Use this guide to select appropriate emissions factors and calculate your emissions reduction impact from your lower carbon material or ingredient purchases.

Emissions Impact Modeling Template

• A pre formatted sheet to help you calculate the emissions reduction between a baseline and preferred scenario. Create a copy of the template.
• To use this sheet you’ll need information about the baseline and preferred materials you purchased, such as a virgin material compared to a recycled material
  • quantity purchased of each (kg)
  • the emissions impact of the quantity purchased (tCO2e)
  • OR an emissions factor for each material (kg/tCO2e)
  • % expected emissions reduction from the baseline for the preferred material (optional)
• The following tools and emissions factor sources can help you to select an appropriate emissions factor for your purchased materials

Emissions Factor Sources

| Tool Name | Who should use this tool | What the tool does / contains | Outputs from the tool to submit | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The BEE | Licensed Refinement users | Emissions data from your purchased materials measured in your refinement workbook | Quantity of material purchased and associated emissions from your emissions contributors list | | EPA ReCon Tool | All (free) | LCA data for recycled content materials. Enables modeling of variable recycled content | Download the xcel version of the tool to create a baseline and preferred material comparison. Submit the completed xcel sheet | | Planet FWD | All (2 week free trial, then need to purchase a subscription). Exclusive access provided for certifying companies. | Custom LCA modeling and corporate inventory emissions measurement | An export of the baseline and preferred materials comparison with emissions factor values modeled in the LCA tool | | Higg MSI | Best for M and L brands (subscription purchase required) | Product environmental impact modeling | An export of baseline and preferred materials comparison with emissions factor values OR An export of the relative MSI carbon scores of the baseline and preferred materials | | Other Published LCA Studies | All | Life cycle assessment of studied materials and their carbon impacts | Source references and the emissions factor values utilized from the primary source |

Published LCA Research for Preferred Materials

This table includes a sampling of web resources for preferred material LCAs or emissions factors. This is not a comprehensive list of all resources that may be suitable for modeling emissions impacts of lower carbon materials.

📌 Need assistance fulfilling this requirement for your VCA project? Reach out to our VCA research Team!

Our new VCA Research Team is here to address the need for additional guidance and support with demonstrating the lower carbon impact of Value Chain Abatement projects. This team of volunteers is ready to assist you with collecting the necessary data for VCA projects, specifically:

• Finding emission factors for 'preferred' materials
• Evaluating quality and applicability of alternative emission factors
• Calculating projected emissions reductions between a conventional and preferred material

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**Submit a VCA research request via this form and our trained volunteer team will respond within 3-5 business days.**

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