Emission Factors in Carbon Accounting: How to Ensure Accuracy, Quality, and Trust

Building trustworthy emission factors at Tanso: Why quality comes before quantity

When it comes to carbon accounting, emission factors (EFs) are the backbone of every calculation. Yet, not all emission factors are created equal. At Tanso, we believe that the credibility of your carbon footprint depends more on the quality of emission factors than on their sheer volume.

In this article, we’ll walk through how Tanso curates, standardizes, and enhances emission factors to deliver both accuracy and usability at scale.

A diverse, curated database ecosystem

Tanso integrates emission factors from a wide range of globally recognized databases, ensuring coverage across industries, geographies, and use cases.

We also ensure that all databases are reviewed and updated annually, so our users always work with the most recent and relevant data.‍

Classification by data type

Spend-based databases

• ‍Exiobase — Multi-regional input-output database widely used for macroeconomic analyses and supply chain foot printing, especially for Scope 3 spend-based calculations.
• CEDA (Comprehensive Environmental Data Archive) — Provides environmentally extended input-output data, enabling spend-based emissions estimation across sectors.

Quantity-based databases

• Agribalysis — A French LCA database focused on agricultural and food products, aligned with FLAG categories under GHG Protocol guidance.‍
• BAFU — A Swiss database focused on providing LCA emssion factors for more than 12,000 products and services according to the EF 3.1 LCIA methodology. ‍
• Ökobaudat — Germany's official database for construction materials, widely used in building LCA's.
• DBEIS (UK DEFRA) — Provides emission factors for energy use, transport, and waste, commonly used for corporate reporting.‍
• BAFA — German government dataset for energy related emission factors, espeically relevant for fuels and heating systems.
• Ecoinvent — One of the most comprehensive global LCA databases, covering thousands of processes across industries.‍
• Idemat — A materials focused database developed by TU Delft, useful for product design and matieral comparisons.‍
• GLEC — A logistics focused framework and dataset for calculating freight and transport emissions.‍
• EPD (Environmental Product Declarations) — Verified, product-specific environmental data published by manufacturers.
• IPCC — Provides default emission factors and global warming potentials, forming the scientific backbone of climate reporting.‍
• Mobitool — A transport-focused dataset used primarily in Switzerland for mobility-related emissions.
• UBA Germany — Germany's Federal Environment Agency dataset with high-quality national emission factors.‍
• UBA Austria — Austria's environmental agency dataset, providing region-specific emission factor.

Classification by licensing model

Licensed databases

• Ecoinvent — A premium, highly detailed LCA database requiring a license, known for its methodological rigor and global coverage.

Open-Source databases

• Agribalysis - Publicly available agricultural lCA data from France
• Ökobaudat - Open database for construction materials in Germany‍
• DBEIS (DEFRA) - Freely available UK government emission factors‍
• BAFA - Public German data set for energy related emissions‍
• GLEC - Open framework and dataset for logistics emissions‍
• EPD - Publicly accessible, product-specific environmental declarations‍
• IPCC - Open scientific guidelines and emission factors used globally
• Mobitool - Open data set for mobility emissions‍
• CEDA - Publicly available environmentally extended input-output data‍
• Exiobase - Open multi-regional input-output database‍
• UBA Germany - Public German enviornmental dataset‍
• UBA Austria - Public Austrian environmental dataset

Why we don't show all emission factors

Tanso provides access to:

• 100,000+ emission factors
• 30,000+ curated, ready-to-use emission factors

However, we intentionally expose only a subset.

More data can often lead to:

• Confusion due to multiple similar factors
• Inconsistent reporting decisions
• Reduced usability

That is why we focus on:

• Careful curation
• Standardization
• User-friendly selection

Our methodology: ensuring scientific rigor

Every emission factor at Tanso, whether sourced externally or calculated in-house — follows strict methodological principles.

1. Allocation approach

We standardize on:

• Cut-off by classification
• Cut-off by attribution

This ensures consistent and non-overlapping allocation of emissions.

2. LCIA methodologies

We support:

• IPCC 2021
• ReCept Midpoint
• CML LCIA indicators
• EF 3.1 LCIA indicators

These methodologies ensure robust and scientifically validated impact assessment.

3. System boundaries

We accept emission factors with the following boundaries:

• Cradle-to-Gate
• Gate-to-gate
• Well-to-tank
• Tank-to-wheel
• Well-to-Wheel

This allows flexibility across different reporting use cases.

4. Biogenic emissions transparency

Biogenic CO₂ emissions must be reported separately as per the GHG Protocol.

At Tanso:

• We only include databases that explicitly report biogenic CO₂ separately
• This ensures transparency and compliance

5. Comprehensive greenhouse gas coverage

We only select emission factors that:

• Include all relevant greenhouse gases
• Align with IPCC definitions

This guarantees completeness and avoids underreporting.

In-House emission factor development

For niche or emerging activities not covered by standard databases, Tanso builds its own emission factors.

• 1,000+ emission factors developed in-house
• Fully aligned with our methodological standards
• Designed for high specificity and accuracy

This allows us to: 

• Fill critical data gaps
• Support industry-specific use cases
• Maintain consistency across all calculations

The Tanso philosophy: precision at scale

At Tanso, we believe:

Reliable CO₂ accounting is not about having the most data, it's about having the right data.

By combining:

• A diverse database ecosystem
• Annual updates
• Rigorous methodology
• Careful curation
• In-house expertise

We enable organizations to build carbon footprints they can trust.

What this means for you

With Tanso, you can:

• Use high quality, standardised emission factors
• Ensure audit ready calculations
• Avoid inconsistencies across datasets
• Scale your carbon accounting with confidence

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