Frequently Asked Questions

DeCarbonOPS is a Carbon Passport platform for European SME suppliers. It calculates your company's Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions using the GHG Protocol methodology and DEFRA 2023 emission factors, then generates a verified Carbon Passport — a permanent, shareable URL you can send to enterprise clients who request carbon data.

DeCarbonOPS is designed for small and mid-size companies (1–500 employees) that supply goods or services to large enterprises in the EU or UK. If you have received a supplier sustainability questionnaire from a client, or if your clients are subject to CSRD reporting obligations, DeCarbonOPS is built for you. Sectors include manufacturing, logistics, professional services, construction, food production, and retail.

Most users complete their first Carbon Passport in 15–25 minutes. The process requires entering your annual electricity and gas consumption, fuel usage for company vehicles, an estimate of business travel, and waste figures. If you have your utility bills and fuel records to hand, it takes under 20 minutes. The passport is generated instantly — there is no waiting period.

You need: (1) your annual electricity bill showing total kWh consumed, (2) your annual gas bill in m³ or kWh, (3) an estimate of diesel and petrol used by company vehicles in litres, (4) business travel estimates — flights in km, rail in km, hotel nights, (5) a rough figure for waste generated in kg or tonnes. You do not need exact figures — reasonable estimates are accepted and the platform records your methodology.

No installation is required. DeCarbonOPS is a web application that runs in any modern browser. You create an account, fill in a guided data-entry form, and your Carbon Passport is generated automatically. No spreadsheets, no consultants, no technical knowledge required.

No. Your first annual Carbon Passport report is completely free. No credit card is required to create an account or generate your first report. Payment is only required if you upgrade to the Starter plan for additional annual reports.

A Carbon Passport is a verified digital record of your company's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for a specific reporting year. It covers Scope 1 (direct combustion), Scope 2 (purchased electricity), and the most material Scope 3 categories (upstream fuel extraction, waste, business travel, and commuting). It is published at a permanent public URL that procurement teams can bookmark and verify at any time.

Your Carbon Passport shows: company name, VAT number, industry, and country; reporting year; Scope 1 total in tCO2e (direct combustion — gas, diesel, petrol, LPG, refrigerant leaks); Scope 2 total in tCO2e (purchased electricity); Scope 3 total in tCO2e (upstream WTT, waste, business travel, employee commuting); combined total; emissions intensity per employee and per €1M revenue; the GHG Protocol methodology statement with DEFRA 2023 emission factors; and a permanent verification URL.

No. A full carbon footprint report is a detailed document (often 20–50 pages) covering all data sources, assumptions, and calculation methodology. A Carbon Passport is the executive summary of that report — formatted as a single page designed for sharing with procurement teams. Think of it like the difference between a full set of company accounts and the one-page summary you give to a bank. DeCarbonOPS stores the full methodology in your account and surfaces the Carbon Passport for external sharing.

DeCarbonOPS covers four of the 15 GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories: Category 3 (fuel and energy-related activities — well-to-tank upstream emissions), Category 5 (waste generated in operations), Category 6 (business travel — flights, rail, hotels), and Category 7 (employee commuting). These are the most material Scope 3 categories for most SME service and light manufacturing businesses, and the categories most commonly requested on supplier questionnaires.

No. Your Carbon Passport URL is permanently accessible for the lifetime of your account. However, the data inside it is specific to the reporting year you chose when generating it. Enterprise clients typically request data for the most recent calendar year, so most businesses generate a new Carbon Passport each year with updated figures. Your URL from 2024 remains valid and accessible indefinitely alongside any newer passports.

On the free plan, one report is generated per account. If you need to correct data, you can delete your account and re-register, or contact us and we will assist with an amendment. On the Starter plan, corrections and amendments are supported directly. Note that the GHG Protocol allows reasonable estimation — minor corrections rarely change the overall picture significantly.

DeCarbonOPS helps you provide the carbon data that your large clients need for their CSRD Scope 3 disclosures. It does not file a CSRD report on your behalf — because as an SME, you are almost certainly not directly required to file one. CSRD directly applies to large companies (250+ employees, €40M+ turnover, €20M+ assets). DeCarbonOPS makes you supplier-ready — able to respond to your clients' CSRD-driven carbon data requests instantly.

Yes, in most cases. The data fields on a DeCarbonOPS Carbon Passport — Scope 1, 2, and 3 totals in tCO2e, emissions intensity, reporting year, and GHG Protocol methodology — match exactly what enterprise procurement teams need for their Scope 3 Category 1 data collection. You paste your verification URL into the questionnaire portal or include it in an email reply, and attach the PDF download.

