How to Build GRI and CDP Emissions Reporting From Your Plant's Own Data
DBR77 Team9 min read
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To report plant emissions for GRI or CDP, you need three things kept all year: activity data (energy, fuel, production, incidents) recorded for the real period, an emission factor for each source with its validity dates, and evidence behind each figure. With those in place, scope 1, 2 and 3 totals are a calculation you can repeat and check. In DBR77 IRIS ESG Reports you can pick GRI, CDP or a custom report. SASB, TCFD and CSRD are listed as not available, and the generator states that ESRS is not modeled.
Most plants start the annual report in the same place: a spreadsheet, a pile of utility invoices and a question to production about how much the lines ran in March.
What GRI and CDP ask a plant for
GRI 305: Emissions 2016 sets out seven disclosures. The ones a plant feeds most directly are 305-1 direct (Scope 1), 305-2 energy indirect (Scope 2) and 305-3 other indirect (Scope 3) GHG emissions, plus 305-4 emissions intensity and 305-5 reductions.
Three details in GRI 305 decide how you collect data:
| Disclosure | What it asks for | What it means for plant data |
|---|---|---|
| 305-2 Scope 2 | A location-based figure, and a market-based one where you have contractual instruments | Electricity has to be recorded so it can be calculated two ways |
| 305-3 Scope 3 | The categories and activities included | Scope 3 entries need a category, not only a total |
| 305-4 Intensity | A ratio, with the organization-specific denominator you chose | You need production volume or revenue next to emissions |
The two scope 2 methods come from the GHG Protocol. Its Scope 2 Guidance says companies with operations in markets that offer contractual instruments shall report scope 2 emissions in two ways, one location-based and one market-based. The GHG Protocol also gives calculation methods for each of the 15 categories of scope 3.
GRI is changing. The GRI 305 document itself notes that disclosures 305-1 to 305-5 will be superseded by GRI 102: Climate Change 2025, effective 1 January 2027. If your next report falls after that date, plan for GRI 102.
CDP has changed too. In 2024, its climate change, forests and water security questionnaires were integrated into one corporate questionnaire with 13 modules. Module 7 covers climate change and module 9 water security.
- Activity data
- 1,840 kWh
- Factor
- 0.6 kg CO2e/kWh
- Emissions
- 1,104 kg CO2e
Illustrative example: line meters record 1,840 kWh while an order runs on line 3.
Where each number comes from in a plant
Most of the data already exists in the plant. It sits in different places and is recorded for different periods.
| Data | Usual source | Common problem |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity, gas, steam | Utility meters, invoices | Invoice months do not match reading dates |
| Energy per order or line | Line meters, production orders | Nobody links consumption to the order window |
| Fuel for vehicles and boilers | Fuel cards, delivery notes | Units differ (litres, kWh, GJ) |
| Spills and emergency releases | HSE incident reports | Reports have no quantity, so they never reach the totals |
| Waste and water | Contractor reports, water meters | Recycling share comes months later |
| Emission factors | Supplier, national inventory, databases | Old factors stay in the spreadsheet after they expire |
Four steps to keep the data ready all year
- Build the emission factor catalog first. One factor per source and scope, in kg CO2e per unit, with the period it is valid for. Without it, no automatic calculation has anything to work from.
- Connect the sources that already measure. Energy meters, production orders and environmental incidents should feed the register directly, for the real period between readings (see how to unify MES, WMS, QMS and CMMS without replacing everything for the wider integration question). Typing monthly totals from invoices is the fallback.
- Keep evidence next to each figure. Attach the invoice, certificate or meter report to the figure it supports, with an expiry date where one applies, and mark each entry as verified once someone has checked it. The same discipline applies to audit-ready records for AI-assisted factory decisions.
- Check what was left out before you report. Readings in units that cannot be converted, simulated or test readings, and incidents with no quantity should be listed, not dropped silently.
Illustrative example: line meters record 1,840 kWh while an order runs on line 3. With an electricity factor of 0.6 kg CO2e per kWh in the catalog, closing the order creates a calculated entry of 1,104 kg CO2e, with the factor and activity data stored on it. A refrigerant leak closed in HSE with a quantity and a factor adds a scope 1 entry; a second leak report without a quantity stays an incident and adds nothing to the totals. At year end, each figure traces back to an order or an incident.
