Appendix
Usage Options (Data Entry Options)
Data entry options refine an activity record when a single unit is not enough — seat class on a flight, vehicle size, fuel type, load factor, production route or waste treatment. They do not replace the activity unit; they select a more specific emission factor inside that activity in Compare Your Footprint.
Optional dimensions available in the platform when recording activity data. Use them when you know the detail; leave the average option when you do not.
Seat type
Used mainly for air travel. First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy allocate more or less of the aircraft’s emissions to each passenger. Choose Average only when booking class is unknown — it blends cabin factors and understates premium travel.
- Average
- First
- Business
- Premium Economy
- Economy
Vehicle type
Used for road travel, commuting and some freight. Small, Medium, Large and MPV classes change the factor intensity. Average is acceptable for surveys; fleet inventories should map vehicles to the closest class from manufacturer data.
- Average
- Small
- Medium
- Large
- MPV
Fuel type
Distinguishes petrol, diesel, hybrid, PHEV, BEV, CNG and LPG so the platform can apply the right combustion or electricity-linked factor. For electric vehicles, pair fuel type with the correct energy unit (kWh) rather than litres.
- BEV
- Diesel
- Petrol
- Hybrid
- PHEV
Load type
Used on freight and some vehicle lines to reflect how full the vehicle was (0%, 50%, 100% or average). Higher load usually lowers emissions per tonne.km. Use Average when load is unknown rather than assuming 100%.
- 0%
- 50%
- 100%
- Avg
Production type
Applies to materials and some purchased goods. Primary, closed-loop and open-loop (and related reuse/refurbish options) capture recycled content and remanufacturing routes that change upstream intensity.
- Primary
- Closed loop
- Open loop
Waste type
Selects the treatment route — landfill, recycling/closed loop, combustion, composting, anaerobic digestion, open loop or reuse. Treatment choice often dominates the Category 5 result, so prefer actual contractor data over a generic average.
- Landfill
- Recycling
- Combustion
- Composting
Frequently asked questions
- Do I have to fill every data entry option?
- No. Options are optional refinements. If you lack detail, use the Average (or equivalent) choice and improve the record when better data arrives. Leaving a more specific option blank is better than guessing.
- How does seat type change flight emissions?
- Premium cabins occupy more of the aircraft’s capacity, so factors allocate a larger share of the flight’s emissions to those seats. Economy factors are lower per passenger; First and Business are higher.
- Which waste type should I choose if my contractor mixes treatments?
- Split the tonnage by treatment where the waste transfer note allows it. If only a blended figure exists, use the closest average waste activity and document the limitation in your methodology.
Activities that use these
Activities that use these
- Business travel: AirBusiness travel air is flight activity undertaken by employees for work purposes, booked either on commercial airlines or on aircraft the organisation owns, leases or charters. It includes domestic and international flights, short-haul and long-haul, but excludes an employee's regular commute to their usual workplace. Ownership of the aircraft — third-party commercial carrier versus organisation-operated — determines whether the flight sits in Scope 1 or Scope 3.
- Business travel: RoadBusiness travel road is car, taxi, bus and coach travel undertaken by employees for work purposes, covering vehicles owned by the organisation, rental vehicles, taxis and employees' personal vehicles used on business (sometimes called grey fleet). It excludes an employee's regular commute, which is reported under employee commuting instead. The vehicle's ownership determines its scope: organisation-owned vehicles sit in Scope 1 or Scope 2 (for electric vehicle charging), while rental, taxi and personal-car business mileage sits in Scope 3 Category 6.
- Employee commuting: RoadEmployee commuting road is road travel between an employee's home and their usual worksite, in vehicles not owned or operated by the organisation — personal cars, buses, coaches and taxis. It excludes trips made for a specific business purpose, which are reported under business travel road instead, and excludes days worked from home, which fall under home working. As a Scope 3 Category 7 source, it's estimated rather than metered, typically via employee surveys.
- Freight: Owned vehiclesFreight: Owned vehicles covers the movement of goods in vehicles the reporting organisation owns, leases or otherwise controls — vans, rigid trucks, articulated HGVs and refrigerated variants used to move your own or your customers' freight. Fuel combusted directly in these vehicles falls under the GHG Protocol's control approach as Scope 1; electricity used to charge owned electric freight vehicles is Scope 2; and the upstream (well-to-tank) emissions of that fuel or electricity sit in Scope 3 Category 3. Ownership and control — not who is driving or which direction goods are moving — is what puts an activity here rather than in Downstream or Upstream freight.
- PackagingPackaging covers materials purchased specifically to package, protect or present products — cardboard boxes, pallet wrap, bottles, cans, bags and similar — rather than materials that form part of the product itself. It's reported under Scope 3 Category 1 (Purchased Goods and Services), by material type and weight wherever possible, because the emissions intensity of a tonne of glass, aluminium or plastic film differs substantially. Primary packaging (around the product), secondary (grouping units) and tertiary (pallets, shrink wrap for transport) can all be included, but keep them distinguishable in your data if you report by packaging tier.
- Waste: RefuseGeneral refuse and mixed municipal waste generated by the organisation, including commercial and industrial waste, municipal collections, and organic food and garden waste, where the stream is not already covered by a material-specific page such as waste metal, waste paper, waste plastic or waste construction.