Category 6: Other Sources Emissions

Understanding Other Sources Emissions

Category 6 under ISO 14064-1 is a catch-all category for indirect GHG emissions from sources not covered in the previous five categories. This primarily includes end-of-life treatment of sold products and processing of sold intermediate products.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         CATEGORY 6: INDIRECT GHG EMISSIONS FROM OTHER SOURCES                   │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                                 │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────────────────────┐ │
│  │ END-OF-LIFE TREATMENT                 │  │ PROCESSING OF SOLD PRODUCTS     │ │
│  │ OF SOLD PRODUCTS                      │  │                                 │ │
│  ├───────────────────────────────────────┤  ├─────────────────────────────────┤ │
│  │                                       │  │                                 │ │
│  │  Your Product                         │  │  Your Product                   │ │
│  │       ↓                               │  │       ↓                         │ │
│  │  Customer Use (Category 5)            │  │  Third-Party Processor          │ │
│  │       ↓                               │  │       ↓                         │ │
│  │  End of Life:                         │  │  Processing:                    │ │
│  │  • Landfill disposal                  │  │  • Manufacturing steps          │ │
│  │  • Incineration                       │  │  • Assembly                     │ │
│  │  • Recycling                          │  │  • Packaging                    │ │
│  │  • Composting                         │  │       ↓                         │ │
│  │                                       │  │  Final Product to End Customer  │ │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────┘  └─────────────────────────────────┘ │
│                                                                                 │
│                   Emissions NOT covered in Categories 1-5                       │
│                                                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Category 6 is a Residual CategoryISO 14064-1 designates Category 6 for “any other” indirect emissions not fitting Categories 1-5. In practice, this mainly covers:

End-of-life treatment of products you sell
Third-party processing of intermediate products

If you’ve covered Categories 1-5 comprehensively, Category 6 may be small or not applicable.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

Dcycle API credentials (get them here)
Product sales data (units sold, product composition)
Expected product disposal/recycling rates
Information on downstream processing (if applicable)

Applicability CheckCategory 6 is most relevant for:

Manufacturers of physical products (especially single-use)
Producers of intermediate goods processed by third parties
Companies whose products have significant end-of-life impacts

Data Map: Category 6 Requirements

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      CATEGORY 6 DATA REQUIREMENTS                                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                                         │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │ END-OF-LIFE TREATMENT                                                           │   │
│  ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤   │
│  │                                                                                 │   │
│  │  Product Data           Material Composition      Disposal Scenarios            │   │
│  │  ────────────           ────────────────────      ─────────────────             │   │
│  │  • Product type         • Weight per unit         • % to landfill               │   │
│  │  • Units sold           • Materials breakdown     • % to incineration           │   │
│  │  • Sales year           • Recyclable content      • % to recycling              │   │
│  │                         • Hazardous components    • % to composting             │   │
│  │                                                                                 │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                                                                                         │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │ PROCESSING OF SOLD PRODUCTS                                                     │   │
│  ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤   │
│  │                                                                                 │   │
│  │  Intermediate Product   Processing Details        Third-Party Info              │   │
│  │  ────────────────────   ──────────────────        ───────────────               │   │
│  │  • Product type         • Processing method       • Processor location          │   │
│  │  • Quantity sold        • Energy intensity        • Estimated energy use        │   │
│  │  • Destination          • Processing yield        • Known emission factors      │   │
│  │                                                                                 │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                                                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

End-of-Life Treatment of Sold Products

Track emissions from the disposal and treatment of products after customers have finished using them.

Step 1: Define Product End-of-Life Profile

📋 Data Map: End-of-Life Treatment

Field	Type	Required	Description	Example
`product_type`	string	✅	Product category	`"electronics"`
`product_name`	string	✅	Specific product	`"Smartphone Model X"`
`units_sold`	number	✅	Units sold in period	`100000`
`weight_per_unit_kg`	number	✅	Product weight	`0.2`
`sales_year`	number	✅	Year of sale	`2024`
`expected_lifetime_years`	number	✅	Years before disposal	`3`
`landfill_percentage`	number	✅	% disposed to landfill	`40`
`incineration_percentage`	number	✅	% incinerated	`20`
`recycling_percentage`	number	✅	% recycled	`40`

Where to get this data:

Sales data: Sales records, ERP systems
Product specs: Bill of materials, product weight
Disposal rates: Industry studies, EPR scheme data, regional waste statistics

import requests
import os

headers = {
    "Authorization": f"Bearer {os.getenv('DCYCLE_API_KEY')}",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "x-organization-id": os.getenv("DCYCLE_ORG_ID"),
    "x-user-id": os.getenv("DCYCLE_USER_ID"),
}

