Electricity-Related Emissions Factors in Carbon Footprinting—The Case of Poland

Anna Lewandowska (), Katarzyna Joachimiak-Lechman, Jolanta Baran and Joanna Kulczycka
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Anna Lewandowska: Institute of Management, Poznań University of Economics and Business, al. Niepodległości 10, 61-875 Poznań, Poland
Katarzyna Joachimiak-Lechman: Institute of Management, Poznań University of Economics and Business, al. Niepodległości 10, 61-875 Poznań, Poland
Jolanta Baran: Faculty of Organization and Management, Silesian University of Technology, ul. Akademicka 2A, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Joanna Kulczycka: Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Józefa Wybickiego 7A, 31-261 Kraków, Poland

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 15, 1-29

Abstract: Electricity is a significant factor in the life cycle of many products, so the reliability of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data is crucial. The article presents publicly available sources of emission factors representative of Poland. The aim of the study is to assess their strengths and weaknesses in the context of the calculation requirements of carbon footprint analysis in accordance with the GHG Protocol. The article presents the results of carbon footprint calculations for different ranges of emissions in the life cycle of 1 kWh of electricity delivered to a hypothetical organization. Next, a discussion on the quality of the emissions factors has been provided, taking account of data quality indicators. It was concluded that two of the emissions factors that are compared—those based on the national consumption mix and the residual mix for Poland—have been recognized as suitable for use in carbon footprint calculations. Beyond the calculation results, the research highlights the significance of the impact of the selection of emissions factors on the reliability of environmental analysis. The article identifies methodological challenges, including the risk of double counting, limited transparency, methodological inconsistency, and low correlation of data with specific locations and technologies. The insights presented contribute to improving the robustness of carbon footprint calculations.

Keywords: carbon footprint; data quality; electricity; emissions factors; life cycle management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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