There are six calculation methods available within the Purchased Goods and Services category. Three general methods can be applied to a broad range of data, while three specific methods are tailored for particular needs: one for fashion product purchases, one for water consumption data and one for packaging emissions. Whenever possible, it is recommended to use the specific methods, as they offer more accurate emissions calculations.
The three general calculation methods to choose from are:
Spend-based method uses the amount spent per good or service in the selected currency and spend-category. This is recommended for bulk uploading data on purchase.
Bring Your Own Emissions allows you to upload your own pre-calculated emissions to the Plan A platform. For more information, see here. Manufacturers and service providers are slowly moving towards providing emissions for their goods and services. If you have this data, it is likely the most accurate emissions estimation since it is likely based on their own primary data of that good or service.
Bring Your Own Emission Factors enables you to upload your own emission factors to calculate emissions using your own activity data. However, it is your responsibility to ensure these emission factors align with your reporting needs.
For the purchase of fashion materials and product assembly we have one additional calculation method.
The Fashion: Average data method calculates more accurate emissions compared to the Spend-Based method when calculating fashion product emissions.
This method requires data on the fashion product's weight, quantity purchased, the proportion of materials used, and location of manufacturing.
If you do not have this data available but have the spend amount you can use the Spend-based method instead.
For Water consumption data, you can use:
The Water consumption method uses the water amount consumed. This is recommended for water-consumption related emissions.
By utilising the 'Water consumption' calculation method, the Plan A Sustainability Platform allows you to calculate the emissions associated with the use of tap water in the given location and timeframe.
If you do not have water consumption data available, but have the spend amount, you can enter this in the spend-based method using the category “Water, sewage and other systems.” Additionally, if your water utility provider reports emissions for water consumption, you can enter this in the BYOE method.
For Packaging data, you can use:
The Packaging method calculates emissions emerging from the production of packaging based on the material used and weight.
If this data isn’t available but you know the spend amount, you can use the spend-based method instead. However, the Packaging calculation method provides a more accurate estimate of your emissions.
We recommend calculation methods based on their accuracy but ultimately you should choose a calculation method that fits the data you have access to.
Please note: In your spend data, you may notice 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.