Reading · Rod McLaren: Words that work

12 May 2026, updated 21 May 2026 to add market-based scope 2 numbers now I have them from Octopus. This has reduced my headline emissions by 1,405 kgCO2e. (The June 2026 GOV.UK emission factors means

My company’s total carbon emissions are 4.26 tonnes CO2e per year, for the year 1 March 2025 - 29 February 2026.

Carbon emissions

Scope	Emissions kgCO2e	Note
Scope 1: direct emissions	187.94	Wood fuel for space heating
Scope 2: indirect emissions - market based	3,235.82	Electricity and space heating at working locations, using market-based calculation for electricity, and see note below
Scope 2: indirect emissions - location based	4,641.36	Electricity and space heating at working locations, using location-based calculation for gas and electricity, and see note below
Scope 3 Category 1: Purchased goods and services	660.40	Mostly software and an allocation for food :)
Scope 3 Category 2: Capital goods	0
Scope 3 Category 3: Fuel and energy-related activities	0
Scope 3 Category 4: Upstream transportation and distribution	0
Scope 3 Category 5: Waste generated in operations	0
Scope 3 Category 6: Business travel	171.63	Travel by train
Scope 3 Category 7: Employee commuting	0
Scope 3 Category 8: Upstream leased assets	0
Scope 3 Category 9: Downstream transportation and distribution	0
Scope 3 Category 10: Processing of sold products	0
Scope 3 Category 11: Use of sold products	0
Scope 3 Category 12: End-of-life treatment of sold products emissions	0
Scope 3 Category 13: Downstream leased assets	0
Scope 3 Category 14: Franchises	0
Scope 3 Category 15: Investments	n/a	Excluded because I’m not a financial services company, and see note below
Total Scope 3 emissions	832.02	Excludes Scope 3 Category 15: Investments
Total Scope 1-3 emissions	4,255.79 kgCO2e	Uses the market-based calculation for Scope 2, excludes Scope 3 Category 15: Investments

Carbon intensity: 0.019 tonnes CO2e per day

If your organisation buys time from me, you can use these numbers in your own Scope 3 emission calculations:

1 day: 0.019 tonnes CO2e.
1 week: 0.0.83 tonnes CO2e.
1 month: 0.355 tonnes CO2e.

These numbers use my emissions data for the year 1 March 2025 - 29 February 2026 - I divided total emissions by 229 working days per year.

What’s changed in the numbers since 2024?

Tbh I haven’t worked very hard at deliberately reducing emissions. I used heating a bit less, I tried to travel a bit less.
I’ve improved and corrected a couple of measurements, and aligned costs more accurately with the GHG Protocol’s Scope 3 categories. Some UK-wide carbon intensity metrics have improved slightly from 2023, I guess as either the grid gets cleaner or data improves. Some supplier emissions are growing because of they’re growing (eg Xero), some supplier emissions reducing despite growth (eg Apple).
I have split financial services emissions into 2 categories:
- In Scope 3 Category 1: purchased goods I have emissions from the bank or pension provider providing a service to me. Typically calculated as the fees I pay for the service, divided by the provider’s revenue multiplied by the provider’s S 1-3 emissions (excluding their financed emissions).
- In Scope 3 Category 15: investments I have emissions from my assets held with a provider. Here assets might mean bank deposits and “ETF” in the case of pension. Typically calculated as the value of the deposit/assets, divided by the provider’s assets multiplied by the provider’s Scope 3 financed emissions to avoid double counting. I have not calculated these yet. However I’m not a financial services company so I’m not required by the GHG Protocol to report these emissions in my numbers. And in fact including them might make it hard for my customers to measure their own upstream scope 3 numbers consistently. So I have excluded them from my official Scope 3 numbers. (And note that in ~2028 the GHG protocol will probably introduce a new scope 3 category 16, and my numbers will probably move to that category.)
Note on Scope 2 indirect emissions: Market-based Scope 2 calculated using a supplier-specific emission factor of 0.000 kgCO₂e/kWh provided by Octopus Energy for tariff VAR-22-11-01-ELEC. Octopus matches consumption with 100% zero-carbon generation (mix of UK renewables and nuclear), with REGOs retired on our behalf within the same vintage year and UK market for the renewable portion. I’m leading with this number, because it’s the GHG Protocol-aligned headline number that everyone else uses for their own Scope 3 attribution.
- (Er, what about nuclear’s lifecycle emissions? That’s captured in the Octopus’s Scope 3, not in my Scope 2 under GHG Protocol methodology.)
- Location-based Scope 2 calculated using DESNZ UK grid average factor - shown here but not included in my headline numbers.

What I’m doing next to reduce emissions

May 2026: I will set a carbon emissions target.
May 2026: I will offset 300% of those emissions in UK and international projects accredited by the UK Woodland Carbon Code or the Peatland Code and VCS respectively.
15 July 2024: I am exploring the viability of a tool to help freelancers in the digital industry quickly calculate their carbon emissions. This won’t reduce my emissions, but it might help you reduce yours.
13 June 2024: I will switch company pension to funds with lower carbon emissions. To do this I’m going to try find some ETFs that look a fair bit like a low cost global index tracker but have the lowest possible emissions. There’s going to be a tradeoff between these two aims. Funds don’t consistently publish emissions data, so this work might take a while.

Action I’ve already taken

May 2026: Measured emissions for the year 1 March 2025 - 29 February 2026. I’ve restructured these so they’re consistent with the scopes and scope categories in the GHG Protocol (scope 3 categories etc).
April 2025: Added a carbon text file to the site.
October 2024: added note about disclosing a different emissions factor in invoices to clients.
September 2024: my work proposals now include an estimate of the carbon emissions, and my invoices now include the actual emissions. These numbers can be used in a client’s scope 3 emission measurements.
13 June 2024, updated 16 July: Joined a wind farm co-op, Ripple Energy. Ripple says the carbon saving is 0.14t in the first 6 weeks, but I’m not confident in calling this an emissions reduction because I’m still consuming electricity from the grid. However, supporting the deployment of renewable energy feels useful, and like a stepping stone to more action on my energy consumption that could directly reduce emissions, like PV panels or batteries.
17 May 2024: Switched bank to one with lower carbon emissions. This will reduce my emissions from banking by 68% from 0.57815 tCO2e to 0.18324 tCO2e, if the amount in the bank account were to remain the same.
8 May 2024: Offsetted the 300% emissions I calculated for 2023-4. Why 300%? To cover errors and omissions in my measurement and some of my historic emissions. Through Forest Carbon I bought 15 tCO2e offsets in VCS-accredited international projects that are already generating carbon credits, and 15 tCO2e in UK Woodland Carbon Code or the Peatland Code accredited projects in the UK that will create carbon credits in future. I like peat restoration projects because they’re long-term and have biodiversity and community benefits. The projects: reforestation in Uruguay and peatland restoration on Islay. Offsetting is a poor answer to decarbonisation because the emissions are still there, but it feels like a good way to start and build some momentum.
4 April 2024: Measured emissions for the year 1 March 2023 - 29 February 2024.

Previous emission calculations for 2023-4

17 May 2024, updated 25 October 2024: 9.79 tonnes CO2e per year, for the year 1 March 2023 - 29 February 2024.