GLEC Emissions Reporting

Problem class

Freight is 8-10% of global GHG and projected to more than double by 2050 without intervention. Without standardized methodology, shippers and carriers report incomparable numbers. CSRD and SEC disclosure rules require defensible Scope 3 reporting.

Mechanism

The GLEC framework calculates emissions as Activity Data × Emission Factor across Scope 1 (combustion), Scope 2 (purchased electricity), and Scope 3 (value chain transport). Activity data flows from TMS, telematics, and carrier disclosures. Emission factors from authoritative libraries (DEFRA, EPA, GLEC) translate activity to CO2e.

Required inputs

• Activity data from TMS and telematics
• Mode-specific emission factor library
• Carrier-reported primary data (where available)
• Scope 1/2/3 boundary definitions
• CSRD/ESRS reporting templates

Produced outputs

• GLEC-aligned emissions reports
• Scope 3 disclosure data
• Carrier emissions scorecards
• Cost-of-carbon analytics for procurement
• CSRD/ESRS submission packages

Industries where this is standard

• EU multinationals under CSRD
• Global CPG with public sustainability commitments
• Automotive OEMs reporting Scope 3
• Apparel and footwear with brand commitments
• Retailers with science-based targets

Counterexamples

• Greenwashing through cherry-picked methods — using spend-based estimates (lowest data quality) to satisfy disclosure without driving actual reductions.
• Carrier data sharing reluctance — Transporeon 2024 Green Freight Report found 46.8% of carriers unwilling to share primary emissions data; spend-based proxies fill the gap with low accuracy.

Representative implementations

• Maersk — Emissions Studio (GLEC V3-aligned) providing Scope 3 visibility to customers including Syngenta.
• EcoTransIT World (ISO 14083 certified) — calculates billions of transports annually, used by DB Schenker and ÖBB Rail Cargo Group.
• 30+ organization consortium (Amazon, IKEA, Nestlé, Siemens, Unilever, Volkswagen) — released end-to-end logistics emissions guidance January 2023; over 200 multinationals have adopted GLEC framework.

Common tooling categories

Emission factor library + activity data ingestion + CO2e calculator + Scope 1/2/3 mapping + CSRD/ESRS reporting layer + carrier data collection workflow.