Greenhouse gas emissions reporting for utilities, with every Scope 1, 2 and 3 tonne traced to the record it came from
Emissions numbers an assurer can trace.
See one case, screen by screen ↓A utility's emissions come from very different places: gas turbines measured by stack monitors (CEMS), SF6 topped up into switchgear, a vehicle fleet, standby generators at pumping stations, wastewater treatment, the energy lost on the network and a long supply chain. Today a small sustainability team gathers these once a year in spreadsheets, re-keys numbers from invoices and cylinder logs, and answers the assurer's sample requests by digging through email.
SF6 is the classic gap. Top-ups are written on paper at the substation and reach the inventory months later, if at all — and every kilogram missed is 23.5 tCO₂e. A leaking breaker is noticed only at the year-end mass balance, when the gas is already gone. Scope 3 is mostly estimated from spend, and nobody can say which part is measured and which is a guess. With IFRS S2 asking for Scope 1, 2 and 3 and ISSA 5000 assurance arriving, an assurer will sample a number and ask for the record behind it; a spreadsheet chain fails that test.
Estimated split for one annual reporting cycle — today a small team spends three to four months — by hand and with the solution, which closes each quarter instead. To be measured in the pilot.
Seven agents read every source record, calculate, grade and check each flow and draft the disclosure; people post and sign.
Lumina Utilities runs electricity and water. On Tuesday 13 October 2026, three days after its Q3 close, the year-to-date inventory stands at 2,528,142.6 tCO₂e. Overnight, a substation supervisor's handwritten cylinder log has been scanned. Here is what happens next, screen by screen, in the working solution.
Hannah owns the inventory. Her home screen is the inventory itself: 13 sources on the left flow into Scope 1 (1,347,822.6 tCO₂e), Scope 2 (296,660.0, location-based) and Scope 3 (883,660.0), and on to gross emissions of 2,528,142.6 for 1 Jan – 13 Oct 2026. Beside it, two records read this morning wait for her to post, and the totals feed the IFRS S2, GRI 305-2 and CDP 7.8 lines.
“Every tonne from its source, through its scope, to the disclosure total · Q3 closed 10 Oct”
Colour by data quality recolours every flow: measured by a meter or stack monitor, calculated from activity records with a factor, or estimated from spend, population or averages. 55.8 % of the total is measured, 35.8 % calculated and 8.4 % estimated — the weak flows are plain at a glance: capital goods, freight, wastewater treatment and most of purchased goods.
Assurers sample hardest where data is estimated.
At Harrowgate 132 kV, breaker CB-204 in bay 4 raises a stage 1 density alarm. Ravi tops it up from cylinder SF-88213 — 41.362 kg before, 41.183 kg after, gas pressure 5.9 to 6.4 bar g at 20 °C — and writes it on log SF6-LOG-2026-0146. The scan reaches Source records at 09:12 next morning, beside 1,486 records read this quarter.
“Nothing reaches the inventory without its record”
The Source reader reads 11 handwritten fields with 0.99 confidence and checks the 3 in 41.183 against the scale photo. The SF6 balance keeper matches CB-204 in the asset register — a GIS breaker installed 2011, nameplate charge 18.6 kg — and cylinder SF-88213, issued by Halden Gases on 2 Sep at 41.940 kg. A 0.5 bar rise on 18.6 kg means 0.17–0.19 kg expected; 0.179 kg is consistent.
Source reader: never guesses a value it cannot read — reads below 0.95 confidence go to a person.
The Factor matcher applies GWP 23,500 (IPCC AR5): 0.179 kg is 4,206.5 kgCO₂e, or 4.2 tCO₂e. The Quality checker finds CB-204 was also topped up on 14 Mar (0.164 kg) and 22 Jun (0.171 kg): 0.514 kg this year, 12.1 tCO₂e, 2.8 % of its charge. That crosses Lumina's leak rule, so it drafts leak repair WO-77815: a gas-camera leak search at the planned outage on 27 Oct, and a new bay 4 density monitor seal if the leak is confirmed.
Leak rule: “3 top-ups in 12 months or 2% of charge a year”
Hannah sends WO-77815 to Tomás Reyes for approval, then posts the log. The SF6 flow pulses with “+4.2 tCO₂e · SF6 · Harrowgate CB-204”: SF6 rises from 1,842.6 to 1,846.8, Scope 1 to 1,347,826.8 and gross emissions to 2,528,146.8 tCO₂e. No agent can post; the record waited for her.
Checks: “Harrowgate CB-204: third top-up this year, 2.8% of charge. Repair WO-77815 sent to Tomás Reyes.”
