Emissions Factors
To complete the emissions calculations, the energy use record gathers data from the emissions factors. The supplied values are industry-standard averages that Salesforce uses in its own calculations, but you can also use your own.
Required Editions
| Available in: Lightning Experience |
| Available in: Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions |
A key component of a carbon inventory is an accurate accounting of the emissions associated with the organization’s electricity and other energy usage. To turn energy usage data into carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), a standard unit for measuring carbon footprints, the energy data is transformed into reportable carbon numbers.
Carbon footprint measurements aim to gauge the impact of each greenhouse gas in terms of the amount of CO2 that creates equivalent atmospheric warming. This value is often reported in metric tons or metric tonnes (tCO2e).
For example, to calculate the CO2e associated with driving a diesel-powered company shuttle, Net Zero Cloud requires data on the quantity of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) that are associated with a given quantity of diesel fuel burned (for CO2) and the distance that the vehicle traveled (for CH4 and N2O).
Net Zero Cloud includes emissions factor reference data for a wide range of activities. You can load emissions factors to Net Zero Cloud and also change the loaded data. Review the provided data and add your own data to ensure that the conversion factors match your organization’s needs. For information about loading emissions factors reference data, see Manage Reference Data In Net Zero Cloud.
Calculating Electricity Emissions Data
In keeping with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol guidance, Net Zero Cloud offers two approaches for calculating scope 2 emissions associated with electricity usage: location-based and market-based.
The location-based emissions data in units of carbon emissions per MWh of electricity produced is averaged across an electricity grid region. For example, the United States has 27 grid subregions, and other countries also have subgrid data. The included IEA data gives emissions for the entire country. The electricityMap data provides granular subgrid data for a smaller set of countries. US grid emissions data at the subregion level is available as eGRID data. Net Zero Marketplace ships with the latest available data.
You can obtain market-based data directly from your utility or other energy service providers. If these providers have recent and accurate data for the level of carbon emissions arising from their production of electricity, you can use this data because it’s more accurate than location-based data.
Each record in the Electricity Emissions Factor Set object has various fields that are either location based or market based. These fields are delineated in the Electricity Emissions Factor Set grid mix. If you have data that comes directly from your service provider and is more accurate than location-based data, edit the Electricity Emissions Factor Set object record to add those changes in the appropriate market-based fields.
- Create an Electricity Emissions Factor Set Record
Create a record for each factor that you use to convert electricity usage into estimating carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions values. - Create an Electricity Lifecycle Emissions Factor Set Record
Create a record for each factor you use to calculate greenhouse gas emissions throughout the lifecycle of electricity. It includes emissions from the production of electricity and losses during the transmission and distribution of each kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity. - Create an Other Emissions Factor Set Record
Create a record for all the emissions and conversion factors for data types and sources that are neither the electricity grid nor the scope 3 data type. - Create an Other Lifecycle Emission Factor Set Record
Create a record for a collection of emissions factors to calculate emissions throughout the fuel lifecycle, from extraction to end-of-life. - Create a Procurement Emissions Factor Set Record
Create a record for all the emissions factors that are used to convert spent amounts in procurement data to carbon emissions in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). - Create an Air Travel Emissions Factor Record
Create a record for the emissions factors for scope 3 commercial air travel. - Create a Ground Travel Emissions Factor Record
Create a record for the emissions factors for scope 3 ground travel. - Create a Hotel Stay Emissions Factor Record
Create a record for the emissions factors for scope 3 hotel stay. - Create a Freight Hauling Emissions Factor Record
Create a record for the emissions factors for scope 3 freight hauling. - Create a Rental Car Emissions Factor Record
Create a record for the emissions factors for scope 3 rental car usage. - Create a Refrigerant Emissions Factor Record
Create a record for the global warming potential values for individual refrigerants. Global warming potential compares the atmospheric radiative forcing of one molecule of refrigerant to that of carbon dioxide. - Create a Waste Disposal Emissions Factor Set Record
Create a record for the emissions factors for scope 3 waste handling. - Create a Product Emissions Factor Record
Create a record for the emissions factors for calculating quantity-based emissions for a product. - Lock a Dataset from Updates
After you load a reference dataset, prevent an emissions factor value from being updated by locking the emissions factor record. - Get Version Information About a Loaded Dataset
When you load a reference dataset from Net Zero Marketplace to Net Zero Cloud, Net Zero Cloud creates a reference data load log record to identify the user who loaded the dataset and the version that the emission factor was created from.
