Factor updates and recalculation

This functionality automatically incorporates updates to carbon accounting methodologies and emission factor databases into our calculation logic.

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Table of contents

Overview

FAQs

Methodology

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Overview

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FAQs

What magnitude of impact can I expect updates to emission factor databases to have on my inventory?  

Because magnitude of change varies across business activity categories and regions, the impact to any single company’s GHG inventory will be unique. For example, electricity grids around the globe are “greening” through the incorporation of additional renewable sources at varying rates, and the emissions factor for a specific grid region may change more significantly than that of another. Customers may reach out to their respective customer success representative with a specific list of GHGP categories and locations for more granular insight into the magnitude of factor updates on their inventory.  

How often are emission factor databases published?  

Each emissions factor database publishes in its own cadence. While some sources maintain regular updates, others are more sporadic and publish updates only as new data becomes available. Below is a selection of some of our largest emission factor sources and their publishing patterns. Note: Workiva Carbon uses emission factors from over 70 sources. For questions about individual calculations or sources, consult the Audit feature of the platform or reach out to your customer success representative.  

Database	Update Schedule
US EPA GHG Emission Factors Hub	Annual, unpredictable publish date
US EPA eGRID	Annual, late January-early February
UK DBEIS Government conversion factors for reporting of greenhouse gas emissions	Annual, late June-early July
International Energy Agency Electricity Emission Factors	Annually, September
Australia National Greenhouse Gas Accounts Factors	Annually, unpredictable publish date
Canadian National Inventory Report	Annually, between March and May
Ireland Commision for Regulation of Utilities Fuel Mix Disclosure	Annually, between September and December

 

What kind of time lag exists between my current year’s activity data and the published emission factor databases? 

There are different lags to expect between your entered data and published emission factors.   

First, the lag between the data collection that produces an emission factor and the publication of the factor. To address this, Workiva Carbon documents the “Data Year” and “Release Year” of an emission factor. The Data Year describes the year that the data was collected for the resulting emission factor. The Release Year describes the year the emission factor was released by its publishing organization. For most publishing organizations, this lag is 1-2 years (ex. IEA releases electricity emission factors describing 2021 electricity grid activity in September of 2023). In some cases, organizations release an annual dataset wherein some individual factors’ data years have not changed (ex: republishing a refrigerant GWP from 2008). For emissions sources whose GHG impact has not materially changed, these older data points are still appropriate and their lag should not cause concern. In emissions reporting, this lag is known and accepted. It is typical an emissions inventory uses an emissions factor whose data year is not the exact same as the reporting year.  

Second, there is the lag between the publication’s release and the factor being applied to inventories within Workiva Carbon. Newly published sources are reviewed quarterly, so newly published emission factors are not immediately available. Once new emission factors are entered into our dataset, recalculation will retroactively apply to user entries that previously used a now outdated emission factor. 

 

Why might I want to utilize an older factor and op-out of the automated update?  

Newly published emission factors reflect more up to date data, so they are typically considered more accurate. If an emission factor update becomes available to customers before their inventory has been finalized for a given reporting year, we recommend using the newly available emission factors.  Some reporters may choose to opt-out of factor updates and recalculations to maintain consistency in reports over the course of a year. From an audit standpoint, best practice is to maintain a corporate policy dictating emissions calculation approach and factor philosophy, and to act consistently with this policy.   Though newer emission factors are preferable to older, only a significant delta will cause a material change triggering a restatement of an inventory that has already been publicly released.

How does this impact a manual override I have already entered into the platform? 

Manual overrides are given preference over available emission factors. If you have already manually overridden entries or created custom emission factors in Workiva Carbon, then recalculation will not alter these values.

Will I have the ability to trigger or prevent a recalculation?  

Reach out to Customer Success to prevent recalculation from impacting your existing entries.  

How often will Workiva Carbon recalculate emissions? 

Workiva Carbon will update emission factors and recalculate emissions quarterly. This process consists of reviewing data sources for recent publications, bringing newly published emission factors into our emission factor dataset, and recalculating entries to adopt the most recent emission factors where appropriate. Users can expect notification prior to quarterly recalculation.  

Will Workiva Carbon use different emission factors for different years? 

Yes. Large emission factor publishers , such as(ex: US EPA, UK DBEIS (formerly published by DEFRA), and Canadian NIR) typically publish on an annual basis. Because they do not all publish at the same point in the year, Workiva Carbon checks for updated publications quarterly. Users should expect to see different emission factors in each of their yearly inventories.  

Will Workiva Carbon recalculate previous years’ data with new historic factors? 

While most factor updates will impact current year inventories with the most recent factors available, Workiva Carbon also incorporates historic factors during these quarterly updates and recalculations. The impact this has on historic inventories depends on the existing alignment between the year of the activity data against the year the factor represents.  For example, a company may be calculating their 2022 inventory in the year 2024. Based on the databases available, they may be using a 2018 factor. Should that database publish a factor update in 2024, with a new factor representing 2022, Workiva Carbon will automatically incorporate the updated factor, which most closely aligns the business activity and emission factor years. This approach applies to all categories across scopes 1, 2, and 3 with the exception of scope 3 category 1 (PG&S) and categories 4 and 9 (Upstream and Downstream &D). Customers should reach out to their customer success representative with specific requests to recalculate historic for these scope 3 emissions. 

Can I select the emissions factor our organization wants to use? 

At this time, users may elect to “opt out” of automatic factor updates and recalculations, via a request to their customer success manager. We do not currently allow users to choose across databases or factor years in the product, however users may create “custom” factors for any data entry.   

What date does the Q2 factor update represent? 

The Q2 factor updates and recalculation reflects the most current factors across all databases as of June 4, 2024. Sources published following June 4, 2024 will be included in our Q3 update.  

 

  

Methodology