Methodology · 6 min read
Emission Factors: The Numbers Behind Every Carbon Footprint (India Edition)
Every carbon footprint is only as good as its emission factors — the conversion rates that turn "18,500 kWh" into tonnes of CO2e. They deserve more daylight than they usually get, so here are ours: what we ship, where the numbers sit, and when you should override them.
What an emission factor is
An emission factor expresses how much greenhouse gas a unit of activity releases: kilograms of CO2e per kWh of grid electricity, per litre of diesel, per passenger-kilometre flown. Multiply activity by factor, sum the results, and you have an inventory. Factors vary by country (grids differ), by fuel, and over time (grids decarbonise) — which is why a good platform treats them as data, not constants.
The default library CO2 Dynamics ships
Our workspace includes 16 India-oriented defaults, each tagged with its scope. The values are indicative averages intended for management accounting; the table is public because auditability starts with the factors:
| Category | Unit | kgCO2e / unit | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grid electricity (India CEA avg) | kWh | 0.71 | 2 |
| Diesel | litre | 2.68 | 1 |
| Petrol / gasoline | litre | 2.31 | 1 |
| CNG | kg | 2.75 | 1 |
| LPG | kg | 2.98 | 1 |
| Natural gas | SCM | 2.02 | 1 |
| Coal | kg | 2.42 | 1 |
| Furnace / fuel oil | litre | 3.15 | 1 |
| Air travel | passenger-km | 0.15 | 3 |
| Road travel (car) | km | 0.17 | 3 |
| Rail travel | passenger-km | 0.036 | 3 |
| Road freight | tonne-km | 0.11 | 3 |
| Water supply & treatment | m³ | 0.34 | 3 |
| Landfilled waste | kg | 0.45 | 3 |
| Paper | kg | 0.94 | 3 |
| Purchased heat / steam | kWh | 0.19 | 2 |
The grid factor deserves special attention
Electricity is the biggest line for most offices and many factories, and grid factors move as the generation mix changes. India's Central Electricity Authority publishes grid emission data; our 0.71 kgCO2e/kWh default reflects an India grid average. If your reporting context prescribes a specific year's factor — or you buy renewable power under a PPA — override the default with your contractual or location-specific value.
When to override
- Regulatory prescription. Your disclosure framework names a factor source — use it.
- Better local data. A state-specific grid factor, a supplier-specific fuel analysis, or a measured fleet efficiency beats a national average.
- Green procurement. Renewable PPAs and green tariffs change your effective scope 2 factor (market-based accounting).
- Vintage. Factors age; update them on a schedule and note the change so trends stay interpretable.
In the workspace, overrides are per-organisation: your factor replaces the default for your data only, and the audit trail records what was applied to every entry. If a factor you need is missing entirely, you can supply one at entry time.
The honest rule
State your factors, date them, and never let a default masquerade as a measurement. A footprint with visible factors invites correction and earns trust — which is the entire point of measuring.