The growing urgency of climate change has propelled Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting from a niche activity to a mainstream expectation for businesses. Investors, regulators, and consumers increasingly demand transparent and comparable data on how companies are managing their climate-related risks and opportunities. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has provided a globally recognized framework for such disclosures. A key aspect of this is quantifying the impact of a company's sustainability initiatives, including the benefits derived from recycling. This article outlines how organizations can convert the weight of recycled materials into carbon equivalents (CO2e) for ESG reporting, leveraging the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, the most widely used GHG accounting standard in ESG Reporting.

Why Convert Recycled Material Weights to Carbon? Converting the weight of materials your company recycles, or the recycled content you use, into a carbon metric (CO2e) offers several benefits:

• Demonstrates Environmental Commitment: It translates recycling efforts into a universally understood climate impact metric.


• Supports Universally Accepted Metrics and Targets: Provides consistent quantifiable data for setting targets related to waste management, circularity, and Scope 3 emissions which are universally accepted.


• Identifies Climate-Related Opportunities: Using recycled materials often has a lower carbon footprint than virgin materials, showcasing resource efficiency and potentially reducing exposure to carbon taxes or supply chain vulnerabilities associated with virgin resource extraction and reducing risk of depleting raw materials.


• Enhances Stakeholder Communication: Offers a clear and credible way to report on the climate benefits of circular economy initiatives.


• Informs Strategic Decisions: Helps in evaluating the climate impact of different material choices and waste management strategies.

How to Convert Recycled Material Weights to Carbon Equivalents (CO2e) The fundamental approach involves multiplying the weight of the recycled material by an appropriate emission factor. Step 1: Data Collection – Know Your Materials

• Identify Material Types: Accurately categorize the types of materials being recycled (e.g., PET plastic, HDPE plastic, aluminum, corrugated cardboard, glass, paper).


• Quantify Weights: Determine the weight of each material type, typically in metric tons (“tonnes”) or kilograms. This data can come from demanufacturing providers such as Genesis Dome.


• Define the Boundary: Be clear about what is being measured – is it waste recycled from your operations, or the recycled content in materials you purchase, or the end-of-life recycling of your sold products?

Step 2: Finding Appropriate Emission Factors Emission factors quantify the GHG emissions (or reductions) associated with recycling a specific material compared to a baseline (often landfilling or virgin material production).

• Reputable Sources for materials captured during demanufacturing processes:
  
  
  
  • Governmental Agencies: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides tools like the Waste Reduction Model (WARM), which includes emission factors for various waste management practices, including recycling. Other national bodies (e.g., UK's DEFRA) also publish factors.
  
  
  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): Provides default emission factors for some activities, though WARM is often more granular for materials.
  
  
  • Industry Associations and Databases: Organizations focused on specific materials (e.g., The Aluminum Association, Plastics Recyclers Europe) and commercial databases (e.g., Ecoinvent, GaBi) can provide detailed factors.
  
  
  
  


• Key Considerations for Emission Factors:
  
  
  
  • Material Specificity: Factors vary significantly between materials (e.g., aluminum recycling typically offers greater CO2e savings per tonne than paper recycling).
  
  
  • Geographical Variation: Energy grids and local recycling infrastructure can influence factors. Use region-specific factors where available. For example, if a demanufacturing company mechanically breaks down a product and uses grid energy to do so, the cleanliness of that grid needs to be factored in.
  
  
  • Virgin Comparison: When claiming "avoided emissions" or "benefits," the factor should represent the difference in emissions between using recycled material and virgin material, or between recycling and an alternative end-of-life treatment (like landfilling).
  
  
  
  


• Transparency: Clearly document the source of your emission factors.

Step 3: Calculation – The Conversion The basic formula is: WeightofRecycledMaterial(tonne)×EmissionFactor(tonnematerialtonneCO2e) =CO2e Impact(tonneCO2e)

• Positive vs. Negative Values: Depending on the factor's definition, the result might be a negative value (indicating an emission saving/benefit compared to a baseline) or a positive value (representing the emissions associated with the recycling process itself). Ensure clarity on what the factor represents.

Simplified Example: A company recycles 100 tonnes of PET plastic. They find an emission factor from a reputable source indicating that recycling PET saves 1.5 tonnes of CO2e for every tonne of PET recycled compared to using virgin PET. CO2eSavings=100tonnesPET×1.5tonnePETtonneCO2esaved= 150tonnesCO2esaved Alternatively, if reporting the emissions from the demanufacturing process itself (which might be required for certain Scope 3 calculations if a third party recycles on your behalf), you would use a factor representing those operational emissions. Best Practices and Key Considerations

• Transparency: Clearly disclose methodologies, emission factor sources, assumptions, and the scope of your calculations. This is key.


• Consistency: Apply methodologies and assumptions consistently over time to allow for meaningful trend analysis. If changes are made, explain them.


• Data Quality: Strive for the most accurate data possible. This may involve working closely with your demanufacturing providers and suppliers. Consider third-party verification for key data points or calculations.


• Materiality: Focus on the recycled materials that are most significant by weight or have the highest carbon impact/benefit.


• Use of Tools: Carbon accounting software and specialized ESG platforms can help automate data collection, calculations, and reporting, often including databases of emission factors. The EPA's WARM tool is a valuable free resource for waste-related emissions.

Conclusion: 

Converting recycled material weights to carbon equivalents provides a powerful metric for companies to understand and communicate the climate benefits of their circular economy initiatives. By aligning these calculations with the GHG Protocol and integrating them into ISSB-recommended disclosures, organizations can enhance the credibility of their ESG reporting, demonstrate a proactive approach to climate stewardship, and provide stakeholders with decision-useful information about their climate-related performance and strategy. This quantification is not just an accounting exercise; it is a strategic tool for driving meaningful environmental improvement.

Do you need help?

Do you need assistance with demanufacturing solutions to help you to track your diversion, calculate your emissions reductions and contribute to the Circular Economy? Genesis Dome can assist; our unique management processes can support you in ensuring that upto 98% of materials are diverted from the landfill. We can also provide guidance and solutions to solve recycling challenges. Please contact us!