Carbon Data: Where to Find the Right Emission Factors for Your Scope 3
Any company that wants to commit to sustainable development will need to conduct a greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory. In doing so, it will realize the significance of its Scope 3 GHG emissions—that is, all of its indirect emissions: procurement, transportation, and product life cycles—and a key question will arise: Where can it find accurate carbon data for these areas? And above all, how do they choose emission factors that truly reflect the reality of their own operations and those of their partners and suppliers?
Behind every metric ton of CO₂e lies a key metric: the emission factor. This small coefficient converts kilometers traveled, kWh consumed, metric tons of material, or euros spent into greenhouse gas emissions. Choosing the most relevant and up-to-date factor ensures a GHG footprint that accurately reflects reality—and lays the foundation for a robust climate strategy.
Conversely, a poorly chosen factor can skew results, blur priorities, and undermine reduction efforts. But you still need to know where to look… and how to assess the reliability of sources.
Contents
Understanding the Key Role of GHG Emission Factors
Defining an emission factor: the basic unit of carbon calculation
An emission factor is a reference value used to convert activity data—such as liters of fuel consumed, kWh of electricity used, or metric tons of materials purchased—into the amount of greenhouse gases emitted, typically expressed in kilograms or metric tons of CO₂e.
This coefficient is the basic unit of carbon calculation. It links the physical world to the emissions it generates. There are thousands of emission factors, defined by leading organizations such as ADEME and the IPCC, as well as international databases such as EcoInvent. These factors vary depending on the industry, the type of energy, or the technology used.
Choosing a factor that is up-to-date and tailored to the company’s context is therefore essential to ensuring the robustness, comparability, and credibility of a carbon balance sheet or report.
When Indirect Emissions Change the Game
When an organization sets out to measure its indirect emissions, it enters complex territory, particularly that of Scope 3. This scope includes all emissions that are neither directly generated by the company (Scope 1) nor related to the purchase of electricity or heat (Scope 2), but that originate from its value chain in the broadest sense: purchases of goods and services, business travel, waste management, investments, etc.
It is often these indirect emissions that account for the majority of a company’s carbon footprint. Yet this is also the area where data is the most scattered, the most difficult to collect, and the hardest to verify.
Under these circumstances, the choice of emission factors becomes a critical lever. Organizations often have to make do with approximate or incomplete data. The use of generic factors is common—but it carries major risks: inaccurate emissions estimates, misplaced reduction priorities, and misguided decisions regarding the actions to be taken.
A single poorly chosen emission factor can be enough to skew the assessment of an entire category—and, by extension, the company’s overall carbon footprint.
Conversely, using a well-documented, precise factor that is aligned with specific operational characteristics—such as the nature of the activities, the processes used, or the location of material flows—yields reliable results that can be directly applied to guide an effective decarbonization strategy.
With this in mind, the Decarbo’Solution® platform incorporates an automatically updated database based on the best available sources: Base Carbone®, ADEME, EcoInvent, etc. Users are thus guided to the most relevant factor without having to choose on their own from among hundreds of technical references.
Toward Greater Accuracy: Integrating Supplier Data (PCF, My-CIF®, etc.)
While generic emission factors can be used to estimate emissions as a first step, they quickly reach their limits when attempting to refine the carbon footprint of a specific product, service, or procurement item. To take this a step further, some organizations choose to incorporate more precise upstream data obtained directly from their suppliers.
This is the case, for example, with:
- PCF (Product Carbon Footprint): a detailed analysis of emissions generated throughout a product’s entire life cycle, provided by the manufacturer.
- My-CIF® (Carbon Intensity Factor®): Each company’s specific GHG emissions intensity factor, calculated based on its actual data and expressed per unit of relevant activity.
The integration of this specific data makes it possible to:
- a more detailed and realistic modeling of purchasing positions,
- better alignment with the requirements of the CSRD, the SBTi, or major clients,
- and, above all, to prioritize reduction efforts where the impact is actually measurable.
This data enhances the credibility of the carbon footprint by establishing a direct link between the actual emitter (the supplier) and the client (the company).
It is precisely to meet this need that the Decarbo’Solution® platform offers Decarbo’Supply®: a tool designed to engage suppliers in the carbon reduction initiative, enable them to submit their own emission factors (PCF, My-CIF®, LCA, etc.), and thereby significantly improve the quality of indirect data.
This allows companies to shift from a default approach to a collaborative, incremental, and manageable approach.
How to ensure the long-term viability and growth of your business through a successful low-carbon strategy.
Where can you find reliable emission factors?
Public institutions: a solid foundation
ADEME's Base Carbone® is the standard in France: it is free, open-access, and regularly updated. It contains thousands of emission factors for energy, transportation, procurement, waste, and more.
Internationally, we can also rely on:
- Defra (United Kingdom), which provides very detailed information on freight and energy,
- EPA (United States), adapted to the North American context.
Advantages: transparency, reliability, regulatory consistency.
Limitations: Data is sometimes too general or far removed from operational reality.
Private and Sector-Specific Databases: For Further Reading
Some databases provide more detailed data derived from life cycle assessments (LCA):
- EcoInvent, one of the most comprehensive LCA databases (paid access),
- The GHG Protocol tools, which are used internationally.
Other sources are sector-specific:
- TK’Blue for transportation and logistics,
- Local chapters of professional organizations (agriculture, textiles, chemicals, etc.).
Advantage: greater precision in estimates, suitable for complex industries.
Personalized data: the key to accuracy
For certain positions (strategic procurement, transportation, production), internal or supplier data is essential:
- PCF reported by suppliers (via Decarbo’Supply®),
- My-CIF®, or GHG emission factors calculated based on their own GHG inventory,
- Internal data (fleet, processes, actual consumption, etc.).
It is this combination of generic data and specific information that makes it possible to produce a GHG inventory that accurately reflects the company’s actual situation.
On the Decarbo’Solution® platform, all major reference databases (Base Carbone®, Ecoinvent, Defra, EPA, etc.) are accessible. But most importantly, companies can engage their suppliers through the Decarbo’Supply® solution. Using a dedicated, free portal, suppliers can calculate the carbon footprint of their products or services and send their data directly to their customers.
How do you choose the right emission factors for your company?
Adapt it to your industry
Each industry has its own specific characteristics. Using an emission factor that is too general risks overlooking your company’s true carbon footprint.
Let’s take natural gas or electricity as an example: the energy mix varies from country to country, and sometimes even from region to region. One kWh in France does not generate the same emissions as one kWh in India.
The same logic applies to purchases: a kilogram of locally produced cotton has a very different impact than a kilogram of imported cotton. The more closely the emission factors reflect on-the-ground realities, the more reliable the carbon footprint is—and the more useful it is for taking action.
Check for updates and aim for the right level of detail
An outdated emission factor can skew the results. Technologies are evolving rapidly, and so are practices. It is therefore essential to check the date the emission factor was last updated.
Another important point: the level of detail. If it’s too broad, you lose precision. If it’s too complex, data collection becomes unmanageable. The goal is to strike the right balance: a metric that’s precise enough to reflect the realities of the business, but simple enough to be usable on a day-to-day basis.
Ensure overall consistency… and seek guidance
A good factor is also one that fits into a coherent framework: it aligns with available operational data, the company’s decarbonization strategy, and reporting requirements.
To ensure you make the right choice, it’s best to seek guidance. The experts at Decarbo’Solution® help companies select the appropriate emission factors, cross-reference sources, and develop a reliable carbon footprint assessment that meets industry standards.
This technical support helps build confidence and credibility… and allows us to move forward with greater peace of mind toward an effective decarbonization strategy.