Purchased heat and steam: Scope 2 emissions from district heating

If your building is connected to a district heating network, or you buy steam from an industrial neighbour, the emissions from producing that heat are your Scope 2, just like electricity. See Scope 2 emissions.

The calculation

kWh of heat or steam delivered × factor per kWh

The kWh figure comes from the heat meter or the supplier's invoice. DESNZ 2026 gives 0.17529 kg CO2e per kWh for district heat and steam.

Supplier-specific factors

Heat networks differ much more than electricity grids: a network fed by a gas boiler and one fed by a biomass plant or waste heat have very different emissions. If your supplier publishes an emission factor for its network, it is usually more accurate than a national average. Record it as your own factor with the supplier's document as evidence, and say which factor you used.

Losses and upstream emissions

As with electricity, the emissions caused before the heat reaches you belong in Scope 3 category 3:

• Distribution losses: DESNZ publishes well-to-tank factors for district heat and steam distribution (0.00176 kg CO2e per kWh for its 5% loss case) and transmission and distribution factors for heat.
• Upstream fuel production: 0.03341 kg CO2e per kWh for district heat and steam (well-to-tank).

The GHG Protocol's category 3 activities cover "electricity, steam, heating, and cooling" in the same way. See category 3.

Worked example

An office receives 80,000 kWh of district heat in a year:

Market-based reporting

The Scope 2 Guidance's two methods apply to heat as well as electricity. If your heat contract comes with a specific emission rate, that rate is your market-based figure; otherwise, the location-based factor is used for both.