SystemFreight Procurement & Audit

Freight Emissions Reporting

Freight emissions calculation that builds each shipment's transport chain leg by leg and hub by hub, so the Scope 3 transport figure traces to its sources.

Follow one container's emissions from factory to DC ↓
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The problem

The transport figure is assembled in the weeks before fieldwork, by hand

A shipper's transport figure mixes three kinds of data, carrier measured, modeled and default, and carriers state theirs on different bases: some count only burning the fuel, others count producing it as well.

Today the total comes from a TMS export, a calculator and carriers' emails. A tank-to-wake intensity added to well-to-wheel defaults understates it, a door move counted by the carrier and again from the gate log overstates it, and returns the customers paid for drift in and out of the boundary.

When the assurer samples a shipment and asks where a number came from, the team rebuilds the trail by hand, and anything it cannot rebuild weakens the conclusion.

Built forSustainability reporting teamsLogistics data analystsControllersProcurement managers

The Problem Today

Transport emissions blend carrier, modeled and default data on different fuel bases, and nobody can trace the total back to a shipment.

2027
first year of Scope 3 reports under a California climate law published

Assembled by hand before assurance

  • TMS export
  • BOL weights
  • Intensities
  • Statements
  • Fuel bases mixedOne carrier counts burning fuel, another counts producing it too
  • Door moves counted twiceA carrier's door figure plus our own truck leg, both in the total

The Solution

  1. Each shipment built leg by legLegs and hubs with activity, intensity, data tier and source
  2. Sampled as an assurer wouldShipments drawn and traced; a figure on the wrong basis stops the read
  3. Carriers asked in fieldsScope, intensity, period and method requested; only fields change a figure
  4. Three people signPreparer, head of sustainability and controller, each after opening the chain

Built-in controls

  • Method and boundary changes need a second person
  • No one signs off on a restatement they prepared
  • Each figure shows whether it is measured or a default

What You Get

The disclosed transport figure can be followed by an assurer from any sampled shipment to its source.

  • Our own double counts caughtDouble-counted door moves found before the assurer arrives
  • Data tier on each figureCarrier data, modeled or default, shown and disclosed
  • Mode shifts rehearsedTonnes, days and cost played forward before procurement decides
Features

Freight emissions calculation features, from one container to the restatement

The sustainability reporting manager runs them weeks before limited-assurance fieldwork, with the analyst, the head of sustainability and the controller.

demoEach shipment, carrier and tonne here is sample data.

  1. 01Transport chain

    Shipment transport chain built leg by leg and hub by hub

    • Each leg and hub with activity and intensity. Tonne-kilometers or TEU-kilometers, the intensity applied and the kilograms that result are shown per element.
    • A data tier on each element. Carrier primary data, modeled and GLEC default are labeled, so the share resting on carrier data is visible.
  2. 02Boundary steer

    Category 4 boundary steered mid-run, with returns split by who paid

    • Boundary steered in the manager's words. One step joins the plan, logged with the manager's name and time, before the sample is drawn.
    • Returns split by who paid the freight. Freight-collect returns move to the Category 9 note; prepaid returns stay, so the boundary follows who paid.
  3. 03Assurer's sample

    Shipments sampled and traced the way a limited-assurance engagement would

    • Sample weighted by mode, tier and tonnes. The draw mirrors how an assurer picks, so the trail is tested where the tonnes are.
    • Each point answered or handed on. A point is closed from records, sent to the carrier in fields, or left for a named person.
  4. 04Carrier statement

    Tank-to-wake carrier emissions data stopped before it enters the total

    • The carrier's stated scope highlighted. The basis is highlighted on the page the agents read, so a partial figure is not added to well-to-wheel defaults.
    • The read stops on a method error. A basis that does not fit the method halts the run for that carrier instead of passing through quietly.
  5. 05Flagged leg

    Ocean leg flagged on the chain, with the double-counted door moves beside it

    • The problem marked on the leg itself. The flagged element is outlined on the chain, so the manager sees which leg the question touches.
    • Our own double count admitted. Door-move legs built again from the gate log are flagged and kept until the carrier states its inland share.
  6. 06Carrier data

    Carrier emissions data requested in fixed fields from the top carriers

    • Structured requests by field. Fuel type and quantity, distance, payload, period, method and scope are asked for, field by field.
    • Only the fields change a figure. Free text from a carrier is passed to a person, never read into the intensity.
  7. 07Factor register

    Emission factor register for well-to-wheel intensities, with tier and source

    • Carrier data first, then a model, then a default. The order of preference is fixed and shown, so a default never displaces a carrier's own figure.
    • Period and method checked per factor. A factor with no stated method is not used, and one for the wrong period is disclosed in the method note.
  8. 08Year ledger

    Scope 3 category 4 transportation ledger by mode, draft against working figure

    • Each mode against the signed draft. Truckload, LTL, parcel, intermodal, ocean, drayage, terminals and returns show what changed since the last signature.
    • What sits outside Category 4. Customer-routed pickups and returns go to the Category 9 note, and the shipper's own DCs to Scope 1 and 2.
  9. 09Restatement

    Restatement held for three signatures until the carrier's figure arrives

    • Each change cited in the method note. Boundary, method and data changes each carry one sentence and a source the assurer can open.
    • Signatures blocked while a point is open. The preparer cannot sign while the carrier's well-to-wake figure is missing, and no one signs work they prepared.