# Calculate end-of-life emissions for sold products
eol_data = {
    "emission_type": "end_of_life_treatment",
    "product_type": "electronics",
    "product_name": "Smartphone Model X",
    "units_sold": 100000,
    "weight_per_unit_kg": 0.2,
    "sales_year": 2024,
    "expected_lifetime_years": 3,
    "disposal_scenario": {
        "landfill_percentage": 40,
        "incineration_percentage": 20,
        "recycling_percentage": 40,
    },
    "material_composition": {
        "plastics_percentage": 35,
        "metals_percentage": 45,
        "glass_percentage": 15,
        "other_percentage": 5,
    },
}

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.dcycle.io/api/v1/custom-emissions",
    headers=headers,
    json=eol_data,
)

emission = response.json()
print(f"✅ End-of-life emissions calculated: {emission['id']}")
print(f"   Product: {eol_data['product_name']}")
print(f"   Units sold: {eol_data['units_sold']:,}")
print(f"   Total product weight: {eol_data['units_sold'] * eol_data['weight_per_unit_kg']:,.0f} kg")
print(f"   End-of-life CO₂e: {emission['co2e']:,.0f} kg")
print(f"   ISO 14064-1 Category: 6 (Other sources)")

Treatment Method Emission Factors

Treatment Method	Typical Emission Factor	Notes
Landfill	0.5-1.5 kg CO₂e/kg	Varies by material, methane capture
Incineration	0.9-2.5 kg CO₂e/kg	Higher for plastics, lower with energy recovery
Recycling	-0.2 to 0.3 kg CO₂e/kg	Often negative (avoided production)
Composting	0.1-0.2 kg CO₂e/kg	Organic materials only

Recycling CreditsRecycling can result in negative emissions (credits) due to avoided virgin material production. Dcycle calculates:

Emissions from recycling process
Minus avoided emissions from virgin production
Net result may be negative

Packaging End-of-Life

Track emissions from disposal of your product packaging:

# Calculate packaging end-of-life emissions
packaging_eol = {
    "emission_type": "end_of_life_treatment",
    "product_type": "packaging",
    "description": "Product packaging - cardboard and plastic",
    "units_sold": 100000,  # Same as products sold
    "weight_per_unit_kg": 0.15,  # Packaging weight
    "sales_year": 2024,
    "disposal_scenario": {
        "landfill_percentage": 20,
        "incineration_percentage": 10,
        "recycling_percentage": 70,  # High recycling rate for packaging
    },
    "material_composition": {
        "cardboard_percentage": 70,
        "plastics_percentage": 25,
        "other_percentage": 5,
    },
}

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.dcycle.io/api/v1/custom-emissions",
    headers=headers,
    json=packaging_eol,
)

emission = response.json()
print(f"✅ Packaging end-of-life emissions: {emission['co2e']:,.0f} kg CO₂e")

Processing of Sold Products

Track emissions from third-party processing of intermediate products you sell.

📋 Data Map: Processing of Sold Products

Field	Type	Required	Description	Example
`product_type`	string	✅	Intermediate product type	`"steel_sheets"`
`quantity_sold`	number	✅	Amount sold	`5000`
`unit`	string	✅	Unit of measurement	`"tonnes"`
`processing_type`	string	✅	Type of processing	`"stamping"`, `"welding"`, `"coating"`
`sales_year`	number	✅	Year of sale	`2024`
`processor_country`	string	❌	Location of processing	`"Germany"`

Where to get this data:

Sales records: Invoices to industrial customers
Processing info: Customer communications, industry knowledge
Energy intensity: Industry benchmarks, process studies

# Calculate emissions from third-party processing
processing_data = {
    "emission_type": "processing_of_sold_products",
    "product_type": "steel_sheets",
    "quantity_sold": 5000,
    "unit": "tonnes",
    "processing_type": "stamping_and_welding",
    "sales_year": 2024,
    "processor_country": "Germany",
    "estimated_energy_intensity_kwh_per_tonne": 150,
}

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.dcycle.io/api/v1/custom-emissions",
    headers=headers,
    json=processing_data,
)

emission = response.json()
print(f"✅ Processing emissions calculated: {emission['id']}")
print(f"   Product: {processing_data['product_type']}")
print(f"   Quantity: {processing_data['quantity_sold']:,} {processing_data['unit']}")
print(f"   Processing: {processing_data['processing_type']}")
print(f"   CO₂e: {emission['co2e']:,.0f} kg")
print(f"   ISO 14064-1 Category: 6 (Other sources)")

Avoid Double CountingProcessing emissions should NOT include:

Emissions already counted in your production (Categories 1 & 2)
Transportation emissions (Category 3)
Embodied emissions in your product (part of Category 4 for customer)

Only count the additional processing performed by third parties.

