certain conditions, etc.)

The Bilan Carbone® methodology does not address avoided emissions.

Pillar C

See definition of sequestered or negative emissions.

To contribute to the overall increase in carbon sequestration, the organisation shall preserve and increase carbon sinks within or outside its value chain (Pillar C). It evaluates its contributions to the preservation and increase of global natural and technological carbon sinks:

Either within its value chain, by developing its own carbon sinks (direct absorptions) or those upstream (in its supply chain) and downstream (within customers or end users)
Or outside its value chain, through its financing of sequestration projects (purchase of certified carbon sequestration, direct equity investments in projects, etc.)

The Bilan Carbone® methodology does not address negative emissions.

General Carbon Plan (PCG)

General Carbon Plan

🔗 More information in the bibliography.

Action plan

Set of concrete actions envisaged and enabling the achievement of the transition plan's objectives. The action plan is established in the short term (until the next assessment renewal), even if some actions extend to the medium or long term. It is the operational translation of the transition plan and the organisation's low-carbon transition strategy.

Transition Plan

A transition plan defines all actions and the means envisaged for reducing emissions related to an organisation's activities, and the evolution of these activities to make them compatible with a low-carbon world respecting the Paris Agreement. (source ADEME).

Project lead

Person driving the development of the approach. Concept assimilated in the Bilan Carbone® to the coordinator or lead of the approach.

An action owner designates the person driving and responsible for the implementation of a specific action.

Emission category

Grouping of GHG emissions from several homogeneous emission sources. The Bilan Carbone® nomenclature uses the semantics of emission categories. Other standards may use the semantics of scopes or emission categories. correspondence links are possible.

Global Warming Potential (GWP)

Index based on the radiative properties of GHGs, measuring the radiative forcing following a pulse emission of a unit mass of a given GHG in the current atmosphere integrated over a chosen period, relative to that of carbon dioxide (CO2) (source: NF- ISO 14064-1:2018).

GHG emissions profile

Aggregation of the quantified GHG emission results, for all emission sources included within the organisation's boundaries.

The emission profile also denotes the breakdown of quantified emissions according to a certain nomenclature (for example according to the Bilan Carbone® emission categories).

Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and that complements the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) whose participating countries meet once a year since 1995. It notably defines the different GHGs to be taken into account in the context of these reductions:

Carbon dioxide, CO₂
Methane, CH₄
Nitrous oxide, N₂O
Sulphur hexafluoride, SF₆
The hydrofluorocarbons, HFCs
The perfluorocarbons, PFCs

GHG sink

Process removing a GHG from the atmosphere (standard NF-ISO 14064-1: 2018).

R

RACI

RACI stands for:

R: Doer (Responsible) – The person who performs the work to complete the task. These are the individuals who actually do the work or carry out the task.
A: Approver (Accountable) – The person who is accountable for the task. This person shall approve or validate the completed work and ensure that objectives are met.
C: Consulted (Consulted) – The people who provide advice, feedback or information necessary to complete the task. They are often experts or key stakeholders.
I: Informed (Informed) – The people who must be kept informed of the progress or outcomes of the task. They do not have an active role in completing the task, but need to know its status or results.

Spend-based emission factors

An emission factor presented as values in kgCO₂e/k€ spent. These EFs are derived from averages across many products, and are therefore associated with very high uncertainties.

Specific spend-based emission factors

Spend-based ratio created by the organisation, for example from the carbon accounting of its stakeholders (suppliers, ...).

Framework

Here refers to other methods, standards and carbon accounting regulations or low-carbon transition approaches.

French regulation on greenhouse gas emissions reporting (Regulatory GHG Assessment or BEGES-R)

A mechanism providing that organisations regularly produce and publish an assessment on a public platform.

🔗For more information on the BEGES-R, refer to the Bibliography.

Empowerment

This is a phase of Stakeholder engagement in the sense of the Bilan Carbone®:

The main issue of empowerment is to give everyone a role in the approach. For stakeholders to become aware that every degree counts, that every action matters and therefore that every employee matters in the implementation of these actions. For the organisation to realise that this concerns sustainability. New responsibilities will emerge from the approach and will allow existing positions to be enhanced by taking into account an essential component related to the durability of the activity.

Objective : Involve and enable each stakeholder to get moving and take action.

Indicator : Level of participation in the approach and level of moving to action.

Results presentation and reporting

Three results reports are framed by the Bilan Carbone® approach.

Reporting and communication

This is a phase of Stakeholder engagement in the sense of the Bilan Carbone®:

The main issue of reporting and communications is to enable the appropriation of results and actions by the different concerned stakeholders. To link global issues, local issues, the organisation's impacts, the role of stakeholders in these impacts, the resulting actions, and the role of stakeholders in the success of these actions.

Objective : Make this approach an initiative that goes beyond the project team to reach other concerned stakeholders (primarily internal employees) through the implementation of actions, in a logic of cross-functionality, togetherness, reputation and exemplarity.

Indicator : Level of knowledge and understanding of the results (impacts and actions)

Transition risks and opportunities

Transition risks, related to changes in our societies and economic models, are divided into several categories:

Regulatory risks
Image and reputation risks
Market and technology risks

Opportunities that ensure the organisation a place in tomorrow’s low-carbon world are of several types:

Reduction of resource consumption
Reduction of GHG emissions
Development of new products and services and innovations
Regulatory/financial incentives
Communication and image
Adaptation actions

Physical risks

Physical risks, directly related to climate change and the consequences it engenders, are divided into several categories:

Risks related to natural disasters and extreme climatic events becoming increasingly frequent and/or intense
Risks related to gradual changes in the climate.

