In this guide
Start with the reporting question
Write a short scope note before requesting files. Are you preparing a corporate inventory, answering a customer's product-carbon request, or documenting selected figures for a disclosure? Those tasks can require different boundaries and allocation decisions. A factory electricity bill does not, by itself, establish the footprint of one product.
Record the entity, sites, period and organisational-boundary decision. List acquisitions, closures, leased locations and outsourced operations that need assessment. Give each source an owner. The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard discusses inventory boundaries and quality management; use the applicable methodology to make those decisions.
Request these records from each function
| Function | Starting records | What the reviewer should check |
|---|---|---|
| Facilities | Electricity, gas, heat and steam bills; meter exports | Dates, units, meter coverage and estimated readings |
| Production | Output, process inputs and relevant process measurements | Whether the process creates emissions beyond purchased energy |
| Maintenance | Refrigerant service records and equipment changes | Substance, quantity, event and equipment identification |
| Fleet or logistics | Fuel issues, receipts, mileage and transport records | Owned/controlled activity versus purchased transport |
| Procurement | Material quantities, specifications and supplier information | Product identity, reporting basis and missing supplier data |
| Waste operations | Weights, material categories and destination records | Measurement basis and whether documents describe collection or treatment |
| Finance | Invoice register, accruals and site list | Missing periods, duplicates and differences from operating records |
This is a starting collection map. Different manufacturing processes need additional inputs. Document an irrelevant item as assessed and excluded with a reason; do not quietly delete the row.
Keep quantities and factors separate
The activity register should retain the original quantity and unit. Keep the factor source, version, geography, period, units and any conversion in the calculation record. That makes a later factor update distinguishable from a corrected meter reading.
For example, a fictional plant has a supplier invoice for 102,000 kWh and a meter export for 100,500 kWh. The useful next step is to investigate the 1,500 kWh difference: billing dates, meter coverage, rounding or an estimate may explain it. Averaging the figures would conceal the unresolved difference.
If a calculation has already been prepared, retain the original input, chosen value, explanation and reviewer decision. Our guide to reproducing emissions figures explains the supporting record in more detail.
Use a review status that exposes missing work
Four simple statuses are enough for a first pass: requested, received, query open and reviewed. “Received” means the file arrived. “Reviewed” means the named reviewer performed the stated checks. Neither means independently assured.
A useful row might say: “Plant A, January electricity, 102,000 kWh, invoice INV-024, estimated supplier reading, facilities owner, meter-date query open.” This gives the next person a concrete question to resolve. A row reading “electricity complete” does not.
Keep missing information blank or explicitly unavailable. Zero means the activity was assessed and measured as zero under the documented scope. It should not stand in for a missing return from a site.
Check the collection before calculating
- Match the site list to the agreed boundary and account for each included site.
- Check that billing and operating periods cover the intended reporting period without overlap.
- Separate purchases, transfers and consumption where inventory movements matter.
- Retain estimates with their method, reason and owner.
- Resolve duplicate invoices and keep the replacement reference.
- Sample records back to their sources and document the review outcome.
Digital Catapult's manufacturing data-management research highlights data governance, interoperability and trust as relevant manufacturing challenges. The worksheet turns those concerns into named records and review actions; it is an original working aid, not an official standard template.
Questions manufacturers commonly need to resolve
Can finance provide all the data?
Finance can identify invoices and help check completeness. Process measurements, refrigerants, material specifications and operational boundaries often need other owners. Start with the source of the activity, then use finance records as a cross-check where appropriate.
Is expenditure enough when quantities are missing?
Some methods use expenditure, but the method and limitations must be explicit. Do not relabel a spend-based estimate as a measured physical quantity. Record the improvement needed for the next reporting period.
Does this checklist cover every emission source?
No. It provides a collection structure. Assess the actual factory processes, business activities and applicable reporting method. The Scope 1, 2 and 3 guide provides context for classifying the resulting inventory.
Prepared with AI assistance using the linked sources and original fictional examples. No customer results, field measurements or independent specialist review are claimed.