Transporting goods > Vehicles owned by others > Rail

You produce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from this activity if your organization transports goods in trains owned by other businesses. This includes goods you deliver to clients as well as goods that are delivered to you. This is a Scope 3 (indirect) 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: Estimate by distance
  • Option 2: Total emissions
• 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:

• Your organization ships merchandise or other goods by rail (train)

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 (including carbon equivalents, or CO₂e) emitted by your organization’s activities.

Remember to collect information for the relevant inventory period.

Option 1: Estimate by distance (less accurate)

You can estimate your average emissions based on the following information:

• Distance travelled (kilometres or miles)
• Weight of freight (tonnes, short tons, or tonnes of CO₂e)

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 2: Total emissions (most accurate)

If you know how much GHG was emitted by the train that transported your goods, you’ll need to enter the following information into Climate Smart:

• Amount of emissions in CO₂e
• Weight (kilograms or pounds)

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 invoices from your shipping provider

Your invoices include important information you need from your inventory, such as:

• Cost of shipping,
• Weight of freight or goods and distance travelled,
• Total emissions

If your organization has an online account with your shipping provider, you might be able to download a spreadsheet with your weight and cost for each billing period.

Measure distance travelled with the distance calculator 

Not sure what the distance was between the origin and destination of a shipment? To estimate how far a train 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 want to estimate by how far the trains travelled to deliver your goods, select Estimate by Distance. Enter the weight as 1 and the distance travelled as the value you calculated for D.
   • If you want to report your exact emissions, select Total Emissions and enter your information into Climate Smart.
2. Enter the start and end dates of the activity you’re measuring. These dates will usually match your inventory period.
3. Enter the cost of the fuel you purchased (including taxes). If you’re estimating this 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 Currency, choose Canadian Dollars (CAD) or United States Dollars (USD) from the drop-down list.
5. Under Description, enter information such as:
   • The start and/or end points of your shipment
   • Type of shipment (inbound or outbound)
   • Courier name (for example, Fedex or DHL)
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.