Process emissions are greenhouse gases released from industrial or chemical reactions, such as cement production, metal smelting, or chemical manufacturing. If they come from company-owned or controlled equipment, they fall under Scope 1 emissions.
Process emissions are the most relevant to industry sectors. Below are some example sectors of where these emissions may be generated:
Aluminum: carbon anode oxidation, electrolysis, PFC
Chemicals: oxidation/reduction of substrates, impurity removal, N2O byproducts, catalytic cracking, other emissions individual to each process
Cement and lime: calcination of limestone
HFC, PFC & HCFC 22 production: HCF venting
By adding this additional category to Scope 1, we allow users to report on the granularity required by major carbon accounting frameworks such as the GHG protocol, CDP or CSRD.
1) How this category aligns with carbon accounting standards
The Cozero category Process emissions is a source of Scope 1 emissions, as defined by the GHG Protocol.
The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard
The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard
The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard is an internationally-recognized go-to standard for estimating and reporting corporate GHG emissions. GHG emissions are categorized into three ‘Scopes'. For further information see here.
Scope 1 includes direct GHG emissions that originate from sources that are owned or controlled by the reporting company, e.g. generation of electricity, heat and steam, physical or chemical processing, transportation of materials and fugitive emissions. They are the most important source of emissions because they are the direct result of companies’ activities.
2) Calculation methods
Here are the various calculation methods available in Cozero for calculating Scope 1 emissions from Process emissions. Users should choose the method that is the most appropriate to the data available to them, to their business goals and the significance of the emissions of the category.
2a. Process gas release
Emissions are estimated by collecting data on the amount of gases consumed in chemical and industrial processes during the reporting period and multiplying by the relevant emission factor.
Activity data: Common greenhouse gases or F-gases consumed during the process
Emission factor: Cozero provides a default emission factor matching the selected activity data but users can also enter supplier-specific emission factors.
How to report emissions in Cozero?
Step 1: Select the category “Process emissions”
Step 2: Select the subcategory (type of process) you want to report on
Step 3: Select “Process gas release" as calculation method
Step 4: Select the activity data source
Step 5: Enter the amount of common greenhouse gases or F-gases used during the process
Step 6: Select the appropriate data quality
Step 7: Select the country from which the data was procured
Cozero will automatically calculate the emissions for the amount of gas consumed in the selected process.
2b. Quantity produced
Emissions are estimated by collecting data on the quantity of materials produced in chemical and industrial processes during the reporting period and multiplying by the relevant emission factor.
Activity data: Weight of produced product
Emission factor: Cozero provides a default emission factor matching the selected activity data but users can also enter supplier-specific emission factors.
How to report emissions in Cozero?
Step 1: Select the category “Process emissions”
Step 2: Select the subcategory (type of process) you want to report on
Step 3: Select “Quantity produced" as calculation method
Step 4: Select the activity data source
Step 5: Enter the weight of output produced
Step 6: Select the appropriate data quality
Step 7: Select the country from which the data was procured
Cozero will automatically calculate the emissions for the weight of produced output in the selected process.
2c. Direct CO2e entry
Users can enter the amount of emissions in CO2e directly in the Log. Make sure of the accuracy of data used in this estimation.
3) Where can I find the relevant data?
Internal data on production processes e.g. tons of raw materials processed, chemical compositions, by-products
Maintenance and operational records
To find out more about data collection, you can refer to the article about Data Sourcing.
4) Further Resources