Importing activities through template in Step 2

In Step 2 of the CO₂ reporting workflow, you can use our Excel template to bulk upload activities for your entities. This is the recommended approach when you need to assign multiple activities across different entities efficiently.

Getting Started with the Excel Template

Download the Excel template from the "Upload activities from template" option in Step 2. The template is pre-structured with all the necessary columns and includes helpful guidance on what information is required versus optional.

1. Activity Information:

Required Fields (must be completed):

• Scope - The emission scope category (e.g., 1.1, 2.3, 3.9)
• Entity - The reporting entity this activity belongs to
• Activity Title - Name of the activity using your company's terminology

Optional Fields:

• Activity Description - Additional details about the activity
• Tags - Labels to help organize and filter activities
• Date (DD/MM/YYYY) - When the activity data was recorded

2. Emission Factor Information:

The emission factor section contains many fields, but most are optional. However, some fields have conditional requirements (*):

• Emission Factor ID* - Use this to reference factors from our database
• Emission Factor Name* - Required if providing custom emission factors
• Factor (kg CO2e)* - The actual emission factor value
• Measurement Type* - How the emission is measured (eg., Power, Passenger_over_distance, Time etc)
• Unit* - The measurement unit (eg., passenger-mile, m3, tonne)

  
  

Optional Fields (can be left blank):

• Factor breakdown
• Description
• Sector
• Category
• Region
• Year of collection
• Year of release
• Source
• Link to source
• Source dataset
• Uncertainty

You can find the valid Measurement Type and Unit combinations in the attached excel

Working with Emission Factors (Read this for * marked Emission Factor fields)

The template includes two sections for emission factors: standard location based factors and market-based factors (for Scope 2 emissions). You have three options for handling emission factors:

• Option 1: Use Database Reference
  • Fill in: Emission Factor ID only
  • Leave blank: All other emission factor fields
  • The system will automatically retrieve all factor details from our database

• Option 2: Provide Custom Emission Factor

  • Fill in: Emission Factor Name, Factor, Measurement Type, and Unit
  • All four fields must be completed together
  • Partial entries will cause upload errors

Important Unit Validation: Each Measurement Type has specific allowed units. The system will reject uploads if units don't match the measurement type. Always use the designated units as shown in: 
The attached excel file, OR The hidden sheet in the upload template downloaded from the tool

• Option 3: Leave Empty
  • You can leave all emission factor fields blank. The system will prompt you to select appropriate factors during the upload process or allow you to assign them later in the workflow.
    

Remember: You cannot mix approaches - either use the database ID alone, or provide all custom factor details. Incomplete combinations will fail validation.

Market-Based vs Location-Based Factors
For Scope 2 emissions, the template provides separate columns for market-based and location-based emission factors. Market-based factors account for specific energy procurement contracts, while location-based factors use regional grid averages. 

After Upload

Once you upload your Excel file, the system automatically distributes activities to the appropriate scopes and entities. This can take a few minutes to reflect on the tool depending on the number of activities and entities as the tool processes it in the backend. You can review and adjust these assignments before proceeding to Step 3 of the workflow.

If you encounter any issues during upload, please check the error log for exact cause of issue and follow the guidelines above, as incomplete or inconsistent factor information is the most common cause of upload problems.