We calculate capital good emissions by using spend-based data. This calculates your emissions based on the spend for each capital good category.
Usually, you can collect Capital Goods data from your Finance or Procurement teams. They will likely be able to provide you with an export of expenses from their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software or provide you with emissions data from those providers who may offer this (see 'Bring Your Own Emissions' Explained).
If you can't access data in the required formats, please take a look at our advice here.
Should I include negative figures in my spend data?
In your spend data, there may be some negative figures, reflecting refunds. These should still be included in your data upload so that previously reported emissions relating to refunded goods can be deducted from your carbon balance accordingly. Negative spend data will be reflected as negative emissions values in the month the refund was given.
How should I account for the lifespan of capital goods in my data?
Unlike financial accounting, the amount spent on capital goods should not be amortised over the capital good's lifetime. The value of the good and its associated emissions are to be reported in the year of purchase.
The reason for this is twofold. Firstly, the emissions associated with the production of goods, naturally, are released at the time of production. Amortising the emissions over the lifetime would, therefore, distort the reflection of emissions released at a given time. Secondly, because emission factors are updated regularly to reflect, for example, improvements in technology and efficiency, the amortised spend amounts would likely equate to fewer emissions being reported year-on-year as updated emissions factors would be used in calculations. This would lead to a considerable underestimation of the true emissions impact of the capital good.