Once you have followed the preliminary steps — set your boundaries, collected data, and selected emission factors — you are ready to calculate your emissions. At Breeze, we recommend you do this in the platform. Simply upload your spreadsheet, and the calculations will be done automatically in alignment with the GHG Protocol. However, if you would like to do these calculations yourself, below are the steps to follow.

How to calculate GHG emissions in Breeze 💨

The easiest way to convert activity data into carbon emissions values is by using Breeze.

If you don't already have an account

To calculate your carbon emissions in Breeze, follow these steps:

1. First, create your account from the homepage or by clicking here.
2. Once you have created an account, you will begin the onboarding process. After entering your organization name, you will be prompted to upload your activity data sheet, using the same columns described in Section 6.
3. Once you have uploaded your activity data, follow the instructions to configure your places, sources, and review your data points.
4. Complete the onboarding, and you will be redirected to the dashboard where you will find your complete carbon footprint!

If you already have an account

• If you are on the Growth or Business plan, simply navigate to the Data page and click Import to begin uploading your activity data sheet.
• If you are on the Essentials plan, enter your data from any screen using the "Add Data" button.
• Your emissions will be calculated immediately using either method.

👍 Create your free Breeze account

How to calculate GHG emissions in Excel 📈

Starting with the activity data spreadsheet you created in Section 7, with each data point on one line, follow these steps:

1. Convert the activity data, called the Usage Quantity, from each source into the unit of measure of the emission factor (e.g., if your natural gas value is in cubic feet but your emission factor is in cubic meters, convert the natural gas usage quantity to cubic meters). The new value is called the Standard Quantity.
2. Multiply the Standard Quantity by the emission factor(s). If the emission factor source provides a factor for CO2, CH4, and N2O, perform each of the calculations separately.
3. Convert each emissions value to units of kilograms or tonnes of CO2e (kgCO2e/MTCO2e). If the emission factor provides emissions values for CO2, CH4, and N2O, multiply those quantities by the corresponding GWP (see Section 8 to find these). In some cases, the CH4 and N2O values will already be in units of CO2e, rather than units of the respective gases, so be sure to read the source document carefully.
4. Add the three values, each in units of CO2e or CO2e, to arrive at the total emissions value per activity.
5. Repeat this for each line in your spreadsheet. Be sure to follow the QA/QC steps in Section 7 to validate your calculations.

Once you have done this for each of your data points, you can add the emissions values together to arrive at your final emissions for the period! It is common practice to sum and report the total emissions for each scope, as well as the grand total.

How to calculate GHG emissions in Google Sheets 📊

The steps for Google Sheets are very similar to the steps above in Excel. Starting with the activity data spreadsheet you created in Section 7, with each data point on one line, follow these steps:

1. Convert the activity data, called the Usage Quantity, from each source into the unit of measure of the emission factor (e.g., if your natural gas value is in cubic feet but your emission factor is in cubic meters, convert the natural gas usage quantity to cubic meters). The new value is called the Standard Quantity.
2. Multiply the Standard Quantity by the emission factor(s). If the emission factor source provides a factor for CO2, CH4, and N2O, perform each of the calculations separately.
3. Convert each emissions value to units of kilograms or tonnes of CO2e (kgCO2e/MTCO2e). If the emission factor provides emissions values for CO2, CH4, and N2O, multiply those quantities by the corresponding GWP (see Section 8 to find these). In some cases, the CH4 and N2O values will already be in units of CO2e, rather than units of the respective gases, so be sure to read the source document carefully.
4. Add the three values, each in units of CO2e or CO2e, to arrive at the total emissions value per activity.
5. Repeat this for each line in your spreadsheet. Be sure to follow the QA/QC steps in Section 7 to validate your calculations.

Once you have done this for each of your data points, you can add the emissions values together to arrive at your final emissions for the period! It is common practice to sum and report the total emissions for each scope, as well as the grand total.

This is an excerpt from The Comprehensive Guide to Measuring Business GHG Emissions 🚀