EN1
Measuring Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions
Environment
Measuring Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions
In the UK GHG estimates are published annually. Records are published on the ‘UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions national statistics’ page with data included from 1990 onwards. From 2023 onwards the publication includes estimates of methane and nitrous oxide as well as carbon dioxide.
GHG emissions in the UK cover the seven GHGs that contribute to global warming, as defined by the Kyoto Protocol. These are:
- carbon dioxide (CO2)
- methane (CH4)
- nitrous oxide (N2O)
- hydrofluorocarbons (HFC)
- perfluorocarbons (PFC)
- sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)
- nitrogen trifluoride (NF3)
These last four gases are collectively referred to as Fluorinated gases (or F gases). In accordance with international reporting and carbon trading protocols, each of these gases is weighted by its global warming potential (GWP), so that total GHG emissions can be reported on a consistent basis. The GWP for each gas is defined as its warming influence relative to that of carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. GHG emissions are then presented in carbon dioxide equivalent units.
GHG emissions in the UK are broken down by the following end user sectors:
- Industry
- Commercial
- Public sector
- Domestic
- Road transport
- Land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF)
- Agriculture
- Waste management
From 2022 onwards this will also include an estimate for National Park areas. GHG emissions per capita and per square kilometre are also estimated for each local
authority. These estimates can be found on the ‘UK local authority and regional greenhouse gas emissions national statistics’ page on the Gov.uk website
The UK government has committed to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by enacting legislation. Government is contributing to this commitment by working to reduce carbon emissions in its own supply chain and in policy making decisions.
Values relating to GHG Emissions
There are many activities that can contribute to your carbon footprint, and that can be acted upon to reduce it.
Within MeasureUp we are including a shortlist of activities that would generally relate to an organisations operation that could be included in your environmental action plan and carbon tracking. Each of these will have a separate value page developed which you will be able to access as they are published:
- Business travel: travelling for work (by air)
- Business travel: travelling for work (by land)
- Business travel: travelling for work (by sea)
- Commuting to/from work or Homeworking
- Transmission and distribution
- Water supply and treatment
- Material use
- Waste disposal
- Freighting goods
- Hotel stay
These will eventually link to separate Activity pages for further information
Key Value
A value of £252 per tCO2e or 25.2p per kgCO2e
Carbon values per tonne of CO2 is £252 in 2023 prices.
The 2021 carbon values from DESNZ/BEIS introduce a revised approach to valuing greenhouse gas emissions in policy appraisal, following a cross-government review conducted in 2020–21. This update incorporates the latest evidence, targets, and broader policy context. The updated values include low, central, and high estimates, extending up to 2050.
Policy Paper: Valuation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Policy Appraisal and Evaluation
Read more
Greenhouse gas emissions values (“carbon values”) are used across UK government for valuing impacts on GHG emissions resulting from policy interventions. They represent a monetary value that society places on one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (£/tCO2e).
There are two primary approaches for developing carbon values in policy appraisals. The first is the social cost of carbon (SCC), which quantifies the damages caused by an additional or marginal greenhouse gas emission in terms of climate change impacts.
The second is the mitigation cost approach, which estimates the cost of reducing an additional or marginal emission along a least-cost pathway to meet a jurisdiction’s emissions reduction goals or as the expected market price in a carbon trading system. This approach is divided into two methods:
- The target consistent price path approach, which relies on techno-economic analysis to determine the carbon price trajectory necessary to achieve a specific emissions target.
- The traded values approach, which derives carbon prices from observed and projected values in existing carbon markets.
The valuation of GHG emissions in the MeasureUp Environmental values are based on the target consistent price path approach, as the traded values approach does not provide suitable economy-wide carbon value estimates. The traded values may be the most appropriate for those working in carbon markets but for all aiming for evaluation and decision making in line with Government Greenbook guidance the target consistent price path approach will be the most appropriate to use. For more information, please visit the research paper “Carbon values literature review” prepared for BEIS by Vivid Economics.
