Data Specificity in Scope 2 Accounting for Carbon Reporting: A Case Study Using Internet of Things-supported Electricity Measurements

Among growing regulatory and investor pressure for high-quality sustainability reporting, accurate carbon accounting has become essential for corporate environmental, social, and governance disclosures. A key challenge exists in calculating Scope 2 emissions, where companies often use generalized national average emission factors, for which accounting approaches differ in how electricity generation, cross-border exchanges, and energy attributes are interpreted and allocated. This study critically reviews literature on data specificity in Scope 2 accounting, analysing methodological differences between locationbased mix and market-based mix approaches defined by GHG Protocol, the role of residual mixes and current spatial and temporal shortcomings of methods related to calculation of life cycle assessment and environmental product declarations. This study aims to explore how an increase in the granularity of company-specific electricity consumption measured data can improve the precision and traceability of related Scope 2 emissions for more qualitative operational decisions in companies. A case study was conducted using hourly electricity consumption data from four manufacturing companies that operate in Latvia over one year. The delivered electricity mix was recorded each hour, and company-specific average hourly and yearly emission factors were calculated based on energy source types. The results demonstrate that company-specific data typically yield lower calculated emissions compared to using Ecoinvent 3.11 database country-specific emission factors. However, these results must further be contextualized within the methodological tensions between physical locationbased and contractual market-based accounting. This study supports the current need for harmonized, high-resolution electricity data practices and integration with digital solutions to support trustworthy carbon emissions disclosures.