Measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions: guide for organisations
This guide supports organisations to measure and report their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Measuring and reporting empowers organisations to manage and reduce emissions more effectively over time. Helping organisations minimise their greenhouse gas emissions will help meet New Zealand’s emission reduction targets.
This suite of documents provides standard emissions factors, technical calculations methodologies and emissions calculation examples. It describes how an organisation can develop their own greenhouse gas inventory and provides a tool for emissions calculation.
Measuring and reporting emissions can help your organisation to:
- increase awareness and encourage reduction of energy and resource use
- identify greater efficiencies and cost savings
- manage risks more effectively
- demonstrate social responsibility
- identify business opportunities
- develop a competitive edge
- inspire peers and motivate others
- prepare for potential disclosure requirements
- be transparent and communicate impacts to its customers
- contribute to New Zealand’s transition to a low-emissions and climate resilient future.
The steps to measure your organisation’s emissions:
Step 1: Read ‘Measuring emissions: a guide for organisation’.
Step 2: Determine your organisation’s boundaries.
Step 3: Collate activity data and document gaps.
Step 4: Input data into the interactive workbook provided.
Step 5: Produce an inventory and report.
Step 6: Seek verification.
Step 7: Take action – reduce your emissions.
Repeat steps 1 to 7 annually to track your progress.
The guide includes a suite of documents and tools to meet various organisations' needs.
| Detailed Guide | For users who need to know the data sources, methodologies, uncertainties, and assumptions behind the emission factors for each emission source. |
| Quick Guide | The go-to document explaining changes since the last update, how to produce an inventory, and what data you need to work out emissions from your activities. |
| Emissions Factor Summary | Quick look up tables providing the main emission factors for each emission source |
| Interactive Workbook | Use this spreadsheet to input your activity data, in order to work out your organisation's emissions and produce an inventory |
| Emission Factors Workbook | Quick look up tables providing the main emission factors for each emission source in excel format across multiple tabs |
| Emission Factors Flat File | Simple format for integration with software |
| Example GHG Inventory | Shows what a finished inventory might look like |
| Example GHG Report | Shows what a finished report might look like |
The guide uses data from New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990–2020, as well as data from a range of sources, including Air New Zealand, KiwiRail, and BRANZ. Most of the data is for the 2020 calendar year.
See the Detailed Guide for more information.
The guide will be updated regularly to ensure the emission factors correspond to the reporting year of the user.
Carbon Neutral Government Programme
This guide does not represent or form part of any mandatory reporting framework or scheme. However, the guide supports the Carbon Neutral Government Programme as it supports mandated agencies to produce greenhouse gas inventories.
If an organisation is reporting historic emissions, it should use the emission factors provided in previous versions of the guide which align with the relevant reporting year. If the desired reporting year does not have an equivalent version of the guide, use the next most recent version available.
There has been a change in methodology
The methodology for calculating the indirect (scope 2) emission factors for purchased electricity has changed between the guidance that was published in 2020 and this current guidance published in 2022. This improvement has been made to more closely align with international best-practice such as the guidance provided in the GHG Protocol.
The previous methodology was based on electricity consumption data rather than electricity generation data. This resulted in a slight overlap between the scope 2 method and the scope 3 method which accounts for indirect emissions due to transmission and distribution losses. By changing the methodology to use generation data, users can measure their transmission and distribution loss emissions separately if required as described in section 5.3 of the Detailed guide.
The magnitude of change between the 2020 guidance and 2022 guidance emission factors for purchased electricity is around -8 per cent.
Table 1: Comparison of 2020 guidance and 2022 guidance purchased electricity emission factors
|
Year |
2020 guidance purchased electricity emission factors (kg CO2-e/kWh) |
2022 guidance purchased electricity emission factors (kg CO2-e/kWh) |
Magnitude of change (%) |
|
2020 |
n/a |
0.120 |
n/a |
|
2019 |
n/a |
0.110 |
n/a |
|
2018 |
0.101 |
0.094 |
-7 |
|
2017 |
0.113 |
0.099 |
-12 |
|
2016 |
0.098 |
0.088 |
-10 |
|
2015 |
0.121 |
0.112 |
-7 |
|
2014 |
0.127 |
0.118 |
-7 |
|
2013 |
0.151 |
0.141 |
-7 |
|
2012 |
0.180 |
0.167 |
-7 |
|
2011 |
0.143 |
0.134 |
-6 |
|
2010 |
0.155 |
0.145 |
-6 |
Table 2: Comparison of 2020 guidance and 2022 guidance transmission and distribution losses emission factors
|
Year |
2020 guidance T&D losses emission factors (kg CO2-e/kWh) |
2022 guidance T&D losses emission factors (kg CO2-e/kWh) |
Magnitude of change (%) |
|
2020 |
n/a |
0.0110 |
n/a |
|
2019 |
n/a |
0.0119 |
n/a |
|
2018 |
0.0087 |
0.0092 |
-5 |
|
2017 |
0.0082 |
0.0094 |
-13 |
|
2016 |
0.0064 |
0.0075 |
-15 |
|
2015 |
0.0070 |
0.0107 |
-35 |
|
2014 |
0.0070 |
0.0092 |
-24 |
|
2013 |
0.0085 |
0.0100 |
-15 |
|
2012 |
0.0123 |
0.0152 |
-19 |
|
2011 |
0.0090 |
0.0126 |
-29 |
|
2010 |
0.0098 |
0.0148 |
-34 |
What does this mean for reporting?
Organisations will need to recalculate their purchased electricity emissions using the current emission factors if the impact of this change is material to their inventory.
As a guide, if a 5% error in the overall inventory is considered material, then for 2016 (where the factor has changed by 15%), electricity would need to comprise 0.05/0.15 = 33% of the revised inventory for the change to be material.
Contact us
If you have any questions about these recalculations, or about the Measuring emissions: a guide for organisations in general email us at Emissions-guide@mfe.govt.nz
If you have questions regarding mandatory reporting as a government agency email the Carbon Neutral Government Programme team at cngp@mfe.govt.nz
Understanding our users’ needs enables us to make future improvements to this guide.
Email your feedback to emissions-guide@mfe.govt.nz
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Measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions: guide for organisations
April 2022
© Ministry for the Environment