Carbon Passport data is accepted by SAP Ariba (paste the verification URL in the supplier profile or sustainability questionnaire), Coupa (via the sustainability module), Jaggaer (ESG supplier section), and any email-based questionnaire. The permanent URL and downloadable PDF work with any system. EcoVadis clients can reference the Carbon Passport URL as supplementary evidence in their EcoVadis questionnaire.

Yes. The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard is the most widely used framework for corporate emissions accounting globally — used by over 9 in 10 Fortune 500 companies and accepted by all major regulatory frameworks including CSRD, the UK SECR reporting requirement, and the EU ETS. DEFRA (the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) publishes the emission factors DeCarbonOPS uses, and these are the standard reference for GHG Protocol calculations across Europe.

If your client specifically requires an EcoVadis rating, you need to complete the EcoVadis assessment. A Carbon Passport does not replace EcoVadis for clients who require that specific platform. However, many clients who use EcoVadis will accept a Carbon Passport for the carbon data sections of their EcoVadis questionnaire. For clients who simply request carbon data without specifying a platform, a Carbon Passport fully satisfies the request.

Self-assessed means you calculated your emissions internally using a recognised tool and methodology. This is what DeCarbonOPS produces on the free plan. Externally verified means an accredited third party has reviewed your data and methodology — similar to a financial audit. Most SME supplier questionnaires only require self-assessed data. Larger suppliers or those in higher-tier vendor lists may be asked for third-party verification, which is available on the Starter plan.

Yes. Your first annual Carbon Passport report is completely free, forever. No credit card required, no trial expiry, no hidden fees. You create an account, enter your data, and receive a permanent Carbon Passport and verification URL at no cost. The free plan is genuinely free — not a time-limited trial.

The free plan includes: one annual Carbon Passport report, full Scope 1, 2, and 3 calculations (GHG Protocol, DEFRA 2023 factors), a permanent public verification URL, a downloadable PDF Carbon Passport, emissions intensity metrics, and access to all data-entry features. The limitation is one report per account — if you need to generate a new report for a different year, you need the Starter plan.

The Starter plan costs €99 per month. It includes unlimited annual reports, multi-year comparison tracking, emissions intensity trend analysis, and priority support. It is designed for businesses who generate reports annually and want to track progress over time, or who need to provide updated data to multiple clients with different reporting year requirements.

Yes. You can upgrade to the Starter plan at any time from your account settings. Your existing Carbon Passport and all data carry over when you upgrade. Visit the Pricing page or your account settings to upgrade.

Your existing Carbon Passport URL remains publicly accessible permanently — it is not affected by your subscription status. Your data and account also remain accessible. If you downgrade from Starter to the free plan, you retain access to your existing reports but cannot generate new ones beyond the free plan's one-report limit.

DeCarbonOPS calculates Scope 1 from: natural gas combustion (entered in m³ per year), diesel consumption (litres per year), petrol consumption (litres per year), LPG consumption (litres per year), and refrigerant gas leaks (entered as kg CO2e per year from maintenance records). These cover the primary direct emission sources for the vast majority of SME businesses.

Scope 2 is calculated using the location-based method by default: your annual electricity consumption in kWh is multiplied by the grid emission factor for your country (from DEFRA 2023). If you supply a renewable energy percentage — for example, if 50% of your electricity comes from a renewable tariff or on-site solar — the platform blends the location-based and market-based factors proportionally. Solar generation you produce yourself (in kWh) is also subtracted from your grid consumption.

DeCarbonOPS calculates Scope 3 Categories 3, 5, 6, and 7: upstream fuel extraction (WTT — well-to-tank), waste disposal, business travel (flights, rail, hotels), and employee commuting. These four categories cover the most material Scope 3 sources for most SME businesses and are the categories most requested on supplier questionnaires. Category 1 (purchased goods and raw materials) requires a supply-chain lifecycle assessment that goes beyond the scope of a standard supplier questionnaire response.

DeCarbonOPS uses the DEFRA 2023 (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) emission conversion factors — the UK government's official publication, widely used across Europe as the standard reference for GHG Protocol calculations. Key factors include: UK electricity = 0.207 kgCO2e/kWh; German electricity = 0.364 kgCO2e/kWh; natural gas = 2.204 kgCO2e/m³; diesel = 2.683 kgCO2e/litre; petrol = 2.267 kgCO2e/litre; short-haul flights = 0.255 kgCO2e/km per passenger.

