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Measure

A first footprint from your bills and records

Last year's electricity and fuel bills, a free calculator and an afternoon are enough for a first Scope 1 and 2 figure your customer can use.

4

How do I calculate my company's carbon footprint for the first time?

Gather twelve months of consumption data (electricity in kWh, gas in kWh or cubic metres, vehicle fuel in litres), put it into a free calculator, and record the result with the year and the sites it covers. That gives you Scope 1 and 2. A first Scope 3 estimate from spend can be added the same way. The whole job takes an afternoon for a single-site business and a few days for several sites.

What data do I need to collect?

Five things, all of which already exist somewhere in your business.

  1. Electricity. Total kWh for the year from your supplier's bills or online account. Note whether any of it is on a renewable tariff, and whether you have solar panels.
  2. Gas and other heating fuel. kWh or cubic metres from the gas bill; litres for heating oil or LPG.
  3. Vehicle fuel. Litres of diesel or petrol for company vehicles, from fuel cards or expense claims. Mileage with vehicle type works if litres are not available.
  4. Other fuel on site. Diesel for forklifts or generators, propane for process heat.
  5. Refrigerants, if you have cold storage or large air conditioning: the amount topped up during the year, from your maintenance contractor.

For a first Scope 3 estimate, add total spend by category from your accounts (materials, freight, travel, services), and the tonnes of waste collected if you know it.

Your customer will accept: a Scope 1 and 2 figure for the last full year, with the kWh and litres behind it and a note of which sites are included.

Which free calculator should I use?

Any of these will do; pick the one built for your country and size.

Tool Built for What you enter What you get
SME Climate Hub Small Business Carbon Calculator One site, up to 50 people, any country, several languages Energy, fuel, travel, spend Scope 1, 2 and 3 estimate
US EPA Simplified GHG Emissions Calculator Small and mid-sized organisations in the US Energy, fuel, fleet, waste, travel Scope 1, 2 and 3, with US factors
GHG Protocol calculation tools Anyone who wants the standard's own spreadsheets Activity data by source Scope 1 and 2 by the book
UK government conversion factors Doing it yourself in a spreadsheet kWh, litres, km multiplied by the published factor A figure you can show the working for

All of them are free. Many countries run their own free calculator too, such as Denmark's Klimakompasset and Malaysia's SEDG GHG Emissions Calculator. If you are in the UK, the UK Business Climate Hub lists tools for your sector.

How do I do the calculation by hand?

Multiply each consumption figure by its emission factor and add them up. An emission factor is a published number for how much CO2e one unit of something produces: one kWh of grid electricity in your country, one litre of diesel. Governments publish them every year, for example France's Base Empreinte and Japan's emission factor database, both free. Electricity of 120,000 kWh multiplied by the grid factor for your country gives your Scope 2. Diesel of 8,000 litres multiplied by the diesel factor gives most of your Scope 1. Write the factor and its source next to each line so a customer can follow it.

What accuracy is good enough to start?

A figure built from real bills and published factors. That is already better than the industry average your customer is using for you now. Where you have had to estimate (a site with no separate meter, fuel from mileage rather than litres), say so. A footprint with its gaps labelled is what a customer, and later a verifier, wants to see.

How should I record and present it?

One page. The year covered, the sites included, Scope 1 and Scope 2 in tonnes of CO2e, the consumption behind each, the tool or factors used, and any exclusions. Keep the bills and the spreadsheet in a folder with that year's name. Next year you repeat the exercise and the two figures become a trend, which is what a target is measured against.

Do this week: collect the five data items above for last year and run them through one of the calculators. You will have a figure before the week ends.

What should I do next?

Free tools, a consultant, or doing it yourself helps you decide whether to keep going alone or get help. Once you have your figure, publish it, and if your customer uses DitchCarbon, claim your profile and replace the estimate there with your own number.

Where to get help

In your country

Local calculators, grants and advice for this guide, where we have them. See all countries →

Brazil

  • Programa Brasileiro GHG Protocol (Brazilian GHG Protocol Programme): FGVces with WRI. Brazil's GHG Protocol adaptation, with a free calculation tool and FAQ. In Portuguese. Tool free; membership paid.

Canada

Chile

China

Colombia

Costa Rica

  • Cómo hacer un inventario GEI (How to do a GHG inventory): MINAE Dirección de Cambio Climático. Plain-language guide to an organisational inventory. In Spanish. Free.

Denmark

  • Klimakompasset (Climate Compass): Erhvervsstyrelsen with Energistyrelsen. Free government tool for a scope 1 to 3 footprint and reduction effects. In Danish. Free.
  • Klimaklar (Climate-ready learning platform): Dansk Industri and Industriens Fond. Free course on collecting CO2 data and building a scope 1 to 3 account; open to non-members. In Danish. Free.

France

  • Base Empreinte (Footprint emission-factor database): ADEME. France's official public emission-factor database (successor to Base Carbone). In French. Free (account for downloads).

Germany

  • ecocockpit (ecocockpit CO2 calculator): Effizienz-Agentur NRW. Free web tool for company and product GHG emissions. In German. Free.

Hong Kong

India

Indonesia

  • Panduan Kalkulator Hijau (Green Calculator guide): Bank Indonesia. Free mobile GHG calculator with guidebook and worksheet. In Indonesian. Free.

Ireland

  • Climate Toolkit 4 Business: Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Government tool to calculate a footprint and build an action plan. In English. Free.

Italy

Japan

Malaysia

Mexico

Morocco

  • Calculer son bilan GES (Calculate your GHG inventory): CGEM (with EIB/EU support). Plain guide to a first company inventory. In French. Free.

Netherlands

  • CO2emissiefactoren.nl (Dutch CO2 emission factor list): SKAO, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water, Milieu Centraal and others. The official uniform Dutch list of emission factors. In Dutch. Free.

New Zealand

  • Measuring Emissions Catalogue 2026: Ministry for the Environment. Official NZ emission factors, workbook and reporting guidance. In English. Free.
  • Climate Action Toolbox: Sustainable Business Network with business.govt.nz, EECA. Two-minute assessment, emissions estimate, suggested target and action plan. In English. Free.

Philippines

Poland

Singapore

South Africa

Spain

Taiwan

  • 盤查登錄資訊下載專區 (GHG inventory downloads): Ministry of Environment (MOENV). Official inventory guideline, factor table and template. In Chinese. Free.
  • 試算工具 (Online emissions calculator): MOENV. Trial calculator on the national GHG registry. In Chinese. Free.

Thailand

Tunisia

Türkiye

UK

US

Looking for another country? See free help by country.

Common questions

How do I calculate my small business carbon footprint for free?

Collect twelve months of electricity (kWh), gas and vehicle fuel (litres), enter them in a free calculator such as the SME Climate Hub's or the US EPA's, and record the result with the year and sites covered.

What data do I need for a carbon footprint?

Electricity, gas or heating fuel, vehicle fuel, any other fuel used on site, and refrigerant top-ups. For a first Scope 3 estimate, add spend by category and waste tonnes.

What is an emission factor?

A published number for how much CO2e one unit of something produces, such as one kWh of grid electricity or one litre of diesel. Governments publish them yearly. Multiply consumption by the factor to get emissions.

How accurate does a first carbon footprint need to be?

Built from real bills and published factors, with any estimates labelled. That already beats the industry average a customer is using for you, and labelled gaps are what verifiers expect.

How long does a first carbon footprint take?

An afternoon for a single-site business once the bills are gathered, a few days for several sites.

Get help

Email suppliersupport@ditchcarbon.com and hear back within two working days. Free, whether or not your customer uses DitchCarbon.

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