Download the free carbon footprint workbook below, set your boundary, and enter one line per emission source with its quantity and an emission factor from a published dataset. The workbook adds up Scope 1, Scope 2 (location-based and market-based) and the 15 Scope 3 categories in tonnes of CO₂e. It comes in seven languages, needs no sign-up and includes a worked example you can check by hand.
What the workbook does
The carbon footprint workbook is a free Excel file for a company greenhouse gas inventory under the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard. It covers Scope 1, Scope 2 both location-based and market-based, and the 15 Scope 3 categories. You list every emission source as one line, enter its quantity and the emission factor from your chosen source, and the workbook calculates tonnes of CO₂e per line, per category and per scope. It comes in English, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Polish, needs no sign-up and contains no macros.
What is in it
The workbook has six sheets:
- Start here: the steps and the rules, such as that a blank is not a zero.
- Boundary: the company, reporting year, consolidation approach and base year, revenue and employees for the intensity figures, and the sites you include or exclude.
- Activity data: 300 ready lines with scope, category, source, site, period, quantity, unit, location-based and market-based factors, the factor source and edition, evidence reference, owner and status. The emissions columns calculate themselves, and a check flags a category that does not belong to the chosen scope.
- Scope 3 screening: the 15 categories with relevance, reason, method, data source and the emissions you entered for each.
- Summary: totals per scope and category, both Scope 2 methods, shares, intensity per € million revenue and per employee, and data quality checks such as lines without a factor or without evidence.
- Example: an invented company with ten lines and illustrative factors, to show how it all fits together.
Filling it in, step by step
Work through the sheets in this order:
- Set the boundary: the reporting year, the consolidation approach, usually operational control, and the sites you include.
- Collect the records for the year: gas and electricity bills, fuel cards, refrigerant service reports, travel bookings, a commuting survey, waste invoices and the purchase ledger.
- Enter one line per source and period, with the quantity in the unit on the record.
- Enter the emission factor for that unit from your chosen source, with its name and edition. For electricity, enter both the location-based and the market-based factor.
- Screen the 15 Scope 3 categories and note why any you leave out are not relevant.
- Read the Summary, clear the data quality checks and review every line before you share the results.
A worked example you can check by hand
The Example sheet uses round, invented factors so every figure can be checked with a calculator. 10,000 kWh of natural gas at 0.2 kg CO₂e per kWh is 2 tonnes, 1,000 litres of diesel at 3 kg per litre is 3 tonnes, and a 2 kg refrigerant top-up at 1,000 kg CO₂e per kg is 2 tonnes. Scope 1 comes to 7 tonnes, Scope 2 to 6 tonnes location-based and 2 tonnes market-based, and Scope 3 to 6 tonnes, so the total is 19 tonnes with location-based Scope 2 and 15 tonnes with market-based Scope 2. The factors are not for real use: take yours from a published dataset, as the guide to emission factors explains.
Where a spreadsheet stops
A workbook works well for a first footprint kept by one person for a few sites. It gets harder when several people enter data, when every figure needs its evidence attached, when a factor dataset publishes a new edition, when customers send supplier questionnaires, or when you compare years and must keep the base year consistent. That is the point at which software saves time; until then, a careful workbook is a good start.
Doing it in Greener Ahead
Carbon accounting in Greener Ahead does the same work with the factors built in. It selects the factor for each line from the datasets it uses and shows its source and edition, keeps the evidence with every figure, sends data requests to colleagues and suppliers, and turns the result into a designed report. It costs €1,495 per year with unlimited users, and you can try it free for 14 days without a card. Check the pricing page for current details.
What each sheet does
The six sheets at a glance.
| Sheet | What you do there | What it calculates |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Start here | Read the steps and rules | Nothing |
| 2. Boundary | Enter the year, approach, base year, revenue, employees and sites | Feeds the intensity figures |
| 3. Activity data | Enter one line per source with its quantity and factor | Tonnes of CO₂e per line, with both Scope 2 methods |
| 4. Scope 3 screening | Mark each category relevant or not, with a reason | Emissions entered per category |
| 5. Summary | Read the results and the checks | Totals, shares, intensity and data quality checks |
| 6. Example | Look at an invented company | The same, for ten example lines |
Before you share the result
On the Summary sheet, check that:
- No line has a quantity without a factor.
- Every line has an evidence reference.
- Every Scope 2 line has a market-based factor.
- All 15 Scope 3 categories are assessed.
- The factor source and edition stay the same through the year.
Sources and scope
- GHG Protocol: Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard
- GHG Protocol: Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard
- GHG Protocol: Scope 2 Guidance
These resources explain a preparation workflow. Check your selected standard and recipient requirements before sharing your report.
Joost ThissenFounder
