Carbon Neutral Government program scope

In-scope emissions

The emissions included in the CNG program are:

• Combustion emissions (CO₂, N₂O and CH₄)
• Indirect energy emissions (electricity and district energy)
• Refrigerants - hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
• Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF₆)
• Life-cycle emissions (paper only)

A complete list of the included gases is in the schedule of the Carbon Neutral Government Regulation.

For more details about the scope of the CNG program refer to the scope summary for BC public sector emissions (PDF, 1.1MB).

To learn how in scope emissions are calculated refer to the 2023 Best Practices Methodology for Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions (PDF, 1MB).

Emissions categories definitions

Combustion emissions

These are the most common greenhouse gases (GHGs). They come from burning fuels like natural gas, diesel, gasoline or coal. 

Indirect energy emissions

Indirect energy emissions are the emissions produced by another entity when they create energy. Those emissions are in scope when that energy is purchased by a PSO.

The two most common examples of this in the CNG program are electricity and district energy, both are in scope for CNG reporting.

Refrigerants 

Refrigerants are used anytime things need to be kept cold or when heat pump technology is used. They often have a very high global warming potential and are usually released in tiny amounts during the lifetime of refrigeration equipment. 

Some PSOs may have low refrigeration needs, if this is the case, refrigerants may be out of scope by the one percent rule.