Australian corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy data

Wikirate ID: 18088185

Australian Government Clean Energy Regulator publishes in February each year, information about registered corporations, if their total greenhouse gas emissions are 50 kilotonnes carbon dioxide equivalence (CO2-e) or more. This includes both scope 1 and scope 2 emissions.

Corporations registered under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 must report their greenhouse gas emissions, and energy production and consumption by 31 October each year.

Comparing published data between years

When comparing total emissions between reporting years, it is important to note that each year there may be minor changes to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Determination 2008, and in the number of reporters and facilities that meet the publication threshold and a reporting threshold. Australian Government Clean Energy Regulator take all reasonable efforts to ensure the information published on our website is accurate at the time of publication.

Scope 1 emissions: "direct" emissions

Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions are emissions released into the atmosphere as a direct result of the activities at your facility. For example:

emissions from the use of refrigerants in air conditioning units
emissions from fuels used in transport
fugitive emissions, such as methane leaks from coal mines
production of electricity by burning coal.

Scope 1 emissions are also referred to as direct emissions.

Scope 2 emissions: "indirect" emissions

Scope 2 emissions for a facility represent the emissions that were released outside your facility boundary to produce the electricity that you imported into the facility and used. For example, a cement factory which uses electricity from an external electricity grid to run its business would report scope 2 emissions.

In this example, the emissions are directly produced by grid-connected power stations that burn fuel to create the electricity which is then supplied to the grid (and would be reported by these power stations as scope 1 emissions). The grid electricity used by the cement factory, and the associated scope 2 emissions, would be reported by the cement factory.

Scope 2 emissions are also referred to as indirect emissions.

Reporting emissions under NGER

Corporations must report scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Scope 3 emissions are not reportable under NGER. However, you can use the National Greenhouse Accounts Factors to estimate scope 3 emissions.

You only need to report on activities if there is an applicable method in the NGER Measurement Determination.

Energy consumption

Corporations consume energy when they use or dispose of it. This includes when energy is purposely used, such as combusting fuel to operate machinery, as well as when energy is lost, such as during the handling of energy.