What is dual reporting?
Scope 2 emissions come from the generation of electricity, steam, heating, or cooling that a business consumes. To fully understand and report these emissions, two perspectives are required:
1. Location-based emissions
These reflect the average emissions of the local electricity grid where the energy is used. This method doesn’t usually consider your specific energy purchases — it focuses on the carbon intensity of the regional energy mix.
⚡ Exception: If your electricity comes from a direct connection to a renewable source (such as onsite solar panels or a private cable to a wind or hydro plant), and it does not enter the public grid, then a source-specific emission factor can be used. This is one of the few cases where the location-based method may reflect zero or very low emissions.
2. Market-based emissions
These reflect how the energy is sourced or purchased. If your organisation buys renewable energy through contractual instruments like green tariffs, supplier-specific agreements, or energy attribute certificates (RECs, GOs, etc), the market-based method accounts for the emissions linked to those choices.
Dual reporting means calculating and reporting emissions using both the location-based and market-based methods. This ensures your emissions profile captures both your physical location’s energy impact and your efforts to procure cleaner energy.
Together, these two views provide a more complete and transparent picture of your Scope 2 emissions.
Dual reporting is recommended by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (see p. 64) because location-based insights provide valuable context about the carbon intensity of local energy grids, while market-based decisions, such as purchasing renewable energy, have a direct and measurable impact on emissions. Together, these perspectives help businesses understand and identify their sustainability efforts.
How does Plan A calculate both location- and market-based emissions from one dataset?
All information needed to calculate market-based and location-based emissions can be captured using one dataset. Our system will use that information to calculate both emissions simultaneously.
Scenario 1: Purchased heat and electricity data uploaded with a contractual instrument
If you upload data that contains a contractual instrument, your market-based emissions will show as 0 in your emissions report, and you will see an additional location-based calculation next to it. The location-based emissions will be calculated using your consumption data along with the average emission factor of the local energy grid.
Scenario 2: Electricity data uploaded without a contractual instrument (in facilities outside the EU)
If electricity data is uploaded without a contractual instrument Plan A will calculate location-based emissions using your consumption data along with the average emission factor of the local energy grid.
In the market-based emissions column, you will see the same result as your location-based emissions, as no market-based data is available.
Scenario 3: Electricity data uploaded without a contractual instrument (in facilities inside the EU)
If electricity data is uploaded without a contractual instrument Plan A will calculate location-based emissions using your consumption data along with the average emission factor of the local energy grid.
In the market-based emissions column you will see a new emissions value. In the EU, when no contractual instruments are uploaded, a market-based "residual mix" emission factor is used as a fallback.
The residual mix represents the portion of energy consumed in the region that comes from non-renewable sources after renewable energy has been accounted for. This aligns with EU reporting frameworks like the GHG protocol (p.56).
Scenario 4: Purchased heat data uploaded without a contractual instrument
If heat data is uploaded without a contractual instrument Plan A will calculate location-based emissions using your consumption data along with the average emission factor of the local energy grid.
In the market-based emissions column, you will see the same result as your location-based emissions, as no market-based data is available.
Scenario 5: National averages
All Scope 2 emissions calculated using National Averages are calculated using a location-based approach.
In the market-based emissions column you will see the same result as your location-based emissions as no market-based data is available. As National Averages are a fallback emissions result we recommend uploading actual activity data here.
Scenario 6: Bring Your Own Emissions (BYOE) data
When uploading BYOE data you will select whether the emission calculation used market-based or location-based in their methodology. Ideally you would upload both market-based and location-based emissions using BYOE. In the case you only upload one the following fallbacks will apply:
If BYOE only includes location-based data, your market-based emissions will match your location-based emissions, as no market-based data is available.
If BYOE only has market-based data uploaded, location-based emissions will be calculated using National Averages.