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Appendix 4 - Scope 3 Emissions Methodology Table

This information outlines how the GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories have been applied in calculating Ashfield District Council’s carbon footprint.

GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories

Scope 3 Category: Purchased goods and services

Applicability to Ashfield District Council

Yes

Methodology and assumptions

(where relevant)

Spend-based calculation method used for purchased goods and services, with water supply calculated from monthly water meter data. Spend deflated to 2011 equivalent values to be consistent with emission factors. Deflation rates taken from Government’s National Statistics – GDP Deflators at market prices, and money GDP. Calculation Assumptions: Spend data:

Changed analysis code D103 from SIC Code 17; 18 to 17 only. This has the higher emissions factor (1.18 kgCO2e/£ vs 0.58 kgCO2e).

Water consumption data:

Took out leased assets, except where data included for void periods. Part leased assets remain included in the dataset, as unable to split what proportion is under operational control or not. This is consistent with gas and electricity consumption with these sites also included in Scope 1 and 2 emissions, rather than split between Scopes 1 and 2, and Scope 3.
Data backfilling: Average per month calculated for data which is available for each site up to March 2020. This monthly average is used to infill missing data where backfilling is required, as indicated by ADC by the key on the provided spreadsheet.
Credits/reimbursement are included in yearly totals, so that overall totals for year are accurate.

Data sources

ADC spreadsheet 1) Combined Summary v2 01.02.20, worksheet 1. Purchased Goods and Services Spend per SIC Code per financial year
ADC spreadsheet Energy Consumption – For NCC 02.02.21 Water consumption per month

Emissions factor data sources

UK Government ‘Table 13 – Indirect emissions from the supply chain’,
2011 figures.
BEIS Conversion factors: advanced set; 2015 to 2019 figures

Scope 3 Category: Capital goods

Applicability to Ashfield District Council

Yes

Methodology and assumptions

(where relevant)

Spend-based calculation method used for capital goods. Spend deflated to 2011 equivalent values to be consistent with emission factors. Deflation rates taken from Government’s National Statistics – GDP Deflators at market prices, and money GDP.

Data sources

ADC spreadsheet 1) Combined Summary v2 01.02.20, worksheet 2. Capital goods Spend per SIC Code and type of capital spend per financial year

Emissions factor data sources

UK Government ‘Table 13 – Indirect emissions from the supply chain’, 2011 figures.

Scope 3 Category: Fuel and energy related activities

Applicability to ADC

Yes

Methodology and assumptions

(where relevant)

Average data method used to calculate upstream emissions of purchased fuels, upstream emissions of grid electricity, and transmission and distribution losses of grid electricity. Assumptions during calculation are the same as for each of the individual sources covered in the Scope 1 and 2 methodology table (excluding fugitive emissions which are not included in Scope 3 category 3).

Data sources

ADC spreadsheet Energy Consumption – For NCC 02.02.21 Gas and electricity consumption per month
3a) Non-Housing 5 Year Fuel Report Fleet use per month
3b) Housing 5 Year Fuel Report Fleet use per month
ADC spreadsheet 1) Combined Summary v2 01.02.20 (SPV Installations)
ADC Energy Consumption and Renewables Info Biomass – Titchfield Court, Biomass – Sherwood Court)

Emissions factor data sources

BEIS Conversion factors: advanced set; 2015 to 2019 figures

Scope 3 Category: Upstream transportation and distribution

Applicability to Ashfield District Council

Yes

Methodology and assumptions

(where relevant)

Emissions for upstream transportation only are provided. These have a large number of assumptions, and should be treated as an indicative figure only. It has been assumed that all UK-derived products have been transported by an average-laden HGV; and all imported products by freight short haul flight. The distance between the supplier’s postcode and ADC has been used to calculate the distance of travel. Emissions in this category do not include storage in warehouses, distribution & retail facilities. Including this data would provide a fuller picture of emissions.

Average of figures for 2019/20, 2018/19 and 2017/18 used to calculate data for 2016/17 and 2015/16.
Postcodes that did not compute a distance were discounted from the analysis.

