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Component types
CO₂e Removal is calculated as follows in all Isometric protocols: It is useful to separate calculations for each parameter in this equation and identify the components necessary to model each group. In Certify components have a Type which denotes whether they are used to calculate , or . Types denote a carbon accounting category and flux direction, either CO₂e sequestered or emitted. The types used to calculate each parameter within are as follows:Component Type | Applicable to | Description of Component Type | CO₂e Flux Direction |
---|---|---|---|
sequestration | Calculations of CO₂e sequestered through storage or natural processes | Sequestered ↓ | |
loss | CO₂e losses and leakage before reaching permanent storage | Emitted ↑ | |
counterfactual | Baseline calculations to compare actual sequestration against alternative scenarios | Emitted ↑ | |
activity | Fuel and energy usage, manufacturing processes and consumables | Emitted ↑ | |
reduction | Activity emissions that have been reduced by other claims, such as Book and Claim Units. | Sequestered ↓ |
Identifying components within types
can be calculated by measuring CO₂e emissions directly, for example with a flow meter and gas analyzer, or by collecting activity data and using the following general equation: Where- is the emissions associated with an activity, presented in tonnes CO₂e;
- is the activity that took place, presented in no. units. Activity data can be measured, modeled, or calculated; and
- is the conversion factor for the activity, presented in tonnes CO₂e / unit
Energy Use Accounting
Energy use accounting (see Module) typically requires calculating the emissions related to electricity, a solid fuel, a liquid fuel, or a gaseous fuel.Electricity
The following components can be used to model electricity emissions in Certify:Component Blueprint | Use case | Calculations |
---|---|---|
Energy-based CI emissions | The most generic energy use blueprint | |
Grid electricity use emissions | For electricity emissions where the absolute amount of electricity consumed is known | |
Metered electricity use emissions | For electricity emissions where the meter reading is known | |
Time-based grid electricity use emissions | For electricity emissions where the time drawn from the grid is known | |
Electricity-ratio based emissions | For electricity emissions where electricity consumption is extrapolated from an efficiency value, such as the amount of electricity consumed per tonne of material processed | |
Electricity use emissions with low-carbon procurement | For electricity emissions where low-carbon is procured | Please see blueprint for full equation |
initial meter readout
and final meter readout
is collected every month by a facility in a project. A grid emission factor
specific to the geography has been sourced. Data for this month is as follows:
Datapoint # | Datapoint | Value | Unit |
---|---|---|---|
A | initial meter readout | 20 | kWh |
B | final meter readout | 50 | kWh |
C | electricity emission factor | 1.2 | kgCO₂e/kWh |
electricity_use
and grid_carbon_intensity
. (B)-(A) could be used to obtain an input for electricity_use
and (C) as an input for grid_carbon_intensity
. However, as the component blueprint Metered electricity use emissions has inputs for the final readout
and initial readout
it is more accurate and transparent to represent this data using that component blueprint, so it should be chosen. If the final readout and initial readout were not available then using Grid electricity use emissions would be suitable.
If multiple month’s data is being submitted a component should be created for each month of electricity consumption.
Example 2
A project developer attempted to source primary data for a piece of equipment’s electricity consumption, but it was not available. Instead, the project developer sourced an emission factor specific to the technology of the equipment which documents how much electricity is consumed per tonne of material processed. The developer does have primary measurements of how much material was processed on site, this was measured using a calibrated scale.
