Frequently Asked Questions

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is an EU regulation that requires companies to disclose detailed information about their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. It applies to all large EU companies and listed SMBs from 2026 onwards. Companies with more than 250 employees, €40M+ turnover, or €20M+ balance sheet must comply.

ESG reporting is the disclosure of a company's environmental impact (carbon emissions, energy use, waste), social practices (employee welfare, community impact), and governance standards (ethics, transparency). It gives investors, regulators, and customers a clear picture of your company's sustainability performance.

Scope 1 covers direct emissions from sources your company owns or controls — like gas boilers, company vehicles, and heating oil. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased electricity and heat. Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions in your value chain, including waste disposal, business travel, and supply chain. The GHG Protocol defines these scopes and EmissionPlan follows this standard.

Under ESRS VSME (the simplified standard for SMBs), Scope 3 reporting is encouraged but not always mandatory for smaller companies. However, large enterprise customers increasingly require their suppliers to report Scope 3 data. EmissionPlan's Pro plan includes Scope 3 waste tracking to help you get ahead of this requirement.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) is the most widely used international accounting standard for measuring and managing greenhouse gas emissions. Developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and WBCSD, it is the foundation for CSRD, CDP, and most ESG reporting frameworks. EmissionPlan calculations are fully aligned with GHG Protocol methodology.

Large companies (250+ employees) must comply from financial year 2025 (first reports due 2026). Listed SMBs have until 2026 (reports due 2027). Non-listed SMBs are not directly mandated but are increasingly required to provide ESG data by their large-company customers who are already subject to CSRD.

EmissionPlan uses DEFRA 2024 emission factors for energy and transport, country-specific electricity grid intensity data for 13 EU countries, and IPCC AR6 waste emission factors. You enter your consumption data (gas in m³, electricity in kWh, vehicle km, waste in kg) and EmissionPlan calculates the equivalent CO₂e emissions for each scope automatically.

EmissionPlan supports all 27 EU member states. Country-specific electricity grid intensity factors are available for Germany, France, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, and Ireland. Other EU countries use the EU average grid factor.

Yes. Pro plan users can generate a professional PDF ESG report for any calculation period. The report includes your Scope 1, 2, and 3 breakdown, emission factor methodology, ESRS VSME alignment, and GHG Protocol compliance statement — suitable for sharing with clients, investors, or regulators.

EmissionPlan uses officially published emission factors from DEFRA (UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) updated annually, and grid intensity data from the European Environment Agency. These are the same factors used by professional carbon accountants and ESG consultants. For a precise audit-ready report, we recommend engaging a certified carbon accountant to verify your data.

Yes. You can create separate calculations for each year and month, allowing you to track your carbon footprint over time and show year-over-year progress. The dashboard shows trends across all your reporting periods.

Yes. The Free plan lets you calculate your Scope 1 emissions (natural gas and heating oil) and business vehicle transport for any period. You can create calculations and view your results at no cost. Scope 2 (electricity), Scope 3 (waste), and PDF report downloads require the Pro plan.

The Pro plan (€29/month) includes Scope 2 electricity tracking with country-specific grid factors, Scope 3 waste emission tracking, unlimited PDF ESG report generation, and year-over-year trend analysis. It covers everything an SMB needs for CSRD and ESRS VSME compliance.

Yes, you can cancel at any time with no penalty. Your Pro access continues until the end of the billing period. We do not lock you into long-term contracts.

Yes. EU VAT is automatically calculated and included in your invoice based on your country of residence. Our payment processor (LemonSqueezy) acts as Merchant of Record and handles all EU VAT compliance — you receive a proper VAT invoice.

Yes. If you only need a single ESG report without a monthly subscription, you can purchase a one-off report generation for €50. This is ideal for businesses that only need annual reporting.

EmissionPlan is a free carbon footprint calculator built specifically for European SMBs. It covers Scope 1 (gas, heating oil, vehicles), Scope 2 (electricity with country-specific EU grid factors), and Scope 3 (waste, business travel). Unlike generic tools, it uses DEFRA 2024 official emission factors, supports 13 EU countries, and generates a CSRD-ready PDF report — all free to start, no credit card required.

With EmissionPlan: (1) Create a free account at emissionplan.com. (2) Enter your energy usage — natural gas bills in m³, electricity in kWh, and vehicle fuel in litres or km driven. (3) EmissionPlan automatically applies DEFRA 2024 emission factors and calculates your Scope 1, 2, and 3 totals in kgCO₂e. (4) View your results on the dashboard instantly. The whole process takes under 5 minutes. No spreadsheets, no consultants, no cost.

Yes. EmissionPlan generates a professional PDF ESG report that references GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, DEFRA 2024 emission factors, and ESRS VSME — the three standards required for CSRD compliance. The report is formatted for auditor review and regulator submission. Pro plan users can download unlimited reports at €29/month, compared to the €5,000–€50,000 typically charged by ESG consultants.

The tool itself takes under 5 minutes once you have your data. The main time investment is collecting your energy bills and travel records — typically 2–4 weeks for a first-time report. Once you have your data ready, enter it into EmissionPlan and download a finished, CSRD-ready PDF report immediately.

For Scope 1: 12 months of gas bills (m³ consumed), heating oil invoices (litres), and company vehicle fuel logs (litres or km). For Scope 2: 12 months of electricity bills (total kWh). For Scope 3: business travel records (flight routes or distances), employee commute survey results (distance and transport mode), and waste disposal reports (kg). EmissionPlan guides you through each input step by step.

EmissionPlan is optimised for EU businesses and uses EU-specific emission factors (DEFRA 2024, European grid intensity data). Non-EU businesses can use the tool, but should note that electricity grid factors default to the EU average for countries outside the supported 13 EU member states. The GHG Protocol methodology used is internationally recognised.

All data is stored on servers located in the EU (Frankfurt, Germany). Your emission data never leaves the European Union. We are fully GDPR compliant and maintain a Data Processing Agreement available on request.

Yes. All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest. Passwords are hashed with bcrypt. We do not sell or share your business data with any third parties. Our infrastructure uses security headers, rate limiting, and input validation on all endpoints.

Yes. You can permanently delete your account and all associated data at any time from Settings → Account → Delete Account. All personal data and emission records are deleted immediately. This is your right under GDPR Article 17 (right to erasure).

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