Last updated: 23.08.2024

Valid from: 2022.06.00

Climate impact of CO2 emissions in tonnes

Tip

We recommend following the instructions in Climate impact of CO2 emissions in grams, pricing weight instead, as the function has been further developed. For example, it is possible to choose whether the CO2 emissions calculation should take the pricing weight into account. If working with consignments, it is also possible to select how the CO2 emissions calculated for the consignment order are to be distributed between the original shipments.

The CO2 emissions statistical report can be used to produce data on the climate impact of your transport operations in terms of carbon dioxide emissions and the type of fuel used. In order for Opter to calculate the climate impact, the settings described below must first be configured, then statistics on CO2 emissions can be created as often as required (see Creating a statistical report about CO2 emissions in tonnes).

Tip

CO2e is an abbreviation of “carbon dioxide equivalent”.

The exact climate impact of an individual transport operation depends on the actual consumption and specific fuel, what other goods were being transported at the same time, how much of the transport operation the vehicle had to be driven when empty, etc. It is difficult to obtain precise values for this data, so standard values are used for the fuel consumption and the CO2 emission factor. The standard values are selected so that the climate impact data is reliable on average over time.

Note:

The statistical report is based on templates. To ensure it is as accurate as possible, you need to find out your actual emissions, for example by adding up all the refuelling that has taken place over a period of time. Then try out different factors on services until the sum in the statistics matches the reality and the allocation between different shipments is reasonable.

Calculating the climate impact

In Opter, the CO2 emissions for a shipment are calculated using the following formula:

(Distance × CO2 emissions from the vehicle × emission factor)/1,000,000 (to convert grams to tonnes).

Example: 350 km × 760 g/km × emission factor 0.1/1,000,000 = 0.0266 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

  • The shipment’s distance in km:

    If there is no distance on the shipment, the order’s distance in km x the shipment’s splitting factor is used.

  • The CO2 emissions of the vehicle, vehicle type or price vehicle type in grams/km:

    The data on CO2 emissions is taken firstly from the vehicle, secondly from the vehicle type and thirdly from the price vehicle type. If the shipment has been handled by a subcontractor, the price vehicle type is used.

    The data on CO2 emissions is taken from the relevant registry in Opter (e.g. the vehicle registry) and can be specified directly as CO2 emissions or as fuel and consumption.

    Note:

    If both CO2 emissions in g/km and consumption/km are stated, CO2 emissions in g/km are used to calculate the climate impact.

  • The CO2 emission factor of the service and price vehicle type, if applicable:

    The CO2 emission factor is a conversion factor used to show the climate efficiency of transport operation for a particular service and, if applicable, also for a particular price vehicle type during provision of that service. The CO2 emission factor reflects how much of the transport operation is usually an empty run/pickup run for collection and how much is a shared load.

The CO2 emission factor for the service

The CO2 emission factor is a conversion factor used to show the climate efficiency of transport operation for a particular service and, if applicable, also for a particular price vehicle type during provision of that service. The CO2 emission factor reflects how much of the transport operation is usually an empty run/pickup run for collection and how much is a shared load.

Tip

By default, the CO2 emission factor is 100% for all service types, so if the CO2 emission factor should be 100% for a particular service type, this setting does not need to be configured.

Here are some examples to clarify how the CO2 emission factor is defined for different service types:

  • For example, if the Express service usually consists of an empty run to pick up the delivery from the point of collection and then driving directly to the receiver, the CO2 emission factor can be set to 175.00%. This setting reflects the fact that the vehicle travels a longer distance to carry out the shipment than just the transport operation itself and no overlap/shared load takes place. This increases the climate impact of the transport.

  • If the two-hourly service usually has some overlap, i.e. several deliveries share the actual route travelled, and, for example, because the transport has been made more efficient by route optimisation, you can set the CO2 emission factor to 80.00%.

  • If the five-hourly service usually has a large overlap, i.e. several deliveries share the actual route travelled, and, for example, because the transport has been made more efficient by route optimisation, you can set the CO2 emission factor to 35.00%. This setting reflects the fact that the five-hourly service usually has a lower carbon footprint than the two-hourly and Express services described above.

The CO2 emission factor for the price vehicle type

The CO2 emission factor is set for the different services, but can also be set for the different price vehicle types under each service.

Tip

By default, the CO2 emission factor for all price vehicle types on a service is the same as the factor for the service. This means that it is not necessary to configure any settings for the price vehicle types on the service if the same CO2 emission factor as the service’s is required.

