Professional services carbon footprint calculator
The professional services carbon footprint calculator estimates the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with future professional services contracts. For example, the calculator can be incorporated into the procurement process to collect data from professional service suppliers to generate a carbon footprint ready for comparison.
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Objectives
The calculator is designed to:
- provide transparent and traceable carbon footprint calculations
- be robust by following the guidelines outlined by the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard that classifies a supplier’s GHG emissions into 3 scopes
Scope
The calculator estimates GHG emissions associated with the execution of professional services contracts. The types of professional services that are covered by the calculator are:
- office work only
- office work and field work
- office work, field work and use of specialized equipment
- field work and use of specialized equipment, minimal office work
- medical and dental (including both clinical and laboratory services)
The calculator covers 3 scopes of GHG emissions, as described by the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard:
- Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions—Occur from sources owned or controlled by the company
- Scope 2: Indirect GHG emissions—Associated with the generation of purchased electricity or thermal energy consumed by the company
- Scope 3: Indirect GHG emissions—Consequence of the activities of the company, but primarily occur from sources not owned or controlled by the company
For calculating Scope 3 GHG emissions, only the sources listed below are currently included in the calculator:
- Scope 3: Category 2—Capital goods
- Scope 3: Category 5—Waste generated in operations
- Scope 3: Category 6—Business travel
- Scope 3: Category 7—Employee commuting
- Scope 3: Category 8—Upstream leased assets
Methodology
The calculator combines company-generic data and contract-specific data from the supplier to estimate the GHG emissions associated with the execution of a specific professional services contract. All offices that are directly or indirectly involved in the execution of the contract should be included. For example, if international offices are used to execute the specific contract, including direct personnel or support staff such as accounting, legal and administrative personnel, their emissions should be accounted for in the calculator. Offices not expected to contribute to the execution of the contract can be excluded. The company-generic GHG emissions are then allocated to the contract based on the person-hours expected to be required to complete the contract.
The data provided by the suppliers are converted into GHG emissions through the use of GHG emission factors that are automatically applied in the calculator. These GHG emissions factors come from Environment and Climate Change Canada, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the GHG Protocol, and other peer-reviewed studies.
Ongoing development
Ongoing development and maintenance of the calculator will be undertaken based on engagement with stakeholders and other governmental departments, comments received from the public, as well as issues identified by Public Services and Procurement Canada.
More information
Contact the Green and Clean Technology Procurement Technical Team for more information: tpsgc.paachatsecologiques-apgreenprocurement.pwgsc@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.