Climate Factors
Climate factors are one of the core elements of the Breeze GHG emissions calculation engine.
We have a database containing thousands of trusted, accurate, up-to-date emission factors you can use in your inventory. Can’t find what you’re looking for or have your own? Add your own Climate Factor.
Emission Factor Selection Methodology
Breeze commits to maintain a database of emission factors companies useful to companies across a range of sizes, industries, and regions. For information on our approach to selecting and updating emission factors, click here.
Fields on Climate Factors
All Climate Factors have the same fields, designed to keep track of all relevant information.
Some fields are added by you when adding Organization-specific Climate Factors, and some are calculated by Breeze for use in emissions calculations.
User-Added Fields
Please note that these fields are not editable on system default Climate Factors.
| Field Name | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Title* | A unique, descriptive title for this Climate Factor. This will be used throughout the system when viewing Climate Factors. | “14-Inch MacBook Pro Emission Factor” |
| Reference Description | A description of this factor. Can include where to find it in the source file, how it was calculated, or other relevant information. | “Product Environmental Report 14-inch MacBook Pro” |
| Reference Link | The URL where you can find this Climate Factor’s reference documentation. | “https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/products/notebooks/14-inch_MacBook_Pro_PER_Oct2021.pdf” |
| Date Published | The date the Climate Factor and/or its source document was published. | “10/18/2021” |
| Usage Unit | The Unit of the activity this Climate Factor measures. This should be the same Unit Type as the data for which this Climate Factor will be used. | “Units [#]” |
| CO2 Factor & Unit** | The amount of CO2 (or CO2e) emitted per Usage Unit. | “271” + “Kilogram [kg]” |
| CH4 Factor & Unit** | The amount of CH4 emitted per Usage Unit. | N/A |
| N2O Factor & Unit** | The amount of N2O emitted per Usage Unit. | N/A |
| The above are in units of CO2 equivalent | If the CO2, CH4, and N2O factors are published in units of CO2e, rather than units of CH4 and N2O, toggle this on. If this is toggled off, the appropriate GWPs will be applied to the CH4 and N2O factors. | Yes (toggled on) |
| Notes | Additional useful information relevant to this Climate Factor | N/A |
*These fields are required
**Unit is a required field if there is a value in the CO2, CH4, or N2O emission field
Calculated Fields
All Climate Factors, both system default and Organization-Specific, include the following fields.
| Field Name | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Standard CO2 Factor | Emissions of CO2* in units of metric ton (MT) per standard unit. | “0.271 MT/#” (see example above) |
| Standard CH4 Factor | Emissions of CH4* in units of metric ton (MT) per standard unit. | N/A |
| Standard N2O Factor | Emissions of CH4* in units of metric ton (MT) per standard unit. | N/A |
| CO2e Intensity | The total combined intensity, in units of MTCO2e, of the CO2, CH4 and N2O factors. | “0.271 MT/#” |
| Standard Unit | The unit of measure for the Standard CO2, CH4, and N2O factors above. This is always metric tons [MT] per the Unit Type’s Standard Unit. For more information on standard units in Breeze, click here. | N/A |
| Unit Type | The Unit Type of the Usage Unit. For more information on Unit Types, click here. | “Units [#]” |
*In units of CO2e, if “The above are in units of CO2 equivalent” is toggled on
System-Default-Only Fields
All system default Climate Factors have the following additional fields to make them easier to find, update, and understand.
| Field Name | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Active/Market | This defines whether a Climate Factor should be used for Active- or Market-based emissions calculations. While Active Climate Factors can be used for either Active or Market calculations, Market factors should generally only be applied to calculate Market-based emissions of Scope 2 Sources. For more information on Active vs Market, click here. | “Active” |
| Group | The top-level classification of the Climate Factor. These are generally based on the GHG Protocol activity categories. | “Purchased goods and services” |
| Subgroup | The second-level classification. This narrows down the Group to specific activity areas. | “IT Hardware” |
| Type | The lowest-level classification. This and the Publishing Authority define the climate factor | “14-Inch MacBook Pro” |
| Published By | The organization, government, or other Publishing Authority who published this climate factor. | “Apple” |
Breeze uses AR5 GWP
Our platform is committed to providing precise and current data in carbon accounting. That's why we exclusively use the IPCC AR5 GWP values, ensuring our users benefit from the most up-to-date and scientifically-validated information available. For a deeper understanding of the AR5 GWP values and their significance, explore our detailed helpdesk article.
Share Climate Factors
Organization-Specific Climate Factors can be transferred between any of your Organizations. To find out how this works, click here.