Going Beyond the Meter: Why Businesses Must Include Well-to-Tank Emissions in Their Carbon Footprint

As the pressure mounts on organisations to measure, reduce, and report their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, many businesses have successfully begun tracking their Scope 1 (direct emissions) and Scope 2 (purchased electricity) emissions. However, if your carbon footprint stops there, you may be missing a substantial part of your true environmental impact.

One of the most overlooked — yet increasingly important — elements of accurate GHG accounting is the inclusion of Scope 3 emissions from fuels and electricity, specifically the well-to-tank (WTT) emissions that occur before energy is used.

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What Are Well-to-Tank (WTT) Emissions?

Well-to-tank (WTT) emissions are a subset of Scope 3 emissions. They refer to all upstream emissions associated with the extraction, refining, processing, and delivery of a fuel or energy source before it arrives at your premises.

Let’s break this down by fuel type:

For Fuels (e.g. petrol, diesel, natural gas):

WTT emissions include:

• Extracting crude oil or natural gas

• Transporting raw fuel to a refinery

• Refining processes (e.g. converting crude oil into petrol or diesel)

• Delivering the final fuel to the point of use (e.g. filling stations or site tanks)

These emissions are invisible at the point of use, but they are very real — and they exist because of your energy demand.

For Electricity:

Electricity has a more layered WTT structure, and it’s helpful to separate it into two components:

1. WTT for Generation

   • These are emissions from extracting and transporting the fuels used to generate electricity (e.g. mining coal, compressing gas, transporting biomass).

   • They also include embedded emissions from renewable technologies, such as the energy required to manufacture solar panels or wind turbines, averaged across their lifespans.

2. WTT for Transmission & Distribution (T&D)

   • These emissions come from building, maintaining, and operating the national electricity grid: substations, transformers, and cabling.

   • They represent the indirect operational footprint of the grid itself, not just the losses in energy transfer.

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How WTT and T&D Losses Fit Into Scope 3

It’s important to distinguish between WTT for T&D and T&D losses:

• WTT for T&D is about the carbon required to operate the grid — a Scope 3 impact for your business.

• T&D losses refer to the actual energy lost between the generation source and your meter (typically around 8–10% of electricity generated in the UK). These losses are also reported under Scope 3, because they are emissions that occurred on your behalf, just outside your meter.

So, for a full picture of electricity-related emissions, your report should include:

1. Scope 2 – The electricity you consume (metered)

2. Scope 3 – Well-to-Tank for generation

3. Scope 3 – Well-to-Tank for T&D

4. Scope 3 – T&D losses (energy losses from generator to your meter)

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How Significant Are These Emissions?

While often overlooked, WTT and T&D losses are not negligible:

• Fuel WTT: Can account for up to 16% of the base fuel emissions.

• Electricity WTT (Generation + T&D): Adds around 28% on top of your Scope 2 emissions.

• Electricity T&D losses: Typically 10% of base electricity emissions.

This means that if your business reports 100 tonnes of CO₂ from purchased electricity, an additional 28 tonnes from WTT and 10 tonnes from T&D losses should also be included in Scope 3 — a combined 38% uplift.

Failing to include these factors underestimates your electricity-related footprint by over a third.

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Why Should Businesses Include WTT Emissions?

1. They’re a Real Part of Your Impact

Even if you don’t directly cause them, these emissions exist because of your demand for fuel or electricity. If you weren’t using the energy, these emissions wouldn’t occur. Omitting them is simply misrepresenting the reality.

2. Demonstrates a Deeper Level of Understanding

Incorporating WTT and T&D emissions signals that your business understands its position in the wider energy supply chain. It’s not just about what happens on your site — it’s about everything required to support your activities, upstream and downstream.

3. Strengthens the Integrity of Your Reporting

Accurate carbon accounting is becoming a point of competitive differentiation. Including Scope 3 WTT emissions helps make your reporting more robust, transparent, and defensible — especially important if your figures are reviewed by investors, clients, or regulators.

4. Prepares You for Stricter Standards

As carbon reporting frameworks mature, the expectation is growing for companies to include all material Scope 3 emissions. Anticipating this shift shows that you’re ahead of the curve, not scrambling to catch up.

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A Call to Action for Businesses

If your carbon reporting omits WTT and T&D emissions, you’re only telling part of your environmental story. Worse, it can give the false impression that your carbon footprint is lower than it actually is.

At Bryce Energy Services, we strongly encourage all businesses to go beyond the bare minimum and include Scope 3 upstream energy emissions as standard. Doing so:

• Adds credibility and depth to your reporting

• Helps identify overlooked opportunities for reduction

• Builds trust with stakeholders

• Aligns with best practices from the GHG Protocol and UK Government guidance

We help businesses quantify these emissions accurately, using validated UK conversion factors and custom integrations into carbon management systems.

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In Summary

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While You Are Here…

Why not use one or all of Bryce Energy Services free online calculators.

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