Employee Emissions
As more organizations commit to sustainability, understanding employee-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has become a critical part of climate reporting. The GHG Protocol, the world’s most widely used standard for measuring and managing emissions, provides a framework for calculating these impacts.
While employees themselves don’t “emit” carbon, the activities linked to their work—commuting, business travel, home working, and even office energy use—contribute to an organization’s carbon footprint. Let’s break down how to approach employee emissions in line with GHG guidelines.
Step 1: Identify the Relevant Scopes
The GHG Protocol divides emissions into three scopes:
Scope 1 (Direct emissions): Company-owned vehicles used by employees for work purposes.
Scope 2 (Indirect energy emissions): Purchased electricity, heating, or cooling for offices and facilities where employees work.
Scope 3 (Value chain emissions): The most relevant for employee activity, including:
Employee commuting (Category 7)
Business travel (Category 6)
Remote working (often reported under Category 7, commuting, or Category 13, downstream leased assets, depending on boundaries).
Step 2: Collect Activity Data
To calculate employee emissions, organizations need to gather activity data. Typical examples include:
Commuting: Mode of transport, distance traveled, frequency.
Business Travel: Flights, trains, rental cars, hotel stays.
Remote Work: Energy consumption in home offices (electricity and heating/cooling).
Office Energy Use: If not already captured under facility reporting, allocate per-employee energy consumption.
Surveys, HR records, and travel booking systems are useful sources of this data.
Step 3: Apply Emission Factors
Activity data is then multiplied by emission factors to convert usage into CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalent). For example:
Car commuting: km traveled × fuel type factor
Flights: passenger-km × class-specific factor (economy, business, first)
Home working: kWh electricity consumed × grid factor
Reliable sources for emission factors include the GHG Protocol, DEFRA (UK), the EPA (US), and IEA databases.
Step 4: Calculate and Report
The basic formula is:
Emissions (CO₂e) = Activity Data × Emission Factor
Once calculations are made, results should be aggregated and reported transparently under the appropriate scope and category. Where data quality is limited, organizations should disclose assumptions, boundaries, and estimation methods.
Step 5: Use Insights to Drive Action
The purpose of calculation isn’t just reporting—it’s to inform reduction strategies. Examples include:
Encouraging low-carbon commuting (cycling, carpooling, public transit).
Supporting hybrid work policies to reduce commuting altogether.
Choosing lower-impact travel options (train over flight).
Improving office energy efficiency or shifting to renewable power.
Offering stipends for home office energy upgrades.
Final Thoughts
Calculating employee emissions is not always straightforward, but the GHG Protocol provides a clear framework to ensure consistency, transparency, and comparability across organizations. By capturing commuting, travel, and remote work impacts, businesses can better understand their true footprint—and make smarter, employee-centered decisions to reduce it.