Scope 2 calculator: location-based and market-based

Enter each site's electricity, the grid factor for its country and whatever contract or certificate covers it. You get both Scope 2 figures the GHG Protocol's dual reporting requirement and ESRS E1-6 paragraph 49 ask for, the gap between them, and the share covered by instruments. Free, nothing leaves your browser.

Sites

Site	Electricity (kWh)	Grid factor kg CO2e/kWh	Contractual instrument	kWh covered	Instrument factor kg CO2e/kWh	Residual mix kg CO2e/kWh

Grid factor: the location-based average for the country or region. The UK preset is the DESNZ 2025 conversion factor (ID 7_400_4000_5_1, 0.177 kg CO2e per kWh, published 10 June 2025); for any other country enter the national or IEA factor and keep its citation. Instrument factor: the generator's emission rate for a supplier-specific product or PPA; 0 for certificates from renewable generation (GoOs, RECs) that meet the Scope 2 Quality Criteria. Residual mix: the factor for electricity with no instrument attached (in Europe the AIB publishes one per country each year). Leave it blank and the calculator falls back to the grid factor, which is what the Guidance allows where no residual mix exists.

The workbook: Scope 1, 2 and 3 in one inventory with a sourced factor registerGHG Protocol Scope 1, 2 and 3 Inventory Workbook, $29: 35 DESNZ 2025 factors with their official IDs, 40 lines per scope, a Summary sheet that carries both Scope 2 methods, and a Guide that says how each choice was made.

See the workbook

Rules: GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance (2015). Location-based: kWh times the average generation factor for the defined location (Glossary). Market-based: kWh times the factor of the generator you contractually buy from, bundled or unbundled, applying the hierarchy of energy attribute certificates, contracts, supplier-specific rates, then the residual mix, then the grid average where no residual mix is published (chapter 6.11); instruments must meet the Quality Criteria in chapter 7.1. Dual reporting: a company with any operations in markets that offer product or supplier-specific data reports both figures (chapter 7). ESRS E1-6 (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772) paragraph 49 requires the gross location-based and the gross market-based Scope 2 figure, and AR 45(d) the share and types of contractual instruments. This tool covers purchased electricity; add heat, steam and cooling the same way in the workbook. No carbon credits or allowances enter Scope 2 (AR 45(f)).