Open the activity data and every record has its chain: source record SF6-LOG-2026-0146 → 0.179 kg read from Ravi Menon's handwriting → GWP 23,500 from factor set 2025 → 4.2 tCO₂e, checked by the Quality checker → IFRS S2 29(a)(i) and GRI 305-1. Below it, every cylinder log this year, each with its activity, factor and status.
“Treat it like the ledger: no posting without a document.”
The SF6 screen shows the four terms for 38 substations and 612 breakers: a 21.400 kg decrease in storage, plus 260.000 kg bought, minus 120.000 kg returned to the supplier, minus 82.811 kg charged into new equipment — 78.589 kg emitted, × 23,500 = 1,846.8 tCO₂e. Breakers are ranked by gas lost against the 2 % line: CB-204 at the top, then Brenmoor GIS bay 2 and Ostler Road CB-11 being watched.
“Breakers by gas lost this year · rule: repair at 3 top-ups in 12 months or 2% of charge a year” — CB-204: “Repair sent · WO-77815”
Every figure in the drafts is live from the inventory and opens the flow behind it. The IFRS S2 paragraph 29 table now reads 1,347,826.8 for gross Scope 1, and the draft text says every SF6 top-up is traced to a signed cylinder log. The sign-off chain runs Hannah (prepared), Tomás (reviewed), Mei-Lin Chow (signed) and Daniel Brandt (co-signed); the panel lists what changed since the last review.
“The Disclosure drafter writes; it never publishes or signs. Changes after review reopen the chain.”
Kestrel & Rowe's sample request AS-14, due 20 Oct, asks for every CB-204 top-up this year, the mass balance and the GWP. The Evidence packer has six items ready: logs 0039, 0091 and 0146, the four-term mass balance, the factor set 2025 approval and the postings. The pack could not leave until log 0146 was posted; now Hannah releases it.
“Please provide the cylinder logs for every top-up of CB-204 at Harrowgate this year, the SF6 mass balance and the GWP used.” — Grace Liu
The same SF6 top-up, seen by the five people who log it, post it, approve the repair and sign the disclosure — what their year looked like, and what it looks like now.
Seven agents read every source record, calculate, grade and check each flow and draft the disclosure; people post and sign.
Reads fuel invoices, stack-monitor files, SF6 cylinder logs (including handwriting), fuel-card statements and supplier replies as they arrive, and pulls quantities, units, dates, sites and asset tags.
Matches every top-up to a breaker in the asset register and to its cylinder, checks the weight change against the pressure rise, and keeps the four-term mass balance by breaker and substation.
Applies the approved emission factor and GWP (IPCC AR5, 100-year) to each activity record, and records the factor's version and source on every calculation.
Requests product footprints from the top 40 suppliers by spend, reads and scores the replies — boundary, unit, verification, validity — and keeps the spend-based factor where no footprint exists.
Grades every flow measured, calculated or estimated; reconciles stack monitors with fuel invoices (2 % tolerance); flags outliers over 15 % against last year; applies the SF6 leak rule and drafts the repair work order.
Drafts the IFRS S2, GRI 305 and CDP climate sections in plain language, with every number a live link to its flow, and flags what changed since the last review.
Builds the assurer's evidence pack for each sample request: the sampled source records, the calculation, the factor approval and the posting history, in one indexed pack.
Posts every record and releases the evidence. The agents propose; a named person decides.
Ask about any flow, source record or disclosure line in plain words — every answer points to its records.
Which breakers are leaking SF6?
One breaker is over Lumina's leak rule once today's log is posted: CB-204 at Harrowgate 132 kV — three top-ups this year (14 Mar 0.164 kg, 22 Jun 0.171 kg, 12 Oct 0.179 kg), 0.514 kg or 2.8 % of its 18.6 kg charge. Four more are being watched; the two closest to the rule are Ostler Road CB-11 (1.9 %, two top-ups) and Brenmoor GIS bay 2 (1.3 %, two top-ups).
How much of Scope 3 is estimated from spend?
205,393.6 tCO₂e of Scope 3's 883,660.0 (23.2 %) is estimated from spend: 61 % of Purchased goods, all of Capital goods and Freight. Fuel supply and travel are calculated from activity records. The fastest gain is the 26 suppliers who have not sent footprints — Merrow Transformers and Tarnwick Cable alone are $71.0M of spend.
Why is Marlow Peaker held in September?
The stack monitor shows 8,412 t CO₂ for September; the Brenford Fuels invoice implies 8,672 t — a 3.1 % gap, over the 2 % tolerance. The monitor logged 14 hours of substituted data on 18–19 Sep after a probe fault, which explains most of it. Tomás Reyes has it.
