ERG Adds New Data to National GHG Emissions Accounting Data Set

The ERG team recently completed a major update to a data set that measures national- and state-level greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by sector in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Office of Research and Development.  

This environmental modeling work significantly improves national GHG emissions accounting across over 500 U.S. economic sectors. The latest revision, made in July 2024, builds upon the initial model published in 2023. It offers a thorough and up-to-date view of the GHG impacts of various U.S. goods and services. 

“Stakeholders from across the supply chain are constantly seeking the most up-to-date data to assess their GHG footprints,” said ERG’s Senior Life Cycle Analyst Ben Young. “We can ensure that companies and institutions can best address their GHG reduction goals by building an approach that ingests and processes the latest data as soon as they are published.” 

The updated data set is also vital for improving public understanding of industry-specific emissions and enhancing the accuracy of GHG accounting in the United States. The data determined that electric power generation, chemical manufacturing, and truck transportation were the top emitters of carbon dioxide in 2022, the most recently available data.  

The updated model is a key resource for EPA’s Supply Chain GHG Emission Factors. Essential for businesses and institutions calculating Scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods, services, and capital goods, the model provides data for a significant part of an organization’s total emissions. The model offers detailed emission factors for all categories of goods and services in the U.S. economy, enabling organizations to assess their emissions using the spend-based method outlined in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s Technical Guidance for Calculating Scope 3 Emissions report. 

This comprehensive report includes information on the modeling process and a detailed results analysis. The updated data set relies on EPA’s US Environmentally Extended Input-Output (USEEIO) models and leverages the latest economic data provided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. As the prime contractor supporting the USEEIO models, ERG plays a key role in ensuring the latest available public data are incorporated into the modeling approach, guaranteeing the quality and reliability of the data.