# Appendix 4 - Help with determining the scope

## Help with determining the boundary

> <mark style="background-color:blue;">⏳\[</mark>[<mark style="background-color:blue;">WIP</mark>](https://www.bilancarbone-methode.com/methode-bilan-carbone-r-en/foreword#structures-des-informations-specifiques)<mark style="background-color:blue;">] A framing annex and guidance for delineating boundaries is being drafted. It will be made available shortly.</mark>

The organisation may refer to [sectoral work](https://www.bilancarbone-methode.com/methode-bilan-carbone-r-en/bibliography#travaux-et-guides-sectoriels), such as those carried out by ADEME, French professional federations, which provide guidance on determining the boundary.

The [General Carbon Plan](https://www.bilancarbone-methode.com/methode-bilan-carbone-r-en/bibliography#plan-carbone-general) is also an exploitable resource, which aims to address these practical questions by sharing best practices from the carbon accounting community.

> <mark style="background-color:blue;">⏳\[</mark>[<mark style="background-color:blue;">WIP</mark>](https://www.bilancarbone-methode.com/methode-bilan-carbone-r-en/foreword#structures-des-informations-specifiques)<mark style="background-color:blue;">] A forthcoming resource will be produced and made available to provide a reusable flow-mapping template. Variants of this template for certain major sectors will be proposed as sources of inspiration. These variants present sectoral trends and do not guarantee the exhaustiveness of identified flows, which will remain subject to case-by-case analysis.</mark>

## Help with determining significance

It is accepted that some sources of indirect GHG emissions, within the [operational boundary](#p) of an organisation, do not contribute significantly to total indirect emissions. The notion of significance can be useful to set priorities during accounting, when choosing actions, or for tracking results.

> <mark style="background-color:blue;">⏳\[</mark>[<mark style="background-color:blue;">WIP</mark>](https://www.bilancarbone-methode.com/methode-bilan-carbone-r-en/foreword#structures-des-informations-specifiques)<mark style="background-color:blue;">] A framing annex and guidance to determine significance thresholds is being drafted. It will be made available shortly.</mark>

> :mag\_right: *The notion of* [*significance*](https://www.bilancarbone-methode.com/methode-bilan-carbone-r-en/glossary#s) *originates from the*[*ISO 14064-1*](https://www.bilancarbone-methode.com/methode-bilan-carbone-r-en/appendices/bibliography) *and is taken up within the* [*BEGES-R*](https://www.bilancarbone-methode.com/methode-bilan-carbone-r-en/appendices/bibliography)*. It proposes a stepwise procedure for identifying significant indirect emissions.*

For an emission to be considered [significant emission](#e), it must meet at least one of the **significance criteria** :

* **Materiality criterion** : Indirect emission categories estimated as substantial from a quantitative viewpoint should be retained. A minimum materiality threshold to consider is expressed as a percentage. It establishes the minimum proportion of indirect emissions of the operational boundary to include in the reporting boundary. The materiality threshold must not be below 80%. Note that ISO 14064-1 designates the same notion by **importance criterion** the same notion.
* **Level of influence and levers for action** : the extent to which the entity 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 entity'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 sector concerned, 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 build team spirit around climate change.

In summary, emissions are considered significant if they represent more than 80% of the assessment's emissions (magnitude or importance criterion), if they are directly influenced by the organisation (influence and leverage criterion), if they contribute to exposure to risks and opportunities (strategic importance and vulnerability criterion), if they are deemed significant for the organisation's sector of activity (sector guidance criterion), if they result from core activities outsourced by the organisation (outsourcing criterion), and if they are likely to engage employees (staff engagement criterion).

**The organisation may rely on several resources to identify its significant indirect emissions:**&#x20;

* Having completed an initial Bilan Carbone®, or relying on the Bilan Carbone® of a similar organisation ([OCCF](https://www.bilancarbone-methode.com/methode-bilan-carbone-r-en/bibliography#observatoire-de-la-comptabilite-carbone-en-france-occf))
* Refer to [sectoral work](https://www.bilancarbone-methode.com/methode-bilan-carbone-r-en/bibliography#travaux-et-guides-sectoriels), such as those carried out by ADEME and French professional federations, or by think tanks like the Shift Project, which provide guidance on determining the boundary. [Video example.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwAoO6UZI9U)
* The [General Carbon Plan](https://www.bilancarbone-methode.com/methode-bilan-carbone-r-en/bibliography#plan-carbone-general) is also an exploitable resource, which aims to address these practical questions consensually. Sectoral approaches are useful to know common emission sources for a given sector.
* The stepwise procedure for identifying significant indirect emissions of the method of [Regulatory GHG Assessment](https://www.bilancarbone-methode.com/methode-bilan-carbone-r-en/bibliography#autres-standards-normes-et-reglementations-de-comptabilisation-des-emissions-de-ges).