Draft the reply to the assurer on SF6
Draft for Grace Liu, Kestrel & Rowe (AS-14): “Attached are the three cylinder logs for CB-204 this year (0039, 0091, 0146), the four-term SF6 mass balance for the year to date and the factor approval for GWP 23,500. Each log is linked to its posting and the leak repair WO-77815.” The pack is ready in Assurance; it needs your release.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
Lumina decides; the agents follow it, and every change is logged. Changes inside a period need the Head of Sustainability.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| Organisational boundary | Operational control | 100 % of controlled sites · GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and Scope 3 Standard |
| Base year | FY2019 | Restate when a change exceeds 5 % of the base year |
| Scope 2 | Both | Location-based and market-based reported side by side |
| Global warming potentials | IPCC AR5, 100-year | SF6 23,500; fuel and grid factor set 2025, approved 9 Jan 2026; spend-based supply-chain set 2024, inflation-adjusted |
| Stack monitor vs fuel invoices | 2 % a month | A larger gap holds the month as an exception for the compliance engineer |
| SF6 leak rule | 3 top-ups or 2 % | 3 top-ups in 12 months or 2 % of charge a year — the Quality checker drafts the repair |
| Read confidence | 0.95 | Anything read below 0.95 goes to a person |
| Quarter close | 10 days | After quarter end; posts records: Hannah Okafor · approves exceptions: Tomás Reyes · signs: Mei-Lin Chow and Daniel Brandt |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample inventory · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate (the working-days split) · “typical” = published figures (EPA's 2024 GHGRP rule moved to IPCC AR5 GWPs, SF6 = 23,500; EPA SF6 Emission Reduction Partnership, 2013 annual report: 1.9 % of nameplate capacity). Standards named as context: GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, IFRS S2 paragraph 29, GRI 305, CDP climate questionnaire, IAASB ISSA 5000 (periods from 15 Dec 2026), EPA GHGRP 40 CFR 98 Subpart DD. Lumina Utilities and the people, sites, suppliers, assurer and records named on this page are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.
Software that builds a utility's Scope 1, 2 and 3 inventory from its source records and turns it into disclosure drafts. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting reads fuel invoices, stack-monitor files, SF6 cylinder logs, fuel-card statements and supplier replies as they arrive, shows how each tonne was found, and keeps a line from every disclosed tonne back to the page it came from.
The Source reader pulls quantities, units, dates and sites from each record; the Factor matcher applies the approved factor and GWP (IPCC AR5) with its version; the Quality checker grades each flow measured, calculated or estimated and reconciles stack monitors with fuel invoices. In the sample inventory, 13 flows — from Ashby Point's gas turbines to travel and commuting — add up to Scope 1, Scope 2 (location- and market-based) and Scope 3 by category.
It reads each cylinder log, even handwritten, matches the top-up to the breaker and cylinder, checks the weight change against the pressure rise and keeps the four-term mass balance: decrease in storage, plus gas bought, minus gas returned, minus the charge of new equipment. It applies the leak rule to every breaker and drafts a repair when one crosses it, so a leak is found when it happens, not at the year-end balance.
Yes. The Disclosure drafter writes the IFRS S2 paragraph 29 lines, the GRI 305 tables and the CDP climate emissions answers, with every figure a live link to the flow behind it. It never publishes or signs; the Head of Sustainability and the group financial controller sign.
When the assurer samples a number, the Evidence packer builds one indexed pack per request — the source records, the calculation, the factor approval and the postings. In the sample case, request AS-14 for every CB-204 top-up, the mass balance and the GWP became a six-item pack. ISSA 5000, the IAASB's sustainability assurance standard, is effective for periods beginning on or after 15 December 2026.
The Supplier data agent asks the top 40 suppliers by spend for product footprints, sends reminders every 14 days, and scores each reply for boundary, unit, verification and validity. A verified footprint replaces the spend-based estimate: once posted, Corvale Chemicals' ferric chloride footprint lowers Purchased goods by 780.0 tCO₂e and grades that part calculated instead of estimated. An unverified figure is never graded measured.
Yes. The agents read, calculate, check and draft — they never post, sign, publish or delete. The reporting lead posts every record and releases evidence, the compliance engineer approves exceptions and leak repairs, and two executives sign the disclosure. Factor changes inside a period need the Head of Sustainability.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents — your inventory boundary and methods, factor sets, sample source records and last year's disclosure — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on your own records first.
High-potential incidents found the hour they are reported, not at the monthly review.
1-min demoSerious Injury and Fatality PreventionEvery high-energy job checked for its critical controls before the crew leaves the yard.
1-min demoElectronic Permit to WorkNo permit goes live over a held or missing isolation, and every signature is on record.
1-min demoWe'll run Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting on a sample of your own fuel invoices, stack-monitor files and SF6 cylinder logs.