Understanding Emissions

This page clarifies carbon terminology and guides you step by step through entering your emissions. This is the most important part of Dekko.

Terminology: Assessment, Footprint, Report

These terms are often confused. Here's what they mean in Dekko:

  • Carbon assessment (or BEGES) — The complete process of measuring your emissions over a given period (year or quarter). It's the main container in Dekko.
  • Carbon footprint — The numerical result of your assessment, expressed in tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e). This is the final number you communicate.
  • Report — The PDF document generated from your assessment. It contains the methodology, detailed results, and recommendations.
  • Emission (line item) — An individual entry in your assessment: for example, "12,000 kWh of electricity at the Paris office." Each line has a quantity, a unit, and an emission factor.

Don't confuse assessment and report

The assessment is the data collection and calculation work. The report is the final document. You can have an in-progress assessment (Draft status) without having generated a report yet.

What is an emission factor?

An emission factor is a coefficient that converts a physical quantity (liters of diesel, kWh of electricity) into kilograms of CO2 equivalent. These factors are provided by ADEME via the Base Carbone, the official reference in France.

The formula is simple:

Emission (kg CO2e) = Quantity × Emission factor

Example: 10,000 kWh of electricity in France × 0.052 kg CO2e/kWh = 520 kg CO2e (i.e., 0.52 tCO2e).

Factors are pre-loaded

Dekko includes ADEME 2024 factors. You don't need to look them up: simply select the energy type and unit, and Dekko automatically applies the correct factor.

Understanding units

Units vary depending on the energy type:

  • kg CO2e / tCO2e — Kilograms or tonnes of CO2 equivalent. This is the result unit. 1 tCO2e = 1,000 kg CO2e.
  • kWh (kilowatt-hour) — Unit of energy. Used for electricity and gas. Note: gas may be billed in kWh GCV (gross calorific value) or NCV (net calorific value).
  • Liters — For fuels (petrol, diesel, heating oil) and LPG.
  • m³ (cubic meters) — Sometimes used for natural gas on invoices. Dekko automatically converts to kWh.
  • kg / tonnes — For refrigerants (air conditioning leaks) and some solid fuels.

kWh NCV vs kWh GCV

Gas invoices often show kWh GCV (gross calorific value). ADEME factors use kWh NCV. Dekko handles this conversion, but check the unit on your invoice. When in doubt, choose kWh GCV — it's the most common on French invoices.

Step-by-step manual entry

To add an emission manually:

  1. Open your assessment — Dashboard > Footprints > select the relevant assessment.
  2. Click "Add an emission" — The form opens with the following fields.
  3. Choose the scope — Scope 1 (direct emissions) or Scope 2 (purchased energy).
  4. Select the category — E.g., Vehicle fuel, Gas heating, Electricity...
  5. Choose the emission factor — Dekko automatically filters compatible factors for your category.
  6. Enter the quantity and unit — E.g., 15,000 kWh, 2,500 liters. The unit is pre-filled based on the selected factor.
  7. Assign a site — Optional but recommended for per-site breakdown in the report.
  8. Submit — Dekko instantly calculates the emission in kg CO2e and updates the assessment total.

Save time with OCR

Rather than manually entering each invoice, import your energy invoices in PDF format. OCR will automatically extract quantities and create the corresponding emissions.

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