Measuring greenhouse gas emissions with IngSoft InterWatt

IngSoft InterWatt makes your company climate neutral

14.03.2023 5 Minutes

Sustainability goes from being optional to compulsory: Prepare today for the upcoming CSR reporting requirements on energy consumption and greenhouse gas balance. Integrated energy and climate management is becoming the order of the day. We show you how to use IngSoft InterWatt to record and sustainably reduce GHG emissions in your company.

Why the pressure for sustainability in companies is increasing...

The serious consequences of climate change are awakening/strengthening the honest intrinsic interest of many business owners in the topic of sustainability.
In B2B, more companies are requiring their business partners to submit sustainability reports.
End customers consciously prefer more sustainable products.
In the war of talents, corporate sustainability is increasingly shaping the decision-making of qualified workers.
Institutional investors and banks are paying more attention to investing money sustainably. As a result, companies that rely on fossil fuels, for example, are finding it more difficult to obtain financing; real estate with poor consumption characteristics is becoming less attractive for investment.
Last but not least, the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD for short) came into force at the beginning of 2023. Among other things, it tightens up the EU Transparency Directive and the EU Accounting Directive to the effect that, from 2024, it will oblige around 50,000 companies in the EU to submit an annual sustainability report.

Although sustainability has many facets, both the CSRD directive and public perception focus primarily on climate protection. The question of how many greenhouse gas emissions (GHG emissions) a company causes must in future be answered by all companies subject to reporting requirements with precisely defined key figures.

Key figures required for climate reporting

In corporate climate reports, emissions are usually reported separately according to three scopes:

Scope 1: Emissions that occur directly in the company (e.g., from the combustion of natural gas in stationary plants or diesel in company-owned vehicles).
Scope 2: Emissions that do not occur directly in the company, but are generated during the generation of energy consumed by the company (e.g., electricity and district heating)
Scope 3: All other emissions caused by the company along its value chain, e.g. those caused by the production of the steel processed in the company or by employee travel. In some reporting standards, the determination of Scope 3 emissions is optional.

The determination of GHG emissions is often seen as a complex challenge and is handed over to external consultants who then prepare an annual report. However, the determination of the necessary key figures in particular can also be managed very well with internal resources using a suitable software solution. If, in addition, a mature energy management system already exists in the company, the effort required for an expansion in the direction of climate management is limited to a minimum. Because:

Almost ¾ of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide are due to energy consumption. [Climate Watch, the World Resources Institute (2020)].

The CSRD requires obligated companies to provide comprehensive metrics on both: Energy consumption and greenhouse gas balance.

So if you have not yet addressed the issue of energy management in your company, it still makes sense to opt for a software solution that can map both climate and energy issues.

Determine greenhouse gas emissions with IngSoft InterWatt & achieve climate targets

Determination of emissions in Scope 1 and Scope 2

With IngSoft InterWatt you can easily implement scope 1 and scope 2 reporting. The software not only allows you to collect emissions data based on annual values, which many companies will be required to disclose in their annual financial statements in the future. It also allows you to display monthly to daily values, which form the basis for more differentiated analyses. Such analyses are essential for achieving your long-term emissions targets. Only in this way can you derive suitable reduction measures – in line with your climate strategy – as well as any CO₂ compensation requirements that may still be necessary.

Automatic data collection and flexible adaptation to measurement situation

Once set up, data collection is automatic and does not necessarily involve costly electronic meter recording. This is because IngSoft InterWatt is designed to make optimum use of available data sources: From the connection of complex building and process control systems to the simple collection of consumption values from the invoices of your own energy supplier – our software is compatible with your requirements. You can also benefit from the associated IngSoft InterWatt Mobile app, which allows you to conveniently capture your data using OCR readings.

Capture Scope 3 emissions

Compared to Scope 1 and Scope 2, Scope 3 emissions are much more difficult to capture, as upstream and downstream processes along the value chain are only partially tangible for companies.

However, IngSoft InterWatt also provides you with the right tool for recording emissions in Scope 3. Early on – since its market launch in 1997 – our software has evolved from a pure energy controlling solution to a flexible approach to energy, climate and environment. Today, IngSoft InterWatt can map all material and media flows as well as all other relevant variables. It thus also supports you in the collection of your upstream and downstream emissions.

Start your climate management now

With IngSoft InterWatt, you can not only collect the figures required for annual CSR reporting without much effort. You can actively and agilely manage the decarbonisation of your company thanks to flexible collection intervals.

Climate management with IngSoft InterWatt