Here are some examples to clarify how the CO2 emission factor is defined for different price vehicle types for a certain service:

  • For example, if the Express service with the passenger car price vehicle type usually consists of an empty run to pick up the delivery from the point of collection and then driving directly to the receiver, the CO2 emission factor can, for example, be set to 125.00%. This setting reflects the fact that the vehicle travels a longer distance to carry out the shipment than just the transport operation itself and no overlap/shared load takes place. This increases the climate impact of the transport.

  • If the Express service with the truck price vehicle type usually has a certain overlap, i.e. several deliveries share the actual route travelled, and, for example, because the transport has been made more efficient by route optimisation, you can set the CO2 emission factor to 90.00%. This setting reflects the fact that the “Express” service with the “Truck” price vehicle type usually has a lower climate impact than the “Express” service with the “Passenger car” price vehicle type described above.

Step 1: Add the fuel and enter the CO2 emissions for the fuel

To add a new fuel or update the CO2 emission information for a fuel type, proceed as follows:

  1. Click on Register > Fuel > General.

  2. To add a new fuel, click on and give the fuel type a name, for example “Electricity”, “Diesel”, “Biogas” or “HVO”.

    To update the information about a fuel type, select the fuel whose settings are to be configured from the list on the left.

  3. In the CO2 emissions field, enter the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the fuel in grams.

  4. In the Unit field, enter, for example, “litres”, “kg” or “kWh”.

    For example, if “2680” has been entered in the CO2 emissions field and “litres” in the Unit field, this means that the fuel emits 2680 grams of carbon dioxide per litre.

  5. Click on to save all changes.

  6. Close the Fuel window.

Step 2: Set the fuel, consumption and CO2 emissions for the vehicles

Tip

It is only necessary to set the fuel and the fuel consumption or the CO2 emissions.If both CO2 emissions in g/km and consumption/km are stated, CO2 emissions in g/km are used to calculate the climate impact.

  1. Click on RegisterVehicles > the Emissions tab.

  2. Select vehicle in the list on the left, and enter the following.

    • CO2 emissions (g/km)

    • Fuel

    • Fuel consumption (per 100 km): The unit is set in the fuel registry (see Step 1 above):

Step 3: Set the fuel, consumption and CO2 emissions for the vehicle types

Tip

It is only necessary to set the fuel and the fuel consumption or the CO2 emissions.If both CO2 emissions in g/km and consumption/km are stated, CO2 emissions in g/km are used to calculate the climate impact.

  1. Click on Register > Vehicle types > Emissions tab.

  2. Select vehicle type in the list on the left, and enter the following.

    • CO2 emissions (g/km)

    • Fuel

    • Fuel consumption (per 100 km): The unit is set in the fuel registry (see Step 1 above):

  3. Click on to save all changes.

  4. Close the Vehicle types window.

Step 4: Set the fuel, consumption and CO2 emissions for the price vehicle types

Tip

It is only necessary to set the fuel and the fuel consumption or the CO2 emissions.If both CO2 emissions in g/km and consumption/km are stated, CO2 emissions in g/km are used to calculate the climate impact.

  1. Click on Economy > Price listsPrice vehicle types > Emissions tab.

  2. Select the price vehicle type from the list on the left and fill in the field CO2 emissions (g/km) or Fuel and Fuel consumption (per 100 km).

Step 5: Set the CO2 emission factor for the service and for the price vehicle types on the service

The default setting for the CO2 emission factor is 100% for all services, so no changes need to be made to have an emission factor of 100%.

By default, the CO2 emission factor for all price vehicle types on a service is the same as the factor for the service. This means that it is not necessary to configure any settings for the price vehicle types on the service if the same CO2 emission factor as the service’s is required.

The emission factor of the service.

Examples of how to select the CO2 emission factor are provided above in the CO2 emission factor for the service section.

  1. Click on Economy > Price lists > Services.

  2. Select the service in the list on the left and go to the Emissions tab.

  3. Enter an emission factor in percent in the Emission factor field.

If all price vehicle types linked to the service should have the same emission factor as the service, nothing else needs to be done in the Services window. Then everything is ready.

Exception from the service’s emission factor for certain price vehicle types

To make an exception for a specific price vehicle type and specify a different emission factor for it, click on Click here to add a new item. on the Emissions tab for the service. Select a price vehicle type in the Price vehicle type column and enter an emission factor in percent in the Emission factor column by entering a value or using the arrows. Exceptions can be made for more price vehicle types by adding more rows.

For examples of how to select the CO2 emission factor for a particular price vehicle type, see above in the CO2 emission factor for the price vehicle type section.