According to the 2021 carbon values from DESNZ/BEIS, Carbon values in 2020 prices per tonne of CO2: central series for 2023 is £252.
Different activities generate varying levels of greenhouse gas emissions. The UK government’s Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors provide estimates for emissions associated with specific activities relevant to businesses and other organizations. UK Government Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors.
Access the data
To standardise the impact of greenhouse gas emissions, organizations should express them in common units by applying the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of each gas. This allows emissions to be represented as equivalent tonnes of carbon dioxide (tCO₂e), with CO₂ used as the reference unit due to its prevalence as the most abundant greenhouse gas.
For a standardised approach to reporting on GHG emissions many organisations follow the standards and guidance as set out by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol which outlines parameters for Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions reporting.
Local Needs Analysis Data Source
To assess local needs related to the value EN1 ‘Measuring GHG Emissions’, use the Greenhouse Gas Emissions data provided by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. This indicator measures carbon emissions across sectors and is available annually at both local authority and regional levels. It supports understanding of local contributions to climate change and progress toward net zero targets
How to measure Green House Gas Emissions
If you’re starting out, start with Bronze first. The result of a Bronze measurement is just an estimate but requires the least effort, whereas Silver and Gold give more accurate results but require more effort.
Each level has an effort-to-accuracy indicator; choose the one that’s right for you.
Bronze
Effort
Accuracy
Monetised value:
£252 per tonne of CO2e emissions, or 25.2p per kgCO2e
Estimate greenhouse gas emissions based on the identified activities to report on in line with GHG Protocol Scope 1. Represent the cost or disbenefit of the emissions using the per tonne or per kg proxy values.
Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions
Direct GHG emissions occur from sources that are owned or controlled by the company, for example, emissions from combustion in owned or controlled boilers, furnaces, vehicles, etc.; emissions from chemical production in owned or controlled process equipment.
Step 1: Determine the activities that generates the greenhouse gas emissions that you want to report on. This could be in line with GHG Protocol Scope 1 guidance.
Step 2: Estimate the GHG emissions the activities could emit as equivalent tonnes of carbon dioxide (tCO₂e) by using UK Government Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors
Access the data
Step 3: Convert the tonnes/kg of carbon dioxide (t/kgCO₂e) to monetised value with the headline value: £252 per tCO2e or 25.2p per kgCO2e.
This value represents a cost or disbenefit through the creation of the GHGs emitted. The value should therefore be not be presented as a positive value, or added to an overall social value figure.
Here’s an example
A company reports the emissions from the mileage travelled in its company cars, a Scope 1 emission.
So the company starts by identifying the number of company owned vehicles that are used by their team.
For each vehicle in the company fleet, let’s assume that in 2023 your organisation records 200 miles travelled in an average sized petrol car.
Step 1: 2000 miles travelled per average sized petrol car over the year.
Step 2: According to GHG conversion factors an average sized car with petrol generates 0.265 kg CO2e per miles.
2000 * 0.265= 530 kgCO2e
Step 3: Monetised values is 25.2p per kgCO2e
This journey would be worth 530 * 25.2p = £133.56
Let’s say there are 10 cars in the company fleet with an average of 2000 miles per vehicle across the whole fleet over the year.
Step 4: 10 cars x 530kg = 5,300kg or 5.3 tonnes
10 cars x £133.56, or 5.3 tonnes x £252 = £1,335.60 for the fleet for 2023
In some cases, the company knows what model the car is. In this case, it may choose to apply a conversion factor by market segment instead (found in the ‘cars (by market segment)’ table). Refer to the latest UK government Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors for emission multipliers:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-conversion-factors-for-company-reporting
Silver
Effort
Accuracy
Monetised value:
£252 per tonne of CO2e emissions, or 25.2p per kgCO2e
Expand emissions tracking to broader activities in line with Scope 2 reporting standards.
Scope 2: Electricity indirect GHG emissions
Scope 2 accounts for GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity consumed by the company. Purchased electricity is defined as electricity that is purchased or otherwise brought into the organizational boundary of the company. Scope 2 emissions physically occur at the facility where electricity is generated.
