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The databases behind the numbers

Emission Factor Sources

Every carbon calculation stands on a source database. This directory covers the government factor sets, LCA databases and spend-based models we rely on — what each one is for, who publishes it, and how it's licensed.

24 sources · Curated by NetNada · Last updated July 2026

Sources with a detail page include coverage, methodology and a ready-to-copy citation. Cards without one link to the publisher's official site. Looking for the factors themselves? Browse the emission factors database .

Activity-based

DISER (NGA Factors)

Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)

Australia's official factor set — the National Greenhouse Accounts Factors, published annually. The source behind every factor in the NetNada emission factors database.

Australia CC BY 4.0
View details
Spend-based

EXIOBASE

EXIOBASE Consortium

The open global input-output database for spend-based emissions estimation — 163 industries, 44 countries and 5 rest-of-world regions covering ~95% of global GDP.

Global — 44 countries + 5 rest-of-world regions CC BY-SA 4.0 (free)
View details
Spend-based

CEDA

Watershed (originally VitalMetrics)

The highest-resolution spend-based database — around 60,000 factors across 400 industries and 148 countries, with a free Open CEDA tier and a commercial enterprise tier.

Global — 148 countries + rest-of-world Open tier (free) + commercial tier
View details
Activity & spend-based

EPA GHG Emission Factors Hub

US Environmental Protection Agency

The default factor set for US operations — fuels, eGRID electricity, transport, refrigerants and waste, refreshed by the EPA each year.

United States Free — public domain
Official site
Activity & spend-based

UK Government GHG Conversion Factors

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)

The annually updated UK company-reporting factors (formerly DEFRA/BEIS). Widely borrowed internationally for business travel, freight and hotel stays.

United Kingdom & global Open Government Licence
Official site
Activity-based

ecoinvent

ecoinvent Association

The reference life cycle inventory database for product footprinting and LCA. Commercial licence, unmatched process-level depth.

Global Commercial
Official site
Activity-based

IPCC Emission Factor Database

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The defaults behind national greenhouse gas inventories worldwide. The fallback when no country-specific factor exists.

Global Free — public
Official site
Activity-based

GHG Protocol Calculation Tools

World Resources Institute & WBCSD

Calculation tools and factors published by the body that writes the accounting rules — useful defaults where no national set applies.

Global Free — public
Official site
Activity-based

NZ Measuring Emissions Guide

Ministry for the Environment (New Zealand)

The official factor set for New Zealand operations — fuels, electricity, freight, waste and working-from-home, updated each year.

New Zealand CC BY 4.0
Official site
Activity-based

AusLCI

Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society (ALCAS)

Australias national LCI database — the process-level detail behind Australian product footprints and EPDs.

Australia Free — registration required
Official site
Activity-based

GLEC Framework

Smart Freight Centre

The standard method and factors for freight and logistics emissions — road, rail, sea, air and transhipment, aligned with ISO 14083.

Global Free framework
Official site
Activity-based

IEA Emission Factors

International Energy Agency

Comprehensive country-by-country electricity factors — the commercial reference for multinational scope 2 reporting.

Global Commercial
Official site
Activity-based

Ember

Ember

Free, open electricity grid intensities for most countries, derived from generation data. The open alternative to commercial grid datasets.

Global CC BY 4.0
Official site
Activity-based

AIB European Residual Mixes

Association of Issuing Bodies

The European residual mix factors for market-based scope 2 accounting — the EU equivalent of Australias residual mix factor.

Europe & UK Free — public
Official site
Activity-based

ADEME Base Empreinte

ADEME (French Agency for Ecological Transition)

The French government factor database. Exceptionally broad coverage, and the backbone of carbon accounting in France.

France & multi-region Free — registration required
Official site
Activity-based

Agribalyse

ADEME

Farm-to-shelf life cycle factors for thousands of food products — the go-to for food and beverage footprints.

France Free — open
Official site
Activity-based

EU CBAM Default Values

European Commission

Default embedded-emission values for CBAM-covered goods — cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, hydrogen and electricity.

EU imports Free — public
Official site
Spend-based

USEEIO

US Environmental Protection Agency

Open spend-based factors for 400+ US sectors — the public-domain option for US purchased goods and services.

United States Free — public domain
Official site
Activity-based

Climate TRACE

Climate TRACE Coalition

Facility-level global emissions estimates from satellites and AI — independent observation rather than self-reported data.

Global Free — open
Official site
Activity-based

Cloud Carbon Footprint

Cloud Carbon Footprint (open source)

The open methodology for cloud computing emissions — AWS, Azure and GCP usage converted to CO₂-e.

Global Free — open source
Official site
Activity-based

Canada National GHG Inventory

Environment and Climate Change Canada

The official factor source for Canadian operations, including provincial electricity intensities.

Canada Free — public
Official site
Activity-based

ICE Database (Circular Ecology)

Circular Ecology

The ICE embodied-carbon database for construction materials — concrete, steel, timber and hundreds more.

UK & global Free — registration required
Official site
Activity-based

WRAP Food & Drink Factors

WRAP

Scope 3 factors purpose-built for food and drink businesses, from the NGO behind the UKs food waste roadmap.

UK & global Free — public
Official site
Activity-based

PCAF European Building Emission Factor Database

Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials

Building-level factors for banks and investors measuring financed emissions in property portfolios under PCAF.

Europe Free — registration required
Official site

Stop looking up emission factors by hand

NetNada extracts data from invoices and receipts, applies the correct government emission factors automatically, and generates audit-ready compliance reports.