How KarbonZ calculates emissions
Every KarbonZ figure is activity data, such as kWh, kilometres or flights, multiplied by a published emission factor and expressed in CO2e. Only what a person answers, or a bill covers, is counted; gaps are never filled with averages. Factors come from Indian and international sources and are versioned (KZ-EF-v1.0-FY2025-26).
How does KarbonZ map to the GHG Protocol?
For organisations, KarbonZ reports employee-related emissions under the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard, by the distance-based method.
| Scope 3 category | Status | How |
|---|---|---|
| Category 7: Employee commuting | Reported | Distance by mode, from each employee’s commute answers, adjusted for work-from-home days and carpooling |
| Category 6: Business travel (air) | Reported | Flights per year by class, converted to distance |
| Categories 1 to 5, 9 to 12, 14 | Not covered | Not material to employee-related emissions |
| Categories 8, 13, 15 | Not covered | Data not collected |
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, and supplier emissions, are outside KarbonZ.
Which emission factors does KarbonZ use?
| Activity | Source |
|---|---|
| Electricity | Central Electricity Authority (CEA) grid emission factors, 2023-24, applied per city (0.53 to 0.92 kg CO2 per kWh across 16 cities) |
| Road transport | MoRTH 2023, IPCC AR5 (100-year GWP) and DEFRA 2024, in kg CO2e per km by mode and fuel |
| Air travel | ICAO Carbon Emissions Calculator and DEFRA 2024, in kg CO2e per km |
| Fuel bills | DEFRA 2024: 2.31 kg CO2 per litre of petrol |
Electricity uses the grid factor for your city, because India’s regional grids differ. Global warming potentials are 100-year values from IPCC AR5. The factor set is released as KZ-EF-v1.0-FY2025-26 and recorded on every calculation, so a past figure can always be traced to the factors used.
How is a footprint calculated?
- Each answer or bill becomes activity data: a bill amount becomes kWh through your city’s tariff, a commute becomes kilometres per month.
- Activity data is multiplied by the matching emission factor.
- Categories you haven’t answered are left out of the total, not estimated.
- Months are compared only on categories present in both, so adding detail never looks like a change in emissions.
How is data verified?
Every figure carries a verification level, shown in the app and in reports.
| Level | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Self-reported | An answer you gave in the assessment |
| Document | Backed by a bill you logged or uploaded |
| System | Fetched directly from your biller through the Bharat Bill Payment System |
| Audit-ready | Reserved for independently checked data |
What are the limits?
- Most inputs start self-reported. Accuracy improves as bills are added.
- Organisation reports cover enrolled employees only; participation rates are shown alongside every total.
- Food and shopping use spend- and diet-based averages, which are less precise than metered energy.
- The KarbonZ score is a performance index defined by KarbonZ. It is not an independent environmental certification.
- Calculations are reviewed internally. They have not yet been independently assured.
How is the data protected?
Data is stored in India (Mumbai), encrypted in transit and at rest, and access is limited by role and logged. Read the privacy notice and the list of subprocessors.