Greenhouse gas emissions

The own indicator was calculated in accordance with the methodology adopted for the Śnieżka Group in Scope 1 and 2.

Scope 1 includes all direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources owned or controlled by an undertaking and enables the precise identification of an undertaking’s direct impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

Reporting of Scope 1 CO₂e emissions is conducted in accordance with ESRS and GHG Protocol standards.  Scope 1 covers direct GHG emissions arising from facilities owned or controlled by the undertaking. It includes emissions resulting from fuel combustion, release of refrigerants, and other fugitive emissions, e.g. resulting from the use of selected technical gases, and biogenic emissions relating to out-of-scope emissions from the combustion of primary fuels based on bioadditives. Emissions from regulated Scope 1 emissions trading systems are not included. It was assumed that the amount of refrigerant corresponds to the amount of refrigerant replenished in the installation based on the refrigerant replenishing protocols. The emission factors used in the calculations for individual types of fuels, refrigerants and technical gases are the latest available and come from KOBiZE (National Centre for Emission Balancing and Management) and the DEFRA (The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) database. CO_₂ emissions from bioadditives in fuels are included but disclosed separately under biogenic emissions. Scope 1 emissions were calculated using a previously developed carbon footprint calculator in an Excel file, and the consumption of individual utilities in the Śnieżka Group companies is based on invoice readings. No significant assumptions were made in the calculation of scope 1 emissions. There are no emissions from sources other than the consolidated companies.

Scope 2 includes indirect greenhouse gas emissions that are associated with the electricity, heat or steam and cooling purchased and consumed by an undertaking. This includes emissions from power or heating plants that supply energy to the undertaking.  This scope allows for assessing the impact of an undertaking’s electricity consumption on greenhouse gas emissions.

Reporting of Scope 2 CO₂e emissions is conducted in accordance with ESRS and GHG Protocol standards.  Scope 2 includes indirect emissions related to the generation of electricity purchased by the undertaking.  Emissions from electricity production were calculated according to the two methods mentioned above, i.e. location-based, which is based on the average emission indicator for a given country, i.e. it presents the actual amount of emissions generated in a given area, and market-based, which uses emission indicators published by specific energy sellers, which shows the impact of the undertaking’s purchasing decisions on the carbon footprint. The calculations take into consideration the green energy used in two companies, originating from renewable sources, which was provided with 100% guarantees of origin and documents confirming their redemption issued by the Polish Power Exchange. This allowed these companies to achieve zero scope 2 carbon footprint emissions using the market-based method. The emission factors for electricity used in the calculations are the latest available and come from KOBiZE (National Centre for Emission Balancing and Management) and the IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) database. In the absence of a guarantee of origin for other companies of the Śnieżka Group, the average national emission factors were applied. Scope 2 emissions were calculated using a previously developed carbon footprint calculator in an Excel file, and the electricity consumption in individual companies of the Group is based on invoice readings. There is currently no precise information on whether the adopted emission factors separate the percentage of biomass or biogenic CO₂. There is also no precise information on the amount of biogenic emissions that make up Scope 2, hence an indication of the percentage of biogenic emissions is not possible. There are no emissions from sources other than the consolidated companies.

Scope 3 includes all other indirect greenhouse gas emissions that result from the undertaking’s activities but come from sources that are not owned or controlled by the undertaking.  This scope allows for a comprehensive assessment of the undertaking’s impact on greenhouse gas emissions across the entire value chain.

Reporting of Scope 3 CO₂e emissions is conducted in accordance with ESRS and GHG Protocol standards.  Calculation methods consistent with the GHG Protocol include the expenditure-based method, the supplier-specific method, the average-data method and the distance-based method. Out of the fifteen scope 3 categories defined by the GHG Protocol, the Śnieżka Group, assuming a cut-off level of 1%, considered five categories as substantial, i.e. categories 1, 2, 4, 5, 12. The remaining ten categories (i.e.: 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15) are not relevant to the operations of the Śnieżka Group due to their low share of emissions (below 1%) and no impact on stakeholders. The main sources of emission indicators include DEFRA, EXIOBASE, Ecoinvent, NAICS databases and indicators sourced directly from suppliers. Scope 3 emissions, where primary data from suppliers or other value chain partners is used in the calculation, include the portion (10%) of category 1 emissions related to purchased raw materials. Scope 3 emissions for each substantial category were calculated using a previously developed carbon footprint calculator in an Excel file. There is also no precise information on the amount of biogenic emissions that make up Scope 3, hence an indication of the percentage of biogenic emissions is not possible.