Emissions intensity metrics express a company's greenhouse gas emissions per unit of business output rather than as an absolute total. Common denominators include revenue (tCO₂e per £m turnover), headcount (tCO₂e per FTE), production volume (tCO₂e per unit or per tonne produced), or floor area (tCO₂e per m²).
Why it matters
Absolute emissions can rise simply because a business is growing, even if it is becoming more carbon-efficient on every unit of output. Intensity metrics correct for this and provide a fairer measure of operational improvement. They are also the standard way to benchmark performance across companies of different sizes.
Most disclosure frameworks (SECR, CDP, EcoVadis) and most procurement questionnaires ask for at least one intensity metric alongside absolute figures. A good Carbon Impact Report includes the metric that is most operationally meaningful for the business — for a manufacturer, often per unit produced; for a consultancy, per FTE; for a retailer, per £m revenue.
A practical example
A manufacturer's absolute footprint rises from 1,000 to 1,200 tCO₂e between 2022 and 2024 — a 20% increase that looks bad. But over the same period, units produced rose from 100,000 to 150,000. Intensity has actually fallen from 10 kgCO₂e per unit to 8 kgCO₂e per unit — a 20% improvement in efficiency, masked by absolute growth.
We include intensity metrics in every Carbon Impact Report. See the report structure on the methodology page.