Yes. If you have a renewable electricity tariff, you can enter the percentage of your electricity that comes from renewable sources. DeCarbonOPS blends the location-based grid factor with a near-zero market-based factor proportionally. For example, if you have a 100% renewable tariff, your market-based Scope 2 is reported as zero, while the location-based figure is also retained for comparison. This follows the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance on dual reporting.

DeCarbonOPS uses DEFRA 2023 emission factors as the current dataset. DEFRA publishes updated factors annually, and we update the platform when new official figures are released. Your existing Carbon Passports retain the factor version used at the time of generation — this is important for year-over-year comparability, as changing factors between years would distort trend analysis.

Reasonable estimates are explicitly permitted under the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard. If you do not have fuel card statements, you can estimate vehicle fuel consumption from mileage records multiplied by distance-based emission factors. For gas without volumetric records, energy bills in kWh can be used instead. DeCarbonOPS records your estimation approach so you can document it for auditors if needed.

Enter the kWh figure directly. The data entry form accepts either m³ or kWh for natural gas. The platform automatically applies the correct DEFRA factor for whichever unit you use. UK gas bills typically show both units — use whichever appears most prominently. If only kWh is shown, use that.

Add up the consumption from all your locations and enter the combined annual totals. For example, if you have three offices each consuming 20,000 kWh of electricity, enter 60,000 kWh as your total. The Carbon Passport reports your company-wide footprint, not site-by-site data — which is what most procurement questionnaires require. Site-level reporting is on the roadmap for a future plan tier.

Use the most recently completed full calendar year. If you are generating your Carbon Passport in early 2026, use 2025 data. If your financial year does not align with the calendar year, you can either use the calendar year (most common for procurement questionnaires) or your financial year — as long as it covers exactly 12 months and you note which period it covers.

Estimate the average one-way commute distance per employee in km, and the number of employees. DeCarbonOPS calculates commuting emissions from these inputs using a blended modal average factor. A reasonable estimate (for example, 15 km average commute for a team in a city, 25 km for a suburban location) is entirely acceptable for procurement questionnaire responses. Document the basis for your estimate — DeCarbonOPS records it automatically.

Yes. If you have no company vehicles, no gas heating, and no refrigerant equipment, enter zero for all Scope 1 fields. Your Carbon Passport will reflect this accurately. A fully remote or cloud-based business typically has low Scope 1 and Scope 2 (only cloud electricity) but may have material Scope 3 from employee home working energy, which DeCarbonOPS can estimate. Contact us if you have a specific edge case.

Two ways: (1) Copy your permanent verification URL from your Dashboard or Passport page and paste it into the supplier questionnaire portal (SAP Ariba, Coupa, Jaggaer, or any online form). (2) Download the PDF from your Passport page and email it as an attachment. Most clients accept both. For email questionnaires, include the URL inline in your reply alongside the PDF attachment.

They see a public Carbon Passport page showing your company name, industry, country, reporting year, Scope 1 total (tCO2e), Scope 2 total (tCO2e), Scope 3 total (tCO2e), combined total, emissions intensity per employee and per revenue, and the GHG Protocol methodology statement. They cannot see your individual data inputs (utility bill figures, travel details) — only the calculated outputs.

Your Carbon Passport page is public — anyone with the URL can view it. This is intentional and necessary: procurement teams need to be able to verify the URL without logging into your account. Your raw data inputs are private and only visible to you when logged in. If you need to remove a public passport, deleting your account removes it permanently.

Yes. From the Passport page in your account, click Download PDF. The PDF contains all the same information as the public URL page and is formatted for email attachments and document uploads. Some procurement portals only accept PDF uploads — use this format for those.

Yes, for the lifetime of your account. The URL does not expire, rotate, or change. Procurement teams that bookmark it for their records can re-verify it at any time. If you delete your account, the public passport URL becomes inaccessible — which is intentional for GDPR compliance.

Only the calculated output data on your Carbon Passport page is public (emission totals, intensity, methodology). Your raw input data — utility bill figures, fuel volumes, travel details — is private and only accessible when you are logged into your account. The public passport is designed to give procurement teams exactly the verification data they need without exposing your underlying business data.

DeCarbonOPS is built on Supabase with EU-region data hosting. All data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest. Row-level security policies ensure each user can only access their own data. Authentication is handled by Supabase Auth with secure HTTP-only cookies. We conduct regular security reviews and follow industry-standard practices for B2B SaaS security.

We store: your name, email address, and company details (name, VAT, industry, country, employee count, revenue) that you provide during account creation and data entry; your emissions input data and calculated results; your profile photo if you choose to upload one; and standard technical data (IP address, browser, usage logs) for security and product improvement. We do not sell personal data and do not use advertising cookies. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

Yes. Go to Settings → Danger Zone → Delete Account. Deletion is immediate and permanent. When you delete your account, all of the following are erased simultaneously: your user profile, company data, all emission reports and entries, and your public Carbon Passport pages. This satisfies your GDPR Article 17 right to erasure. The deletion cannot be undone.

