Transporting people > Vehicles owned by others > Road

You produce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from this activity if members of your organization drive for work, including personal cars and ridesharing apps. This is a Scope 3 (indirect) emission.

Enter data about this activity in Climate Smart to calculate the emissions for your inventory period.

On this page:

• Examples of emission sources
• Prepare the data you need
  • Option 1: Actual consumption (most accurate)
  • Option 2: Estimate by distance (less accurate)
  • Option 3: Estimate by cost (least accurate)
  • Option 4: Taxi fare cost
• Find your emissions data
• Enter data into your inventory 

Examples of emission sources

Not sure if you should report this emission source? Here are some examples of vehicles owned by others:

• Rental cars
• Taxis
• Uber, Lyft, and other ridesharing apps
• Employee-owned vehicles driven for business reasons (not including their commute to work)

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 GHGs emitted by your organization. 

Remember to collect information for the relevant inventory period.

Option 1: Actual consumption (most accurate)

You’ll get the most accurate results if you enter the actual amount of fuel used during your inventory period. This means you’ll need to know:

• Amount of fuel (litres or gallons)
• Type of fuel (for example, gasoline, diesel, or propane)

Note: Different types and sizes of vehicles produce different levels of emissions. For example, a gas truck emits more carbon than a hybrid car. Add separate entries to your inventory for each vehicle type. 

Option 2: Estimate by distance (less accurate)

If you don’t know how much fuel was used for travel, you can estimate your average emissions based on how far the vehicles drove. This means you’ll need to know:

• Type of vehicle (for example, a small car or truck)
• Distance travelled (kilometres or miles)

Option 3: Estimate by cost (least accurate)

You can estimate your average emissions based on how much your organization spent on travel. However, you should only choose this option if you don’t have access to any other information. You’ll need to know:

• Total travel cost
• Mileage rate (cents per kilometres or miles)
• Type of vehicle (for example, a small car or truck)

If you want enter emissions from vehicles owned by employees at your organization, you’ll also need to know:

• Amount that employee was reimbursed for their mileage (dollars)

Option 4: Taxi fare cost

If you travelled in taxis or used ridesharing apps (including Uber and Lyft), you can estimate your emissions based on the cost of these trips. You’ll need to know:

• Country, city, and province/state where you drove
• Total cost of rides
• Number of rides

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.

Download a report of your trips

If you use an online travel agent or booking software to rent cars, you might be able to download a report of the trips taken during your inventory period.

Measure distance travelled with the distance calculator

Not sure what the distance was between the origin and destination of a trip? To estimate how far a vehicle travelled, use the distance calculator.

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. 

Note: Lots of trips to enter at once? Try importing your activity data.

Add this activity to your inventory

Before you can enter information about your 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 have your fuel cards or receipts that show how much fuel the vehicles used, select Actual Consumption and enter your information into Climate Smart.
   • If you need to estimate based on how far the vehicles drove, select Estimate by Distance and enter your information into Climate Smart.
   • If you need to estimate based on the amount spent on transportation, select Estimate by Cost and enter your information into Climate Smart.
2. If you only know how much you paid for taxis or rideshares, select Taxi Fare Cost and enter your information into Climate Smart.
3. Enter the start and end dates of the activity you’re measuring. These dates usually match your inventory period.
4. Enter the total cost of the trip(s)(including taxes). If you’re estimating the amount, select the checkbox next to Cost is estimate. Tell us if you paid in Canadian Dollars (CAD) or United States Dollars (USD) from Currency the drop-down list.
5. Under Description, enter information such as:
   • The start and end locations of each trip 
   • Reason for the trip (for example, the name of the conference or vendor you travelled to)
   • Name of transportation company (for example, the name of the car rental service or Uber
6. 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. 
7. When you’re done, click ADD ENTRY. Your entry will appear in the table below.