How Scaler Calculates and Allocates GHG Emissions (CO₂e) by Scope
Scaler calculates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalent) across Scope 1, 2 and 3, in line with the GHG Protocol. This means all emission factors in Scaler (e.g. for electricity, fuels, district energy) include CO₂, CH₄, N₂O and other relevant gases, converted into a single CO₂e value using their global warming potentials.
On top of that, Scaler allows you to benchmark your emissions against CRREM decarbonisation pathways, using either:
- CRREM “carbon” pathways (CO₂-only), or
- CRREM GHG pathways (CO₂e, including non-CO₂ gases such as F-gases).
Because CRREM’s GHG pathways are intended to include F-gases (e.g. refrigerant leaks), Scaler recommends using the GHG pathway only if you are actually tracking and reporting those F-gas emissions. Otherwise, the carbon (CO₂-only) pathway is the more appropriate benchmark for operational energy emissions.
The sections below explain:
- How Scaler determines the scope allocation (1, 2, 3) based on Energy
SubcategoryandArea type.
- How GHG emissions and emission intensities are calculated.
- How location-based vs market-based methods work in Scaler.
1. Scope Allocation Logic in Scaler
Currently, allocation of emissions to scopes is done according to Operational Control (rather than Financial or Equity Control).
To be allocated to one of the three scopes, the energy consumption must fall under the specified energy Subcategory and Area type below.
Scope 1
Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from sources that exist “on site” of an asset that is owned or controlled by your organization.
Energy Subcategory:
- Natural gas
- Coal
- Fuel oil
- Kerosene
- Wood
- Coke
- Diesel
- Propane
- On site electricity > Combined heat and power (landlord)
Area type :
- Whole Building - Landlord Controlled
- Shared Services
- Common Area
- Exterior Area - Landlord Controlled
These combinations represent fuel and on-site generation directly controlled by the landlord and are therefore classified as Scope 1.
Scope 2
Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions related to purchased electricity, heat, steam or cooling.
Energy Subcategory:
- District Heating and Cooling
- District Steam
- District Hot Water
- District Chilled Water
- Heat Cold Storage
- Off Site Electricity
Area type:
- Whole Building - Landlord Controlled
- Shared Services
- Common Area
- Exterior Area - Landlord Controlled
In these cases, the landlord is purchasing energy from the grid or a district system, so the emissions are classified as Scope 2.
Scope 3
Scope 3 emissions are all other indirect emissions (not included in Scope 2) that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions. In commercial real estate, Scope 3 emissions might stem from the electricity consumption in leased assets or the embodied carbon in construction materials.
In commercial real estate, Scope 3 emissions might stem from, for example:
- Electricity consumption in leased assets, and/or
- Embodied carbon in construction materials.
In Scaler, Scope 3 emissions calculations and analyses focus on emissions specifically related to tenant energy consumption, including certain energy subcategories such as off-site electricity or natural gas.
Energy Subcategory:
- Natural gas
- Coal
- Fuel oil
- Kerosene
- Wood
- Coke
- Diesel
- Propane
- District heating and cooling
- District steam
- District hot water
- District chilled water
- Heat cold storage
- Off-site electricity
- On site electricity > Combined heat and power (tenant)
Area type:
- Whole building - Tenant controlled
- Tenant space - Landlord controlled
- Tenant space - Tenant controlled
- Exterior area - Tenant controlled
These combinations capture energy consumption where tenants have control or where the landlord supplies energy to tenant spaces, so the emissions are classified as Scope 3 for the landlord.
2. Calculation Methodology in Scaler
2.1 Location-based vs Market-based Methods
Scaler supports both location-based and market-based approaches to calculating GHG emissions.
- The default accounting method in Scaler is the location-based method, which reflects the average emissions intensity of the grids on which energy consumption occurs. This typically uses grid-average emission factor data for electricity and district energy.
- Emissions intensities vary across regions and years, so the location-based factors reflect when and where energy is consumed.
Users can also enter market-based emission factors for the regions where they have assets (for example, to reflect contractual instruments, green tariffs, or supplier-specific factors) and then toggle the GHG emissions analytics view to use the market-based method instead of the location-based default.
In both cases, Scaler is applying CO₂e emission factors, meaning the calculations capture the full GHG impact (CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, etc.) of the energy consumed.
2.2 Total GHG Emissions (by Scope)
Within the defined parameters for each of the Scope 1, 2 and 3 energy subcategories and area types, Scaler:
- Takes the total amount of energy consumed in a given time period from a specific energy subcategory.
- Multiplies that energy by the relevant CO₂e emission factor for that energy subcategory.
- Sums all emissions within each Scope to obtain total GHG emissions for Scope 1, 2 and 3.
These totals are visualized in the chart “Total GHG Emissions”.
Example (Scope 1):
Scope 1 =
(
("Natural gas", "Whole Building - Landlord Controlled" consumption)
+ ("Natural gas", "Shared Services" consumption)
) * natural gas emission factor
+
(
("Coal", "Shared Services" consumption)
) * coal emission factorThis approach is applied consistently across all relevant energy subcategories and area types for each scope.
2.3 GHG Emissions Intensities
GHG emissions intensities in Scaler are calculated by:
- Adding total Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions (in CO₂e).
- Dividing this sum by the area for which data is available, referred to in Scaler as “active area”.
GHG emissions intensity = (Scope 1 + Scope 2 + Scope 3 emissions in CO₂e) ÷ active area
Where:
Active area = data coverage × potential active area
This ensures that emission intensities reflect the area where Scaler has sufficient data coverage, rather than the entire potential building area where data may not yet be available.
3. CRREM Pathways: Carbon vs GHG in Scaler
When benchmarking assets against CRREM, Scaler allows clients to use either:
- CRREM Carbon (CO₂-only) Pathways
- Based on CO₂ emissions only, primarily reflecting operational energy-related CO₂ emissions (e.g. electricity, fuels).
- Appropriate when clients are not yet tracking non-CO₂ gases such as F-gases.
- CRREM GHG (CO₂e) Pathways
- Based on CO₂e, including non-CO₂ gases such as F-gases associated with refrigeration and other equipment.
- Should only be used when clients are actively tracking and reporting their F-gases, so that the CRREM GHG pathway and the reported emissions are aligned.
Because Scaler already calculates emissions in CO₂e, clients who include F-gases in their inventory gain a more complete view of their alignment to CRREM GHG pathways. Clients who only track operational energy emissions (and do not capture F-gases) should benchmark against the CRREM carbon (CO₂-only) pathways for consistency.