Step 1: Determine the activities that generates the greenhouse gas emissions that you want to report on. This could be in line with GHG Protocol Scope1 and Scope 2 guidance.
Step 2: Estimate the GHG emissions the activities could emit as equivalent tonnes of carbon dioxide (tCO₂e) by using UK Government Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors
Access the data
Step 3: Convert the tonnes/kg of carbon dioxide (t/kgCO₂e) to monetised value with the headline value: £252 per tCO2e or 25.2p per kgCO2e.
This value represents a cost or disbenefit through the creation of the GHGs emitted. The value should therefore be not be presented as a positive value, or added to an overall social value figure.
Here’s an example
Company wants to report the emissions from the electricity it uses, which can be found by reading its electricity meters or gathering data from utility bills.
The kWh electricity use is multiplied by the ‘electricity generated’ figure appropriate to the reporting year to produce company’s UK Scope 2 electricity emissions.
For the reporting year 2024, Company G used 500,000 kWh of electricity. To calculate its UK Scope 2 emissions, the company applies the appropriate ‘electricity generated’ emission factor for that year.
If the emission factor for the reporting year is 0.207 kg CO₂e per kWh, the Scope 2 emissions are calculated as follows:
500,000 kWh × 0.207 kg CO₂e/kWh = 103,500 kg CO₂e
Thus, Company reports 103.5 metric tons of CO₂e under Scope 2 emissions for the reporting period.
Monetised value is £252 per tCO2e so 103.5*252 = £26,082
Gold
Effort
Accuracy
Monetised value:
£252 per tonne of CO2e emissions, or 25.2p per kgCO2e
At the Gold level, you would be expected to
- Measure more accurately using more specific data for you in-scope activities.
- Expand your emissions tracking to include Scope 3 emissions.
Scope 3: Other indirect GHG emissions
Scope 3 is an optional reporting category that allows for the treatment of all other indirect emissions. These emissions result from a company’s activities but originate from sources outside its ownership or control. Examples include the extraction and production of purchased materials, transportation of purchased fuels, and the use of sold products and services. For more information visit “The Greenhouse Gas Protocol”
- Record the evolution of the monetised value of your GHG emissions over time and calculate the reduction or increase in the monetised value of the GHG emissions.
Step 1: Determine the activities that generates the greenhouse gas emissions that you want to report on. This could be in line with GHG Protocol Scope1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 guidance.
Step 2: Estimate the GHG emissions the activities could emit as equivalent tonnes of carbon dioxide (tCO₂e) by using UK Government Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors
Access the data
Step 3: Convert the tonnes/kg of carbon dioxide (t/kgCO₂e) to monetised value with the headline value: £252 per tCO2e or 25.2p per kgCO2e.
Step 4: Track the emissions over time. Steps in tracking emissions (choosing a base year and recalculating base year emissions) are explained in detail in the GHG Protocol Chapter 5 – Tracking Emissions Over Time
Example- Scope 3:
A company aims to report its business travel emissions from air travel. Air conversion factors should be used to report Scope 3 emissions for individuals flying for work purposes.
Identify the number of employees traveling:
- 3 employees on domestic flights
- 5 employees on short-haul flights
Determine approximate flight distances:
- Domestic flights: 260 km (e.g., London to Manchester)
- Short-haul flights: 329 km (e.g., London to Paris)
Calculate the monetised value of emissions:
- Domestic flights: 3 × 260 km × 6.8p = 5304p = £53
- Short-haul flights: 5 × 329 km × 4.7p = 7731p = £77.30
Total Monetised value of air travel for this organisation is £130.3 over a year.
Example – Tracking Emissions over time:
To track the GHG emissions for your organisations car fleet:
In 2023 your company recorded
10 cars x 530kgCO2 = 5,300kgCO2 or 5.3 tonnesCO2
10 cars x £133.56, or 5.3 tonnes x £252 = £1,335.60 for the fleet.