Data sources

Revised postcodes on Upstream data 23.03.21 Number of transactions per supplier postcode per financial year 2017/18 to 2019/20

Emissions factor data sources

BEIS Conversion factors: advanced set; 2015 to 2019 figures

Scope 3 Category: Waste generated in operations

Applicability to Ashfield District Council

Yes

Methodology and assumptions

(where relevant)

Emissions are calculated using the waste-type-specific method. This includes calculations for each waste type and the specific waste treatment method. Wastewater data is from water consumption data, however water supply to allotments is excluded from wastewater calculations.

Calculation assumptions:

Housing maintenance:

Weight of waste is included in the financial year in which the skip was delivered (rather than collected).
Waste data was only provided for 2019-20. It has been assumed the same proportions and weight of waste were generated each of the prior 4 years. This has not been scaled by FTE or number of properties at Ashfield District Council.
The end destination of each waste type has been assumed, and assumptions run past the waste team at Ashfield District Council.

Depot – non-housing:

The waste from silt traps, and petrol/oil interceptors has been converted from tonnes of waste to volume of waste. In doing so, it has been assumed that the average composition of the waste is predominantly water. This results in a larger volume than might be the case, and thus would be an overestimate of emissions from this part of the waste. These wastes go to a physio-chemical treatment plant, and are therefore treated as wastewater in the carbon emission calculations, however are included within the ‘Depot – non-housing’ waste category.

Confidential waste:

Confidential waste is assumed to all be paper, unless specifically described otherwise. For example, it has been assumed all elections and clearance confidential waste is paper.

Waste liquids:

Within the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 3 Standard, waste generated in operations includes solid waste and wastewater only. However, the waste liquid volumes provided have been included within the calculations for Ashfield District Council’s footprint.
Based on information from Ashfield District Council, those waste liquids which are hazardous (determined by EWC code) are assumed to have been incinerated. Non-hazardous waste liquids are assumed to have been recycled. In the absence of other appropriate emissions factors to use, ‘commercial and industrial waste’ has been used to provide an estimate of what these emissions may be.
Data was provided for 2018/19 and 2019/20, and an average of these weights were used for the three preceding years.
The assumptions for wastewater are the same as those outlined for water supply in Category 1: Purchased Goods and Services.

Landfill emissions factor methodology note:

The UK government’s conversion factors occasionally have methodological updates. This is separate to updating the factors annually each year to reflect the most recent data.
In 2016, the emissions landfill factors were updated to reflect a more recent source of data in the BEIS’ published conversion factors. The estimate for methane capture from landfill waste increased by 61% as a result of this change, which affects all landfill emissions for most organic materials.
In 2017, the emissions landfill factors were again updated, with emissions from landfill taken directly from DEFRA’s landfill emissions calculation model for methane emissions from landfill, with the addition of collection and transport emissions³⁵. The methodology for 2017 onwards is completely different to that for 2015 and 2016, and is not comparable.
This only affects the waste emissions reported for asbestos and inert waste from housing maintenance, as the only sources of waste assumed to go to landfill.

Waste end destination assumptions:

Waste type to end destination assumption.

To landfill

Asbestos
Inert

To be recycled

Confidential waste (media / ink cartridges)
Confidential waste (paper)
Glass
Plasterboard
Recycling
Scrap metal
Waste liquids (non-hazardhous)

To be incinerated

General waste
Green waste
Mixed timber
Non-hazardous WEEE
Waste liquids (hazardous)

To be disposed of at a Physio- Chemical Treatment Plant

Silt trap & petrol/oil interceptor

Data sources

5a) Waste Data 5yrs n- Housing Maintenance 2019 - 2020
5b) Waste Data 5 yrs - Depot – non - housing
5c) Confidential Waste 5 yrs
5d) Waste liquids etc. Jan 2018-Oct 020
ADC spreadsheet Energy Consumption - For NCC 02.02.21 Water consumption per month

Emissions factor data sources

BEIS Conversion factors: advanced set; 2015 to 2019 figures

Scope 3 Category: Business travel

Applicability to Ashfield District Council

Yes

Methodology and assumptions

(where relevant)

Combination of distance based method for business miles claimed, and spend-based method for rail fares and hotel stays expenditure.

