If you have researched carbon footprint calculation, you have almost certainly encountered the phrase “DEFRA 2024 emission factors.” But what does this mean, where do these numbers come from, and why are they used by businesses across Europe — not just in the UK?
This guide answers those questions in plain English and gives you the key factor values you need for common business activities.
What Are Emission Factors?
An emission factor is a number that converts a physical measurement — such as cubic metres of natural gas consumed, or kilowatt-hours of electricity used — into an equivalent amount of greenhouse gas emissions, expressed in kg of CO₂ equivalent (kgCO₂e).
For example: if you know your office used 1,000 m³ of natural gas last year, an emission factor tells you that this is equivalent to approximately 2,040 kgCO₂e(using the DEFRA 2024 factor of 2.04 kgCO₂e per m³).
Without emission factors, you cannot convert your energy bills into a carbon footprint. They are the foundation of all carbon accounting.
What Is DEFRA and Why Are Its Factors Used in the EU?
DEFRAstands for the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Each year, DEFRA publishes a comprehensive set of greenhouse gas conversion factors covering hundreds of fuel types, transport modes, and materials.
Although DEFRA is a UK government body, its emission factors are widely used across Europe and internationally for two reasons:
- Comprehensive coverage — DEFRA publishes factors for more activities than most national equivalents, covering natural gas, heating oil, LPG, petrol, diesel, aviation, rail, hotels, waste, and dozens of other categories.
- Methodological rigour — DEFRA factors are published with full methodology documentation and are aligned with IPCC guidelines, making them defensible for GHG Protocol reporting and auditor review.
- Annual updates — factors are updated each year to reflect improvements in measurement science, making DEFRA 2024 more accurate than older versions.
The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard — the global framework for business carbon accounting that CSRD references — does not mandate a specific set of emission factors, but recommends using “the best available data.” DEFRA factors are widely accepted by EU auditors as meeting this standard.
Key DEFRA 2024 Factors for EU Businesses
The following values are from the DEFRA 2024 greenhouse gas conversion factors publication. All values are in kgCO₂e per unit consumed.
Scope 1 — Stationary Combustion (Heating)
- Natural gas: 2.04 kgCO₂e per m³
- Heating oil (kerosene): 2.54 kgCO₂e per litre
- Gas oil (diesel for heating): 2.76 kgCO₂e per litre
- LPG: 1.56 kgCO₂e per litre
- Wood pellets: 0.039 kgCO₂e per kg (biogenic carbon excluded)
Scope 1 — Company Vehicles (Mobile Combustion)
- Petrol: 2.31 kgCO₂e per litre
- Diesel: 2.68 kgCO₂e per litre
- Petrol car (average): 0.170 kgCO₂e per km
- Diesel car (average): 0.163 kgCO₂e per km
- Diesel van (average): 0.208 kgCO₂e per km
Scope 3 — Business Travel
- Short-haul flight (<3h, economy): 255 kgCO₂e per return flight
- Medium-haul flight (3–6h, economy): 580 kgCO₂e per return flight
- Long-haul flight (>6h, economy): 1,050 kgCO₂e per return flight
- Rail travel (UK average): 0.041 kgCO₂e per km
- Hotel stay (average): 20.6 kgCO₂e per night
Scope 3 — Waste
- General waste (landfill): 0.444 kgCO₂e per kg
- Mixed recycling: 0.021 kgCO₂e per kg
- Water supply: 0.149 kgCO₂e per m³
Electricity Emission Factors: Why DEFRA Is Not Enough
For Scope 2 (purchased electricity), DEFRA provides a UK grid factor — but this is not appropriate for EU businesses. Electricity grid carbon intensity varies enormously by country:
- Sweden: 0.013 kgCO₂e/kWh (hydro and nuclear dominated)
- France: 0.052 kgCO₂e/kWh (nuclear dominated)
- Austria: 0.083 kgCO₂e/kWh (hydro dominated)
- Netherlands: 0.283 kgCO₂e/kWh (mixed grid)
- Germany: 0.364 kgCO₂e/kWh (mixed, transitioning from coal)
- Czech Republic: 0.402 kgCO₂e/kWh (coal heavy)
- Poland: 0.742 kgCO₂e/kWh (coal dominated)
For EU businesses, Scope 2 electricity factors should come from the European Environment Agency (EEA) national grid intensity data, updated annually. EmissionPlan uses EEA data for 14 EU member states automatically.
How Often Are DEFRA Factors Updated?
DEFRA publishes updated factors annually, typically in June or July. The 2024 factors reflect improvements in measurement methodology and updated fuel composition data. When preparing a carbon report, always state which year's factors you used — this is a requirement under GHG Protocol and CSRD.
You do not need to manually look up or apply DEFRA factors. The EmissionPlan calculator applies DEFRA 2024 factors automatically for all inputs and displays the factor version used in the generated PDF report — meeting the citation requirements of GHG Protocol and ESRS VSME.
Do I Need to Use DEFRA Factors for CSRD?
CSRD and the GHG Protocol do not mandate DEFRA specifically. They require that you use “recognised emission factors from credible sources.” DEFRA 2024 meets this standard and is routinely accepted by EU auditors.
Alternative accepted sources include:
- IPCC AR6 — for global warming potential (GWP) values
- IEA — for electricity emission factors by country
- National inventory factors — published by each EU member state
For most EU SMBs, DEFRA 2024 combined with EEA country electricity data is the simplest and most widely accepted approach. It is what EmissionPlan uses, and what the generated PDF report cites explicitly.
The key rule: whatever factors you use, document them. State the source and year in your report. This is what makes a carbon report auditable — not perfection, but transparency and consistency.