What is an emissions factor?

An emissions factor in essence, is a number that we multiply by your input data in order to estimate the emissions associated with a given activity.

Emissions factors come in various forms depending on the emissions source and available input data, but all emissions factors will return an amount of carbon dioxide-equivalence per input unit. For example, kgCO2e/kWh (for electricity), or kgCO2e/L (for diesel.

Trace sources its emissions factors from reputable sources such as government publications and academic studies wherever possible, while our spend-based emissions factors (kgCO2e/$) are licensed and come from a dedicated third-party provider.