Who owns logistics emissions reporting, from the TMS to the disclosure

Four jobs touch the figure before disclosure, each from its own end of the chain.

Sustainability reporting managers

Own the disclosed transport figure, steer the agents and prepare the restatement

  • Every shipment traceable to its source
  • Points an assurer would raise, early
  • A method note drafted sentence by sentence
Logistics data analysts

Work the weight, distance and carrier-mapping queues and rebuild chains

  • Missing weights sent to a queue
  • Chains rebuilt in bulk after a fix
  • Each gap with its due time
Controllers

Co-sign the disclosed figure after opening the chain and the restatement

  • Totals that tie out by mode
  • The chain behind any sampled shipment
  • A signature that states what it covers
Transportation procurement managers

Own carrier relationships, data requests and decisions on mode shifts

  • Carriers asked only for what is missing
  • Mode shifts priced in tonnes, days and cost
  • The pilot decision left with them

Three signatures sit on the transport figure, and a fourth on any mode shift

Each signer opens the chain or the evidence first; the restatement clears if any of them sends it back.

Sustainability reporting manager
Sees
Each change with its source, and any carrier reply and note it rests on
Signs
The restatement, as preparer, with a reason code and a written reason
Head of sustainability
Sees
The restatement, the carrier replies behind it and the boundary memo
Signs
Method and boundary, as second person
Controller
Sees
A sampled shipment's chain and the restatement
Signs
The figure that will be disclosed, as co-signer
Transportation procurement manager
Sees
The mode shift what-if with its assumptions
Signs
Whether a lane pilot goes ahead
Around the figure

Data queues, mode shifts and the evidence pack behind the transport figure

The other screens the reporting team and procurement keep open in the run-up to fieldwork.

Shipment chains and data queuesQueues for missing weights, unfound addresses and carriers with no factor, each with its due time, beside the year's shipment chains.
Mode shift what-ifThree long truckload lanes played forward on intermodal: tonnes saved, days added and freight cost. Every input is an assumption procurement confirms.
Rules learned from rulingsRules proposed from earlier rulings wait for the head of sustainability; approved rules carry the approver and the date.
Evidence pack for assuranceWhat the external assurer receives: drafts, method note, boundary memo, factors, the sample, carrier statements and the audit trail, with what was left out and why.
Audit trailRuns, steers, boundary changes, flags and signatures in time order, people and agents alike, each with its reason.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

Four things the assurer would have found, found first

Points the challenger raised on the sample year, each with what happened next.

An ocean figure on a partial basis

The carrier's intensity covered only burning the fuel. The read stopped, and a structured request asked for the well-to-wake figure.

Door moves counted twice

Store-door bookings carried the inland truck in the carrier's figure and again from our gate log. The legs were flagged until the carrier states its share.

Two weights for one truckload

The planned weight and the signed bill of lading disagreed. The bill of lading weight was used, under a standing rule.

An intermodal factor for the wrong period

The factor covered the calendar year, not the fiscal year. It was disclosed in the method note, and a structured request went out for the fiscal-year figure.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

What sustainability teams ask about freight emissions calculation

What is freight emissions calculation, and how is it done here?

Freight emissions calculation turns the transport a company pays for into tonnes of CO2e. Here it runs shipment by shipment: each leg and hub gets its activity in tonne-kilometers, an intensity, a data tier and a source, and the year rolls up by mode, carrier and tier.

Which methods does it follow?

The method note states the figure is built in line with ISO 14083 and the GLEC Framework, with well-to-wheel intensities. Whether a disclosure meets a rule is for the head of sustainability and the assurer to judge.

What happens when a carrier reports on a tank-to-wake basis?

The read stops for that carrier, and the agents draft a structured request for the well-to-wake intensity, its period, method and fuel mix. A person sends it, and only the returned fields change the figure.

Who decides which shipments belong in the transport figure?

The reporting manager can steer, for example moving returns the customers paid for into their own category, and the head of sustainability approves any boundary change as second person.

What does the external assurer receive?

An evidence pack with the drafts, method note, boundary memo, factor register, the sample traces, carrier statements and the audit trail, plus a list of what was left out and why.

Can it compare truckload with intermodal on a lane?

Yes. The mode shift what-if plays lanes forward in tonnes saved, days added and freight cost, every input marked as an assumption, and the decision stays with the procurement manager.

Bring one container's paperwork
and last year's transport figure.

We will rebuild one of your shipments' chains with you, leg by leg, and show where each number came from.