Transporting goods > Vehicles you own > Water

You produce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from this activity if your business transports goods in ships you own.  This includes goods you deliver to clients as well as goods that are delivered to you. This is a Scope 1 (direct) emission.

Enter your shipping data 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)
  • Option 2: Estimate by distance (less accurate)
  • Option 3: Estimate by cost (least accurate)
• Find your emissions data
• Enter data into your inventory

Examples of emission sources

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

• Your organization delivers supplies to remote lodges
• Your organization ships goods through marine shipping (ocean freights) or inland shipping (boats on local waterways)

Prepare the data you need

To get your emissions 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’s activities.

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 your ships used during the year. This means you’ll need to know:

• Amount of fuel (litres, gallons, or tonnes)
• Fuel type (for example, marine gasoline, marine diesel, or coal)

Note: Marine and inland shipping produce different amounts of emissions. Add separate entries to your inventory for each type of shipping.

Option 2: Estimate by distance (less accurate)

If you don’t know how much fuel you used, you can estimate your average emissions based on the following information:

• Weight of freight or goods (tonnes, short tons, or tonnes of carbon equivalents)
• Distance travelled (kilometres or miles)
• Transportation type (inland or marine shipping)

If this is your first inventory year, some of this information might not be available yet. In that case, you’ll need to estimate the averages of the data you need, based on the data you have. For example, if you only know the origin and destination of a delivery, you’ll need to estimate the shipment weight. If you’re averaging the data you enter into Climate Smart, you’ll also need to know:

• Number of shipments you made

To prepare this data for Climate Smart, learn how to determine how many tonnes of goods per kilometre you shipped.

 

Option 3: Estimate by cost (least accurate)

If you don’t know how much fuel you used, but you have receipts for how much you spent during your inventory period, you can estimate your emissions based on:

• Cost of fuel to move or ship goods

Note: Only enter the cost of fuel in Climate Smart. Don’t include any other costs for this activity, such as marina fees.

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.

Check your fuel cards and receipts

Your fuel cards and receipts include important information you need for your inventory, such as the cost, amount, and type of fuel used by your ships.

If your business has an online account with your fuel provider, you might be able to download a spreadsheet with your monthly fuel usage and cost.

Collect vehicle logs

Your vehicle logs and odometer readings can help you estimate the distance your ships travelled.

Measure distance with the distance calculator

Not sure what the distance was between the origin and destination of a shipment? To measure how far a ship 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 shipments to enter at once? Try importing your shipping 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 your ships used, select Actual Consumption and enter your information into Climate Smart.
   • If you need to estimate based on how far your ships travelled, select Estimate by Distance. Enter the weight as 1 and the distance travelled as the value you calculated for D.
   • If you need to estimate based on fuel cost, select Estimate by Cost and enter your information into Climate Smart.
2. Enter the start and end dates of the activity you’re measuring. These dates usually match the start and end of your inventory period.
3. Enter the cost of fuel (including taxes) for this entry. 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.
4. Under Description, enter information such as:
   • The start and end locations of your shipment
   • Type of shipment (inbound or outbound)
   • Ship identifier (for example, name, model, and registration number)
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.