Emissions intensity, or carbon intensity, refers to the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted per a given activity or unit. A wide variety of emissions intensity metrics can be used depending on an organization’s sector, business model and strategic priorities.
Emissions intensity can be measured against financial performance, operational performance, and more. Examples of common intensity metrics used by organizations are emissions intensity by revenue (tCO2e/$M revenue), per unit of energy used (tCO2e/MWh), by gross floor area (tCO2e/m2 floor area) and per employee (tCO2e/employee).
Although absolute emissions provide a clear and straightforward measure of an entity’s emissions impact, they also have their limitations. For example, absolute emissions might increase as an organization grows (e.g. due to an acquisition or construction of a new business facility) even if carbon efficiency improves. In addition, absolute emissions are challenging to compare between organizations as they are not adjusted for differences in size, activity, geography and sector.
Organizations use intensity metrics to normalize emissions data and provide more insights into performance trends.
Emissions intensity is calculated by dividing emissions by the quantity of activity or unit generated within the same reporting period. Examples of intensity metric calculations are set out below.
= Total emissions within reporting period (tCO2e) / Total revenue within reporting period ($M)
Company A’s total emissions in 2022
| Scope 1 | 780 tCO2e |
|---|---|
| Scope 2 | 2,371 tCO2e |
| Scope 3 | 12,957 tCO2e |
| = 16,108 tCO2e |
Company A’s total revenue in 2022
$536.4M
Company A’s emissions intensity by revenue in 2022