Yes. All personal data is stored on servers located within the European Union. DeCarbonOPS uses Supabase EU-region infrastructure and Vercel EU CDN nodes. We do not transfer personal data outside the EEA without appropriate safeguards. This complies with GDPR Chapter V requirements on international data transfers.

We use strictly necessary authentication cookies to keep you signed in — these are required for the platform to function. We do not use advertising cookies, third-party tracking pixels, or cross-site analytics. We use privacy-respecting first-party analytics to understand how features are used. You can review your browser's cookie settings at any time.

Currently, DeCarbonOPS accounts are single-user. Each account belongs to one person who manages the company's carbon reporting. Multi-user team accounts (for finance teams or sustainability managers working together) are on the product roadmap. For now, shared access is possible by sharing login credentials within a team, though we recommend using a dedicated email address for the account.

On the free plan, reports cannot be edited after submission — this maintains data integrity and ensures the public verification URL reflects a consistent dataset. If you made a significant error, contact support and we can assist. On the Starter plan, amendments are supported with an audit trail. Minor estimation errors are generally not significant enough to require correction for most procurement questionnaire purposes.

Your account and all data remain intact indefinitely regardless of login frequency. There is no automatic deletion or expiry due to inactivity. Your Carbon Passport URL remains publicly accessible. We may contact you by email if your account appears inactive for an extended period to confirm you still want your data held.

Not currently. Data entry is manual — you enter figures from your utility bills and records directly into the platform. Integration with accounting and ERP systems (to pull utility data automatically) is on the roadmap. For now, the manual data entry process takes under 30 minutes and requires only the totals from your bills, not individual transaction data.

The most common causes: (1) Electricity entered in MWh instead of kWh — multiply by 1,000 to correct; (2) Gas entered in kWh when m³ was expected, or vice versa; (3) Diesel or petrol entered in gallons instead of litres (1 UK gallon = 4.546 litres); (4) Missing refrigerant data — a single HFC leak can add several tCO2e; (5) Commute distance entered as total annual km instead of one-way daily km. Review each field carefully and check the unit labels.

A spreadsheet requires you to find and apply the correct emission factors, build the calculation logic correctly, and produce a presentable output — typically taking a sustainability professional several days. DeCarbonOPS applies DEFRA 2023 factors automatically, handles the GHG Protocol methodology, and generates a professionally formatted Carbon Passport with a permanent shareable URL. It also ensures you don't accidentally use outdated factors or incorrect unit conversions.

EcoVadis is a comprehensive sustainability rating covering environment, labor, ethics, and procurement. It costs €1,000–€5,000 per year and takes 4–8 weeks to complete. DeCarbonOPS focuses on GHG emissions data only, costs nothing for the first annual report, and takes under 30 minutes. Use DeCarbonOPS if your clients need carbon data for CSRD Scope 3 reporting. Use EcoVadis if your clients specifically require an EcoVadis rating or if you want a full sustainability credential beyond carbon.

Almost certainly not, as an SME supplier. CDP is the Carbon Disclosure Project — a voluntary public disclosure platform primarily used by listed companies to demonstrate climate leadership to investors and customers. SME suppliers responding to procurement questionnaires are rarely required to have a CDP disclosure. A DeCarbonOPS Carbon Passport covers what procurement questionnaires actually ask for.

A carbon consultant typically charges €3,000–€15,000 for a Scope 1, 2, and 3 footprint assessment, takes 4–12 weeks, and delivers a static PDF report. DeCarbonOPS costs nothing for the first report, takes under 30 minutes, and delivers a dynamic passport with a permanent verification URL. For the standard procurement questionnaire use case, DeCarbonOPS delivers the same GHG Protocol-compliant output at a fraction of the cost and time. A consultant adds value for complex organisations with unusual emission sources, or for those seeking formal external verification.

No — and you should be cautious of any tool that claims to do this cheaply. 'Carbon neutral' requires a full lifecycle assessment of all 15 Scope 3 categories, a credible net-zero plan, and a verified portfolio of high-quality offsets. The EU Green Claims Directive (enforced from 2026) bans unsubstantiated carbon neutral claims. DeCarbonOPS helps you make the honest, accurate claim: that you have measured your Scope 1, 2, and 3 carbon footprint using the GHG Protocol. That claim is fully substantiated and legally safe.