S

Awareness and popularisation

This is a phase of Stakeholder engagement in the sense of the Bilan Carbone®:

The main issue of awareness-raising and popularisation of the issues is to understand in order to act : strengthen the understanding of essential information around energy-climate issues, and unite around the approach to ensure better integration of the transition plan.

Objective : Create the necessary groundwork for a good understanding of the issues, for acceptance of change and future actions to be undertaken, and enable the organisation to identify the risks and opportunities associated with the ecological transition.

Indicator : Level of knowledge and understanding of the issues.

Significance

🔎 The notion of significance originates from theISO 14064-1 and is taken up within the BEGES-R.

It is accepted that certain sources of indirect GHG emissions, within the operational boundary of an organisation, do not contribute significantly to the total indirect emissions. The notion of significance can be useful for setting priorities during accounting, when choosing actions or when monitoring results. For an emission to be considered significant emission, it must meet at least one of the significance criteria :

Magnitude criterion : Indirect emission categories estimated to be substantial from a quantitative point of view are to be retained. A minimal magnitude threshold to consider is expressed as a percentage. It establishes the minimum proportion of indirect emissions of the operational boundary to be included in the reporting boundary. The magnitude threshold shall not be lower than 80%. Note that the ISO 14064-1 standard designates by materiality criterion the same notion.
Level of influence and levers for action : the extent to which the organisation can monitor and reduce emissions and removals (for example, energy efficiency, eco-design, customer engagement, terms of reference).
Strategic importance and vulnerability according to a risk or opportunity approach: concerns indirect emissions or removals that contribute to the organisation's exposure to risks (for example, risks associated with climate change such as financial risks, regulatory risks, supply chain risks, product and customer risks, litigation risks, reputational damage risks) or to its commercial opportunities (new market or new business model, for example).
Sector-specific guidance : GHG emissions deemed significant for the relevant sector of activity, according to sector-specific guidance.
Outsourcing : Indirect emissions and removals resulting from outsourced activities that are generally core activities.
Staff engagement : Indirect emissions likely to motivate employees to reduce their emissions or that foster team spirit around climate change.

GHG source or emission source

Physical unit or process releasing a GHG into the atmosphere (standard NF-ISO 14064-1:2018).

Low-carbon strategy or transition strategy

The organisation's low-carbon transition strategy details the means envisaged to achieve the organisation's objectives, while preserving, and ideally improving, its sustainability. The strategy covers tangible investments, intangible investments (such as R&D or skills), management and policy across all its stakeholders (employees, but also suppliers, customers). Within the framework of the Bilan Carbone®, the transition plan will lead the organisation to evolve its operating model. As it progresses through the maturity journey, the organisation will be led to reflect on the relevance of its activities, products and services, in a low-carbon world.

GHG removals

Reduction or removal of GHGs from the atmosphere, being under the control of the organisation, through GHG sinks (adapted from the standard NF-ISO 14064-1:2018).

T

Contrails

At high altitude, water vapour emitted by aircraft engines can condense into fine ice particles, forming what are called contrails or "vapour trails". These trails can have an impact on the climate by modifying the reflection of solar light (albedo) and contributing to the formation of artificial clouds.

In addition to the CO2 emitted by fuel production and combustion, aircraft can affect the climate through other emissions and atmospheric processes, such as water vapour (H2O), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particles (aerosols) of sulfate and soot, or contrails. For the latter, although their contribution to the total climate impact of aviation at the global scale (assessed on the basis of radiative forcing) is estimated at a minimum of 50%, significant uncertainties remain about their conditions of formation per flight (dependent on altitude and various meteorological factors).

(Source Base Empreinte).

Transition pathway

Within the framework of the Bilan Carbone®, the trajectory is defined using a bottom-up approach: the GHG profile (current situation of the organisation) and the reduction potentials of actions make it possible to project an achievable trajectory (trend and evolutions of emissions) that justifies the credibility of the objectives.

Triple bottom line (TBL or 3BL)

Accounting method that takes into account three main dimensions: economic, environmental and social. It aims to assess and report an organisation's performance not only in financial terms, but also in terms of environmental impact and social contributions. This holistic approach allows a better understanding of the overall effects of an organisation's activities on society and the planet.

Carbon accounting therefore makes it possible to provide indicators to be included in this triple bottom line accounting.

V

Validation

Evaluation of effects that have not yet occurred, concerning the assessed report. For example: the validation of the transition plan. Included in the process ofevaluation.

Concept originating from theISO 17029 and ISO 14069.

Verification

Evaluation of effects that have already occurred, within the scope of the assessed report. For example: verification of employee data used in the calculation of the GHG profile, verification of obtained results, verification of uncertainties, among others. Included in the process ofevaluation.

Concept originating from theISO 17029 and ISO 14069.

Transition vision

It represents how the organisation projects its place in a low-carbon world (in the long term, i.e. up to 2050). It does not require a detailed description within the framework of the Bilan Carbone®, but it allows the organisation to project its future strategy regarding climate.

Vulnerability or Climate Vulnerability

According to the IPCC report, climate risk is a combination of three factors: a "climate hazard" factor (the potential impact), an "exposure" factor (the probability of occurrence), and a "vulnerability" factor to that hazard (the severity).

Climate vulnerability is a key notion in risk assessment. It expresses the propensity of a study object to be impacted by a climate hazard. It is the most difficult variable to estimate because it is highly dependent on the company studied: its level of sensitivity to hazards and its capacity to adapt.

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Last updated 10 months ago