This will set a first-year baseline which can then be used to track reduction in emissions in consequent years.
In 2024, your organisation records 1000 miles travelled per average sized petrol car for the full year. It generates
1000 * 0.265= 265 kgCO2e
The mileage would be worth 265 * 25.2p = £66.78 per vehicle
For the full fleet the cost for 2024 would be:
10 x £66.78 = £667.8
So, the monetised value of the change in greenhouse gas emission from 2023 to 2024 for the 10 car fleet is £1,335.60 – £667.80 = £667.80.
This can be represented as a positive value to show the mitigation or reduction of carbon, although this should still not be added to an overall positive social value figure as this would mislead that this is positive value creation rather than negative value mitigation.
Gold+
Effort
Accuracy
Monetised value:
In the Gold+ level of GHG emission values, you can focus on better management and improvement of your reporting on the GHG emissions.
The following steps could be useful:
- Set clear targets and a target date
- Provide resources to take the actions necessary to meet your target
Environmental Reporting Guidelines: In the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting Guidance (SECR) there are two types of targets outlined:
- An absolute reduction target which compares absolute figures in the target year to the base year
- An intensity target based in an appropriate other unit or normalising factor (e.g. water consumption per tonne of product, CO2e emissions per full time equivalent staff member)
For more information please visit Environmental Reporting Guidelines: Including streamlined energy and carbon reporting guidance (SECR).
The actions under Gold+ for the environmental values in MeasureUp are also in line with the eighth Principle of Social Value ‘Be Responsive’ which represents the imperative for organisations to respond to impact measurement or ‘Social Value accounts’ with action to improve positive impact and decrease negative impact. Users of this Standard will create a structured ‘impact management approach’ that can guide decision making at strategic, tactical, and operational levels to optimise impacts on wellbeing.
| Value Type: | Outcome |
What's this?
This is the type of value. Some values are outcomes, which means many different interventions might lead to them, others are specific interventions that have a set value. |
|---|---|---|
| UN SDG Categories: |
|
What's this?
The UN Sustainable Development Goals are global goals adopted in 2015 for all signed up nations to achieve for us to have a sustainable global future by 2030. There are 17 Goals that address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. The Goals are all interconnected, and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve them all by 2030. |
| 2020 Social Value Models: |
|
What's this?
PPN 06/20 Taking account of social value in the award of central government contracts introduced the Central Government Social Value Model in 2020 which all Central Government contracting authorities must use in their in scope procurements. It consists of 5 themes, 8 policy outcomes, and 24 Model Award Criteria which outline key priority areas to achieve more social value. |
| 2025 Social Value Models: |
|
What's this?
|
Evidence
Measure Up focuses on empowering you to numerically measure the impact you’re having. We recommend that numeric reports are backed up with stories and other types of evidence to help illustrate, in human terms, the impact that’s being made on individuals.
We recommend seeing consent from one or more participants in your intervention to collect and tell their story. This should include a little background on the participant, a summing up of life before the intervention, the human impact of the intervention, and the longer term (if known) impact on the person’s life outside of, and after, the intervention.
Providing photographs, audio recordings, video interviews or even artefacts from the intervention (for example, writing, paintings, music, etc from creative interventions) can add more colour, and convey the emotional impact of interventions more directly.
In some cases it’s appropriate to anonymise or abbreviate the personal information of case study participants. No story should be published or shared without the recorded consent of the individual(s) it concerns. Individuals continue to own the rights to their stories and if they request you stop sharing the story or making it available online you should do so promptly and without need for justification.
Feedback
Measure Up is an open, collaborative and transparent. If you have any suggestions or feedback on our pragmatic, recommended approach to measuring and valuing social value, including wellbeing, economic, and fiscal impact, and effects on our environment, please get in touch so we can share and discuss this at our next Advisory Group meeting.
More help
We want to empower anyone to perform and improve their impact measurement – without needing a degree in economics.
If you need any more help, or just someone to do the legwork for you we can help signpost you to software, training and consultancy to help you get to grips with the impact you’re having.