Emissions from business travellers’ hotel stays are calculated by number of nights stayed in hotels in each country.

Calculation assumptions:

Assumed car business mileage claimed has the same proportion of car type as employees answered in ADC’s 2020 employee commuting survey.
Small (<1.4l), medium (1.4l - 2.0l) and large car (>2l) defined using BEIS Conversion Factor Methodology.
Converted rail expenditure to distance travelled using Office of Rail and Road (ORR) Table 1210 – Revenue per passenger kilometres and per passenger journey
Estimated average cost per night for a hotel near Nottingham from Hotels.com

Data sources

ADC spreadsheet 1) Combined Summary v2 01.02.20, worksheet 6 Business mileage, 6&7 Business Travel, 1. Purchased Goods and Services (hotels)

Emissions factor data sources

BEIS Conversion factors: advanced set; 2015 to 2019 figures

Scope 3 Category: Employee commuting

Applicability to Ashfield District Council

Yes

Methodology and assumptions

(where relevant)

Emissions calculated using number of employees, the number of days employees used to travel to work (pre-COVID-19), the average commuting time and mode of transport from ADC’s 2020 Employee Commuting Survey.

Calculation assumptions:

Survey results have been scaled up based on the proportion of survey respondents and total employees.
Small (<1.4l), medium (1.4l - 2.0l) and large car (>2l) defined using BEIS Conversion Factor Methodology.
Total average commuting distance and time, alongside percentage share of method of transport used to determine the distance per year travelled per mode of transport by survey respondents.

Data sources

ADC spreadsheet 1) Combined Summary v2 01.02.20, worksheet 6&7 commuting

Emissions factor data sources

BEIS Conversion factors: advanced set; 2015 to 2019 figures

Scope 3 Category: Upstream leased assets

Applicability to Ashfield District Council

No (Assigned to scope 1 and 2 emissions)

Methodology and assumptions

(where relevant)

Reported within scope 1 and 2 emissions

Data sources

N/A

Emissions factor data sources

N/A

Scope 3 Category: Downstream transportation and distribution

Applicability to Ashfield District Council

No

Methodology and assumptions

(where relevant)

ADC do not manufacture products to a significant scale, that are then sold downstream to customers and therefore emissions are not reported for this category.

Data sources

N/A

Emissions Factor Data Sources

N/A

Scope 3 Category: Processing of sold products

Applicability to ADC

No

Methodology and Assumptions

(where relevant)

ADC do not manufacture products to a significant scale, that are then sold downstream to customers and therefore emissions are not reported for this category.

Data sources

N/A

Emissions factor data sources

N/A

Scope 3 Category: Use of sold products

Applicability to Ashfield District Council

No

Methodology and assumptions

(where relevant)

ADC do not manufacture products to a significant scale, that are

then sold downstream to customers and therefore emissions are not reported for this category.

Data sources

N/A

Emissions factor data sources

N/A

Scope 3 Category: End of life treatment of sold products

Applicability to Ashfield District Council

No

Methodology and assumptions

(where relevant)

ADC do not manufacture products to a significant scale, that are then sold downstream to customers and therefore emissions are not reported for this category.

Data sources

N/A

Emissions factor data sources

N/A

Scope 3 Category: Downstream leased assets

Applicability to Ashfield District Council

Yes

Methodology and assumptions

(where relevant)

Downstream leased assets have been calculated from monthly gas and electricity consumption.

Calculation assumptions:

Leased assets included, except where data included for void periods
Data excludes assets marked as leased but with data for void periods only. These assets are included in Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Data excludes part leased assets, as unable to split what proportion is under operational control or not. These part leased assets are included in Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Data backfilling:

Average per month calculated for data which is available for each site up to March 2020. This monthly average is used to infill missing data where backfilling is required, as indicated by ADC by the key on the provided spreadsheet.
Credits/reimbursement are included in yearly totals, so that overall totals for year are accurate.

Data sources

ADC spreadsheet Energy Consumption – For NCC 02.02.21 Monthly gas and electricity consumption
ADC spreadsheet 1) Combined Summary v2 01.02.20 (SPV Installations)