How to get started with CO2-Footprinting

Modified on Mon, 20 Jan at 7:54 PM

The CO2 module helps you calculate your carbon footprint based on the GHG protocol. In this article, we'll show you how to get started.

Defining Reporting Boundaries

To begin, you should determine which parts of your company should be included in the CO2 footprint calculation. We recommend using a control approach (based on financial or operational control). On Daato, this works by assigning the relevant entities within your organizational structure to be included in the data collection for the CO2 module. If this has already been done, you should assign the relevant managers and approvers for the CO2 module.

Create Your First CO2 Report

To create your first CO2 report, click on "Data Collection" in the menu bar, then "New Report." You can then choose the year for which you want to create the climate report, select the emission factors you want to use, and set a deadline for your entities to submit their data. In the next step, you’ll choose which units and sub-units should be included in this CO2 report and should submit data accordingly. Here's how it works:

You click on "New Report."

You select the year for the report, the version of the emission factors (more on this below or here), and the deadline.

You select the units from your organizational structure from which you want to collect data.

Hooray! Your first CO2 report is now created.

Here we provide some background information on the individual steps:

Selecting Emission Factors

Part of creating a new CO2 report is selecting the emission factor database. The emission factor databases you have set up in the "Emission Factors" menu will be displayed here. By default, Daato provides all customers with the emissions database from Climatiq, a provider that brings together the most widely recognized emissions factor databases on one platform. You now need to select the appropriate emission factor database version that will be used to calculate the CO2 report.

Selecting Entities

Selecting the entities stored in your organizational structure allows you to determine from which entities data will be automatically collected and aggregated.

Once you have set up your first carbon footprint report by creating a report, click on "Open" to access the carbon footprint module.

There, you will find two steps:

Define Default Activities (OPTIONAL)

Many customers find it useful to predefine emission-relevant activities at the highest possible organizational level so that individual entities only need to enter their consumption data, rather than searching for all activities themselves. This can be done in this step.

Important: This step is optional. If you do not wish to add default activities, you can simply complete and skip this step, proceeding directly to Step 2 (Data Collection), where your entities can enter their own activities.

For example, you can click the blue "Add Activity" button to define default activities using the Smart Search feature or by creating your own activities.

Then, select the activities that should be reported by all or only some of your entities. You can find out how to use the intelligent search feature here:

Once you have created an activity, you can assign it to the entities included in the report.

Data Collection

Once you have completed Step 1 (if you added default activities) and opened Step 2, you can start the data collection process.

At this stage, you can also enter a message that will be visible to all recipients.

When you start data collection, you will see a representation of your organizational structure, limited to the entities you selected during the report creation process. If you need to make corrections, you can do so by clicking on "More Actions."

All your entities will now receive an email notification and can log into the system to add consumption data or their own activities. If an entity has not been assigned a manager, the data collection task for that entity will be assigned to you (the administrator).

What Do Managers Receive During Data Collection?

The managers assigned to the entities will receive an email and can log into Daato to add their activities.

Here’s how it works:

First, your colleagues will see an empty table. By clicking "Add Activity," they can now add CO2-relevant activities.

To calculate the CO2 emissions of your actions as a company, you or the managers of the respective entities in your organization must enter or upload your activities on our platform. Daato then automatically multiplies these by emission factors to calculate the emissions of the activity.

To add activities, click on "Add activity". There are then three options:

Smart search

If you select "Add with smart search", a pop-up window will open. Using our "Smart Search" you can then search for exactly the activity that is relevant to you and further filter the search results using the advanced search options. Daato then suggests relevant emission factors.

This is how it works:

Click on Add activity:

Describe activity (in German or English):

Option to use the advanced search options, e.g. sector, category, region, unit:

Select the activity:

Enter consumption/value, scope and unit (e.g. 25km journey by car):

You will then receive the calculated emissions in kg CO2 eq:

Add your own activity

If you want to enter activities for which you already have an emission factor, for example from an electricity bill with a specified emission factor, proceed as follows:

Click on "Add your own activity".

Describe activity, select measurement type, enter value, select unit, enter emission factor:

Enter date, document tag and comments if necessary:

This is what it looks like when an activity has been entered:

Import data

In addition to the options mentioned, you can also upload activities directly to Daato, with or without an emission factor. To do this, first click on "Import file":

You can now download a template in which you can enter data and then upload the document again.

The document works as follows:

There is only one mandatory entry, namely the name of the activity; the remaining activities can, but do not have to, be entered in order to make the upload possible.

If you already have activities, possibly with your own emission factors, you can fill them all in and upload them.

If, however, you do not have your own emission factors and want to use Daato's emission factor database, download the list of activities, search for the relevant activities, enter them in your list, add the relevant values and upload them again.

Aggregating Data

Here’s how the data is aggregated:

Once the units have added their activities, they click on "Submit Data."

The data is then aggregated to the next higher level in the organizational structure. When you click on the next higher unit, you’ll see a page with a dashboard, a summary of the data, and the ability to add more data at this level.

Dashboard:

Summary of the data, per scope and activity:

Own data collection for this unit:

Analyzing Collected Data

The data collected at the entity level will be aggregated at the next higher level and, ultimately, at the group level. It can also be analyzed there by, for example, clicking on the next higher unit or the "Analysis" menu.

Analysis Dashboard

In the "Analysis" menu, you’ll see a dashboard where you can analyze total emissions as well as emissions in the different GHG protocol scopes for your entire company or individual entities. At the top of the page, you can select the CO2 report you want to analyze and compare the data collected there with another report.

Here’s how the dashboard looks: