BEGES Categories
BEGES (Bilan d'Émissions de Gaz à Effet de Serre) is the French regulatory framework for carbon accounting. Understanding its nomenclature helps you structure your assessment and not miss anything.
What is BEGES V5?
BEGES V5 is the current version of ADEME's GHG assessment methodology, updated in 2022. It's based on ISO 14064-1 and the GHG Protocol. For companies, BEGES is increasingly requested by large clients in their CSR questionnaires.
Dekko simplifies BEGES
The full BEGES can seem complex. Dekko focuses on Scopes 1 and 2, which represent emissions you directly control. This is the essential foundation before addressing Scope 3.
Emission categories in Dekko
Dekko organizes emissions into categories aligned with BEGES V5:
Scope 1 — Direct emissions
- Vehicle fuel (VEHICLE_FUEL)
Fuel consumed by your fleet vehicles: company cars, vans, trucks. Includes diesel, E10 petrol, E85, and LPG.
Example: An accounting firm with 3 company cars each driving 25,000 km/year. - Gas heating (HEATING_GAS)
Natural gas or propane burned in your boilers. Often the top emission source for gas-heated offices.
Example: A 200 m² office heated with natural gas consuming 18,000 kWh/year. - Oil heating (HEATING_OIL)
Domestic heating oil. High emission factor (3.25 kg CO2e/liter) — often a priority category to decarbonize.
Example: An older warehouse with an oil boiler consuming 3,000 liters/year. - Refrigerants (REFRIGERANT)
Refrigerant gas leaks from air conditioning and cooling systems. Mainly concerns retail with refrigerated displays.
Example: A supermarket with refrigerated units having a 15%/year leak rate.
Scope 2 — Purchased energy
- Electricity (ELECTRICITY)
All electricity consumed at your sites. In France, the factor is very low (0.052 kg CO2e/kWh) thanks to the nuclear mix. Note: outside France in Europe, the factor is 8x higher.
Example: A digital agency consuming 45,000 kWh/year (servers, workstations, lighting, AC). - District heating (HEAT_NETWORK)
Heating supplied by an urban network. The factor varies by network (local energy mix). Dekko uses the national average (0.125 kg CO2e/kWh).
Example: An office building in Paris connected to the CPCU network. - District cooling (COLD_NETWORK)
Air conditioning supplied by an urban cooling network. Rare, mainly concerns business districts (La Défense, Part-Dieu).
Summary table
Here is the mapping between each category, its scope, and typical data sources:
| Category | Scope | Unit | Data source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Road diesel | Scope 1 | Liters | Fuel card statement |
| E10 petrol | Scope 1 | Liters | Fuel card statement |
| Natural gas | Scope 1 | kWh PCI | Gas supplier invoice |
| Heating oil | Scope 1 | Liters | Oil delivery invoice |
| Electricity France | Scope 2 | kWh | Electricity supplier invoice |
| District heating | Scope 2 | kWh | District network invoice |
Can't find your category?
If your emission source doesn't match any listed category, it's probably Scope 3 (purchases, employee commuting, freight). Scope 3 will be gradually added to Dekko. In the meantime, note these sources for later integration.