Electricity > Unmetered/Unbilled

If utilities are included in your lease, and/or if you don’t control the light switches in your building, you might not know the exact amount of electricity your organization used during the year. That means you produced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from unmetered/unbilled electricity. This is a Scope 3 (indirect) emission. 

Note: If utilities aren’t included in your lease (meaning you purchase your electricity directly from a utility provider), you need to add Electricity > Purchased instead.

Enter information about your run metered or unbilled electricity into Climate Smart to calculate the emissions from your inventory period.

On this page:

• Examples of emission sources
• Prepare the data you need
  • Option 1: Actual consumption (most accurate but rare)
  • Option 2: Estimate by area (less accurate but more common)
• Find your emissions data
• Enter data into your inventory

Examples of emission sources

Not sure if you should report this emissions source? You should consider tracking this activity in your inventory if:

• You rent a location (such a room in an office building or an entire warehouse) associated with your organization and utilities are included in your lease
• You don’t control the light switches in your workspace (for example, the property manager must turn them on and off)

Prepare the data you need

To get your data ready for Climate Smart, choose one of the following options based on the information that’s available to you. This will be the method you use to calculate the GHGsemitted by your organization. 

Remember to collect information for the relevant inventory period.

Option 1: Actual consumption (most accurate but rare)

If your landlord or property manager can provide you with the actual amount of electricity your organization used during the year, you’ll get the most accurate results. You’ll need to ask your landlord or property manager for:

• Amount of electricity used by your organization (kilowatt hours, gigajoules, or British thermal units)

Option 2: Estimate by area (less accurate but more common)

If you aren’t billed directly, you’ll likely need to estimate the amount of electricity your organization used based on its size and location. This means you’ll need to know:

• Size of your office or facility (warehouse, plant, etc.) in square meters or square feet

Find your emissions data

Not sure where to find the data you need? Try the following suggestions:

Ask your accounting department

Your accounting department might already have the information you need! Ask your accounting team about collecting data for your emissions inventory.

Talk to your landlord

Ask your landlord or property manager for information about the electricity your organization consumed during the year. If they can’t provide details about the specific room or floor you lease, ask for the electricity used by the entire building, and estimate your amount based on the size of your organization’s space. 

Enter data into your inventory

When you’re ready to track emissions from this activity, you can start entering the data you’ve collected into Climate Smart. 

Add this activity to your inventory

Before you can enter information about your greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, you need to add this activity to your inventory. Learn how to add new activities to your inventory.

Add an entry to your inventory

To enter your data into Climate Smart:

1. Choose a calculation method:
   • If you’re entering the exact amount of electricity, select Actual Consumption and enter your information into Climate Smart.
   • If you need to estimate based on your building size and location, select Estimate by Area and enter your information into Climate Smart.
2. Enter the start and end dates of the activity you’re measuring. These will usually match the start and end dates of your inventory period.
3. Enter the cost of electricity (including taxes).If this amount is an estimate, select the checkbox next to Cost is estimate. Tell us if you paid in Canadian Dollars (CAD) or United States Dollars (USD) from the Currency drop-down list. If you don’t know the cost of electricity, enter 0 as Cost.
4. Under Description, tell us the source of your data. In this field, mention your rental agreement and/or the percentage of utilities you pay for.
5. In the Note box, enter optional information including any details that might be helpful for you (or your Climate Smart Advisor, if applicable) in the future. 
6. When you’re done, click ADD ENTRY. Your entry will appear in the table below.