Calculating your carbon footprint starts with one thing: having the right documents. Whether you're reporting under CSRD, completing a B Corp assessment, or simply trying to understand your environmental impact, your carbon footprint can only be as accurate as the data behind it.

The good news? Most businesses already have the essential documents—they just don’t realise those documents contain the activity data needed to calculate Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions.

This guide explains exactly what documents you need, why they matter, and how to prepare them for a seamless carbon accounting process.

Why Documents Matter in Carbon Accounting

Carbon accounting is fundamentally a data exercise. Emissions are calculated using:

Activity data × Emissions factors = CO₂e

The activity data comes from the records your business already keeps: utility bills, invoices, mileage logs, receipts, payroll records, and procurement documentation.

High-quality documents = high-quality carbon footprint.

Missing or incomplete documents = estimates, assumptions, and lower data confidence.

Documents You Need for Scope 1, Scope 2 & Scope 3 Emissions

Let’s break it down scope by scope.

Scope 1 Documents (Direct Emissions)

Scope 1 covers emissions from sources your business owns or controls—mainly fuel, heating, and company vehicles.

1. Fuel Purchase Records

You’ll need:

Fuel card statements

Gas oil/diesel delivery invoices

Fleet fuel receipts

Boiler fuel logs

These documents provide litres of fuel purchased or used.

2. Natural Gas Bills

Utility bills contain:

kWh consumed

Billing periods

Meter readings

This is essential for office, warehouse, or manufacturing site heating.

3. Company Vehicle Mileage Logs

Includes:

Odometer readings

Mileage spreadsheets

Telematics data

Mileage can be converted to emissions using standard factors.

4. Refrigerants & HVAC Documentation

If the business has HVAC or refrigeration systems, you need:

F-gas service logs

Refrigerant refill/maintenance invoices

These contain refrigerant types and amounts—often overlooked but high-impact.

Scope 2 Documents (Purchased Electricity, Heating & Cooling)

Scope 2 covers emissions from electricity and energy your business buys.

5. Electricity Bills

You’ll need:

kWh consumed

Tariff details

Billing periods

Supplier name

Renewable energy certificates (if applicable)

If you use multiple sites, you’ll need bills for each.

6. District Heating or Cooling Statements

Not common for SMEs, but for larger facilities:

Monthly/annual consumption statements

Energy delivered (kWh or MWh)

Scope 3 Documents (Value Chain Emissions)

Scope 3 is the most complex—and typically the largest—part of your footprint. It includes upstream and downstream emissions from suppliers, travel, waste, products, and more.

Below are the key document categories:

Category 1: Purchased Goods & Services

7. Supplier Invoices & Purchase Orders

You’ll need:

Total spend

Supplier names

Product/service categories

Quantities (if available)

These help estimate emissions using spend-based or activity-based factors.

Optional (higher quality)

Supplier carbon footprint reports

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)

Category 2: Capital Goods

8. Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) Records

Includes invoices for:

Machinery

IT equipment

Furniture

Buildings or fitouts

CAPEX often carries significant embodied carbon.

Category 3 & 4: Fuel- & Energy-Related Activities

9. Historical Utility Bills

Electricity and gas bills are used again here to estimate upstream emissions.

Category 5: Waste Generated in Operations

10. Waste Transfer Notes & Waste Contractor Reports

These documents include:

Waste type (general, recycling, hazardous)

Tonnes collected

Treatment method (landfill, recycling, incineration)

This allows for accurate activity-based calculations.

Category 6: Business Travel

11. Travel Booking Reports

From travel management systems or booking platforms:

Flight routes

Rail journeys

Hotel stays

Taxi receipts

If none exist, employee expense claims can be used.

Category 7: Employee Commuting

12. HR Records

You’ll need:

Number of employees

Office locations

Working patterns (hybrid, remote, on-site)

Optional (for greater accuracy):

Employee commuting surveys

Category 8: Upstream Transportation & Distribution

13. Logistics & Freight Invoices

These include:

Weight shipped

Distance

Mode (road, sea, air)

Carrier information

Many carriers can also supply emission reports.

Category 9: Downstream Transportation

Documents are similar to upstream but refer to how your products reach customers.

Category 12: End-of-Life Treatment of Sold Products

14. Product Bill of Materials (BoMs)

You may need:

Material composition

Packaging types

Disposal routes

For manufacturers this is essential; for service businesses optional.

Cross-Cutting Documents

15. Procurement/ERP Data

Your procurement system may hold:

Supplier directories

Annual spend reports

Contract metadata

A goldmine for Scope 3.

16. Financial Statements

Useful for:

Spend-based calculations

Triangulating missing data

Cross-checking completeness

How to Prepare These Documents for Carbon Accounting

To streamline the process:

1. Collect 12 months of data

Carbon footprints are typically produced for a full reporting year.

2. Organise by category

Group documents by:

Energy

Travel

Waste

Procurement

Logistics

3. Request missing information early

Suppliers often take time to respond.

4. Use a standardised template

This prevents back-and-forth and maintains auditability.

5. Upload everything into your carbon accounting platform

Platforms like Emerald Power automate emissions calculations, convert documents into activity data, and produce audit-ready outputs.

Final Thoughts

Knowing what documents you need is the key to calculating a carbon footprint efficiently and accurately. Most businesses already have 70–80% of the required data—the rest can be gathered through suppliers, HR, or travel partners.

FAQ: Documents Needed to Calculate Your Carbon Footprint

1. What are the essential documents I need to start calculating my carbon footprint?

You’ll typically need energy bills, fuel receipts, waste invoices, water bills, and business travel records. Larger businesses may also need procurement data, supplier emissions info, and logistics reports.

2. Do I need data from my suppliers?

If you want to measure Scope 3 emissions, yes. Supplier spend data, procurement logs, and/or supplier-specific emission factors help you quantify the carbon impact of purchased goods and services.

3. Can I calculate my carbon footprint if I don’t have complete records?

Yes—most frameworks allow the use of estimates or proxies when data gaps exist. However, you should work toward improving your data quality each year.

4. What documents do I need for Scope 1 emissions?

You’ll need fuel purchase invoices, gas bills, generator logs, fleet mileage, and any other data related to company-owned combustion.

5. What documents do I need for Scope 2 emissions?

Scope 2 focuses on purchased energy, so gather electricity bills, heating invoices, cooling/steam bills, and any metering data you have.

6. What documents are needed for Scope 3 emissions?

This varies but often includes:

Procurement/spend reports

Employee travel information

Waste invoices

Courier and freight data

Water bills

Supplier-specific emissions documents

7. How far back should my documents go?

A full calendar year is standard. If your company reports on a fiscal year, use the same cycle for consistency.

8. Can accounting software exports be used instead of invoices?

Absolutely. Exporting vendor, spend, or travel data from your accounting system (e.g., Xero, Sage, QuickBooks) is often faster and cleaner than compiling individual documents.

9. Do I need specialist software to manage these documents?

Not mandatory, but tools like Emerald Power streamline data collection, automate calculations, and prepare audit-ready carbon reports for CSRD, B Corp, and GHG Protocol.

10. Are digital copies acceptable?

Yes. PDFs, spreadsheets, and email confirmations are all valid—you don’t need physical documents.