Greenhouse gas balancing of transport services

Since October 2013, France has required transport service providers to disclose the greenhouse gases emitted by commercial passenger and freight transport services to the customer at the point of departure or destination under Regulation No. 2011-1336.

What is the purpose of GHG balancing of transport services in accordance with DIN EN 16258?

DIN 16258 is a framework for companies in the logistics sector to record, evaluate and transparently communicate energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG emissions) for any transport service (goods and/or passengers) using a uniform standard. This gives companies a better overview of the impact of their activities on the climate and makes it easier to identify potential for reducing their GHG emissions. The standard published in 2012 has since been withdrawn by DIN and replaced by ISO 14083.

What is the purpose of GHG accounting for transport services in accordance with ISO 14083?

Like DIN 16258, the ISO 14083 contains requirements and guidelines for the quantification, allocation, attribution and reporting of GHG emissions for passenger and freight transport chains. It applies to all modes of transport (land, sea or air, regardless of the mode of transport, i.e. ship, vehicle or pipeline). Unlike DIN 16258, ISO 14083 includes operational emissions from transport hubs that facilitate the transfer of freight or passengers from one element of the transport chain to the next.

Why should you have the greenhouse gas emissions of your transport services balanced and verified?

  • You optimise the climate performance of your company and your services
  • You receive an overview of potential weak points and valuable information on how to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions
  • Your certificate is internationally recognised, as our test procedure is ISO 14064-3 accredited
  • We support you in finding suitable offsetting projects
  • You receive a certificate and a certification mark that you can use for your communications

The standards are aimed at all companies and individuals in the logistics sector with the potential to reduce energy and raw material costs, such as transport companies, transport service providers or users of transport services such as clients and passengers.

The standards define the requirements for calculating and declaring energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions for all common types of transport, regardless of whether the company's own transport services or those of subcontractors are involved.

The fuel consumption of the transport services is determined. The CO2e or GHG emissions are calculated from these according to emission factors in the standard, depending on the mode of transport. A distinction is made between direct and indirect emissions:

  • Tank-to-wheel records the direct emissions generated during vehicle operation (fuel consumption and coolant losses).
  • Well-to-tank includes the GHG generated during the production of fuels or electricity in addition to the emissions from combustion.

The standards specify the choice of system boundaries, allocation and calculation methods as well as emission factors.

ISO 14083 also divides the transport chains into transport chain elements, transport operation categories and hub operation categories (elements of the transport chain, categories of transport operations and categories of hub operations), which must be considered separately.

Information regarding the process and costs of verification, further training opportunities on the subject at the GUTcert Academy and your benefits with GUTcert can be found on our Carbon Footprint page.