Datapoint # | Datapoint | Value | Unit |
---|---|---|---|
A | mass of feedstock processed | 10 | tonnes |
B | efficiency of equipment | 2 | kWh/tonnes |
C | electricity emission factor | 1.2 | kgCO₂e/kWh |
Fuel
When choosing a component blueprint to create a component for a fuel emission, it is useful to understand what type of fuel has been used and whether it has been measured as a mass or a volume. For mass based calculations:Component Blueprint | Use case | Calculations |
---|---|---|
Mass-based CI emissions | For emissions where the mass of material consumed is known, generic | |
Fuel usage by mass emissions | For emissions where the mass of material consumed is known, specific to fuel | |
Mass-ratio based CI emissions | For emissions where the mass of material used is extrapolated from an efficiency value, such as the mass of material consumed per tonne of feedstock processed | |
Fuel usage by mass emissions, accounting for BCU claims | For emissions where the mass of fuel consumed is known and Book and Claim Units are used | See blueprint for full equation |
Component Blueprint | Use case | Calculations |
---|---|---|
Volume-based CI emissions | For emissions where the volume consumed is known, generic to any liquid or gas | |
Fuel usage by volume emissions | For emissions where the volume consumed is known, specific to fuels | |
Volume per feedstock-unit mass based emissions | For emissions where the volume of material used is extrapolated from an efficiency value, such as the volume of material consumed per tonne of feedstock processed | |
Fuel usage by volume emissions, accounting for BCU claims | For emissions where the volume of fuel consumed is known and Book and Claim Units are used | See blueprint for full equation |
Transportation Emissions Accounting
Transportation emissions accounting (see Module) can be calculated with any of the component blueprints applicable to fuel or the following component blueprints specific to transportation:Component Blueprint | Use case | Calculations |
---|---|---|
Transport emissions | For transportation where the mass and distance traveled is known | |
Mass-distance-based CI emissions | Used when the mass and distance traveled have been aggregated for multiple small trips | |
Distance-based emissions | For transportation where only the distance traveled is known, acceptable for transportation by passenger car or airplane | |
Fuel consumption based transport emissions | For transportation where the fuel consumed is extrapolated based on vehicle efficiency |
Embodied Emissions Accounting
Embodied emissions accounting (see Module) can be calculated with the following component blueprints. For mass based calculations (typically applicable to materials and consumables):Component Blueprint | Use case | Calculations |
---|---|---|
Mass-based CI emissions | For emissions where the mass of material consumed is known, generic | |
Mass-ratio based CI emissions | For emissions where the mass of material used is extrapolated from an efficiency value, such as the mass of material consumed per tonne of feedstock processed |
Component Blueprint | Use case | Calculations |
---|---|---|
Volume-based CI emissions | For emissions where the volume consumed is known, generic to any liquid or gas | |
Volume per feedstock-unit mass based emissions | For emissions where the volume of material used is extrapolated from an efficiency value, such as the volume of material consumed per tonne of feedstock processed |
Component Blueprint | Use case | Calculations |
---|---|---|
Currency-based CI emissions | Where emissions are calculated from the cost of a material, equipment or service | |
Embodied emissions | When emissions is reported as a single figure, for example in the case they are sourced from an EPD |
Direct Emissions Accounting
Where emissions are directly measured, typically in the case of flue gases or gas leakage:Component Blueprint | Use case | Calculations |
---|---|---|
GHG direct emissions | Direct emissions from a process | |
GHG leakage emissions | Direct emissions from a process based on gas energy used |
Granularity
The number and type of components used to represent the calculation of will differ by project depending on data collection procedures. This is because the frequency and nature of data collected impacts how is calculated. For example, if multiple transportation journeys occurred as part of the project these could be represented with multiple components to ensure accuracy in data representation. Whilst it is almost always preferable to represent calculations to their fullest granularity using multiple components, e.g. for each transportation trip, there are some exceptions to this:- Where data is already collected and measured with sufficient accuracy it is not necessary to subdivide it further. For example, it is equally valid to measure the electricity consumption of all equipment in a facility individually, and to represent each calculation as a separate component, as it is to measure the entire facility’s electricity consumption and represent this in a single component as long as all emission sources within the project’s system boundaries are accounted for.
- In some cases it may be prudent to use a single component to model a large number of like-for-like activities. For example if hundreds of transportation trips were made by the same type of vehicle in the same reporting period, the total distance traveled and mass transported could be summed respectively and used as inputs to a Mass-distance-based CI emissions component. In this case individual measurements for each trip should be provided as a source to evidence the total values.