What IRIS ESG covers, and what it does not
Before you choose any tool for ESG reporting, check it against the standard you report under. In the ESG Reports screen the framework list is GRI, CDP and Custom. For IRIS ESG, the answer is:
| Requirement | IRIS ESG today | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| GRI report from plant data | Available | Pick GRI and the period |
| CDP | Available. The product documentation lists questions C4, C6, C8, C10 and W1.2 | Confirm with DBR77 how these map to the current CDP questionnaire before you use the export |
| SASB, TCFD, CSRD | Marked "not available". ESRS is not modeled, and the generator says so | Use another tool or adviser for these frameworks |
| Emissions intensity (GRI 305-4) | Not calculated. Revenue and production volume are not stored as a denominator | Calculate the ratio outside IRIS |
| Scope 2 location-based and market-based | One figure per scope, no split by method | Calculate the second method outside IRIS |
| Scope 3 by the 15 GHG Protocol categories | Category is free text on each entry | Agree a naming list that follows the 15 categories |
| Breakdown by country or legal entity | Entries carry the plant only | Aggregate by entity outside IRIS |
| Independent assurance statement | Not included. Only a verification flag per entry | Work with your assurance provider |
| Narrative on board oversight, climate risks, scenario analysis | Not collected | Write it in the report itself |
A custom report in IRIS contains only the sections its author writes. IRIS does not derive them from data and does not claim compliance with any standard for them.
CDP needs a careful reading. Since 2024 the questionnaire is integrated (modules 1 to 13), while the IRIS documentation refers to individual climate and water questions. Treat the CDP output as a draft until DBR77 has confirmed the mapping to the questionnaire you will actually submit. We make no compliance promise here.
If you report under CSRD, IRIS ESG can hold the plant-level activity data, factors and evidence, but it will not produce an ESRS report or show that one is complete.
How this works in DBR77 IRIS
IRIS ESG keeps registers for emissions (scope 1, 2 and 3), energy, waste and water. Each emissions entry records source, period, method (calculated or measured), the factor used and the activity data, with a verification flag. The emission factor catalog is managed in the application by scope, source and category, with validity periods.
Energy meters in IRIS IoT post consumption for the real period between readings. When an order closes in IRIS MES, IRIS ESG sums the energy used in the order's time window, multiplies it by the valid factor and creates a calculated entry, protected against duplicates. A closed environmental incident in IRIS HSE adds scope 1 emissions only when the reporter entered a quantity and a factor. Energy entries in units outside Wh, kWh, MWh, GWh, MJ and GJ are left out of the totals and counted separately, and readings marked as simulated are excluded from every reported figure.
Evidence files are linked to a specific indicator, with status and expiry date, and the ESG audit log records changes to the data. A report's status changes to published only after the document has actually been created. Other screens cover environmental permits with a 30-day warning before expiry, ESG goals, diversity indicators (GRI 405) and an energy advisor that works only from measured consumption. For how plant measures are defined and owned, see How to Build a Real-Time KPI System for Your Factory.
FAQ
Can IRIS produce our CSRD report?
No. CSRD is marked "not available" and the generator states that ESRS is not modeled. IRIS ESG can hold plant-level data and evidence that you use in a report prepared elsewhere.
Does IRIS calculate scope 2 both ways?
No. It keeps one scope 2 figure. If you have contractual instruments such as green electricity contracts, calculate the market-based figure outside IRIS.
Will anything be calculated automatically on day one?
Only after you fill the emission factor catalog. With an empty catalog, closed production orders create no emissions entries.
What about GRI 102 from 2027?
According to GRI, GRI 102 replaces disclosures 305-1 to 305-5 from 1 January 2027. Which generator version you use, and the plan for GRI 102, you agree with DBR77. Ask before you schedule a report under the new standard.
Conclusion
Start with the emission factor catalog and one data source that already measures, usually the main electricity meters or the line meters behind closed orders. Then attach evidence to each figure and keep a list of what was left out. Before choosing any tool, check it against the standard you actually report under: IRIS ESG Reports offers GRI, CDP and custom reports, and SASB, TCFD and CSRD are not available. If your reporting depends on how these steps fit the rest of the plant, the business case for a plant operating system is a useful next read.
Sources
- GRI, GRI 305: Emissions 2016, effective 1 July 2018, with the note on GRI 102: Climate Change 2025
- GHG Protocol, Scope 2 Guidance: An amendment to the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, 2015
- GHG Protocol, Scope 3 Calculation Guidance
- CDP, CDP Full Corporate Questionnaire Overview 2024, 2024