Other Indirect Emissions

Category 6 can also include any other indirect emissions not fitting elsewhere:

Examples of Other Category 6 Emissions

# Example: Emissions from company events hosted by third parties
event_emissions = {
    "emission_type": "other_indirect",
    "description": "Annual customer conference",
    "activity": "conference_event",
    "attendees": 500,
    "days": 2,
    "location": "Madrid, Spain",
    "year": 2024,
    "estimation_basis": "attendee_day_benchmark",
}

# Example: Emissions from cloud computing services
cloud_emissions = {
    "emission_type": "other_indirect",
    "description": "Cloud infrastructure emissions",
    "service_type": "cloud_computing",
    "annual_spend_eur": 100000,
    "provider": "Major Cloud Provider",
    "year": 2024,
    "estimation_method": "spend_based",
}

Document Your MethodologyFor Category 6 emissions, documentation is crucial:

Clearly state what’s included and excluded
Explain estimation methods and data sources
Note any assumptions made
Reference industry benchmarks used

Query Category 6 Emissions

Retrieve all your other indirect emissions for reporting:

# Get Category 6 emissions summary
response = requests.get(
    f"https://api.dcycle.io/api/v1/organizations/{os.getenv('DCYCLE_ORG_ID')}/emissions",
    headers=headers,
    params={
        "year": 2024,
        "category": "other_sources",  # ISO 14064-1 Category 6
    },
).json()

print(f"📊 Category 6: Indirect GHG Emissions from Other Sources (2024)")
print(f"")
print(f"   End-of-Life Treatment: {response['end_of_life']:,.0f} kg CO₂e")
print(f"   Processing of Sold Products: {response['processing']:,.0f} kg CO₂e")
print(f"   Other Indirect: {response['other']:,.0f} kg CO₂e")
print(f"   ─────────────────────────")
print(f"   TOTAL CATEGORY 6: {response['total']:,.0f} kg CO₂e")

Complete ISO 14064-1 Summary

After completing all categories, generate a complete summary:

# Get complete ISO 14064-1 emissions summary
response = requests.get(
    f"https://api.dcycle.io/api/v1/organizations/{os.getenv('DCYCLE_ORG_ID')}/emissions",
    headers=headers,
    params={
        "year": 2024,
        "standard": "iso14064",
    },
).json()

print(f"═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════")
print(f"           ISO 14064-1 GHG INVENTORY SUMMARY (2024)            ")
print(f"═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════")
print(f"")
print(f"   Category 1: Direct GHG emissions")
print(f"               {response['category_1']:>15,.0f} kg CO₂e")
print(f"")
print(f"   Category 2: Indirect from imported energy")
print(f"               {response['category_2']:>15,.0f} kg CO₂e")
print(f"")
print(f"   Category 3: Indirect from transportation")
print(f"               {response['category_3']:>15,.0f} kg CO₂e")
print(f"")
print(f"   Category 4: Indirect from products used")
print(f"               {response['category_4']:>15,.0f} kg CO₂e")
print(f"")
print(f"   Category 5: Indirect from use of products")
print(f"               {response['category_5']:>15,.0f} kg CO₂e")
print(f"")
print(f"   Category 6: Indirect from other sources")
print(f"               {response['category_6']:>15,.0f} kg CO₂e")
print(f"")
print(f"   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────")
print(f"   TOTAL GHG EMISSIONS    {response['total']:>15,.0f} kg CO₂e")
print(f"═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════")

Best Practices

ISO 14064-1 Category 6 Best Practices

Prioritize material impacts: Focus on products with significant end-of-life emissions
Use regional data: Apply disposal rates specific to sales regions
Consider product design: Track how design changes affect end-of-life emissions
Update assumptions: Refresh disposal scenario data periodically
Document clearly: Explain what’s included in “other sources”

ISO 14064-1 Reporting

With all categories complete, you can generate an ISO 14064-1 compliant report:

# Generate ISO 14064-1 compliant report
report_params = {
    "year": 2024,
    "standard": "iso14064-1",
    "format": "pdf",
    "include_methodology": True,
    "include_emission_factors": True,
}

report = requests.get(
    f"https://api.dcycle.io/api/v1/organizations/{os.getenv('DCYCLE_ORG_ID')}/reports/ghg-inventory",
    headers=headers,
    params=report_params,
)

with open("iso14064_inventory_2024.pdf", "wb") as f:
    f.write(report.content)

print(f"📄 ISO 14064-1 GHG Inventory Report generated")
print(f"   Ready for verification per ISO 14064-3")

Next Steps

ISO 14064 Tutorial

Return to the main ISO 14064 tutorial

GHG Protocol Guide

See how ISO 14064-1 maps to GHG Protocol

Custom Emission Factors

Configure organization-specific factors

API Reference

Explore all available API endpoints

Calculate Emissions

ISO 14064

GHG Protocol

Use Case Tutorials

Advanced

Automation & AI

Understanding Other Sources Emissions

Prerequisites

Data Map: Category 6 Requirements

End-of-Life Treatment of Sold Products

Step 1: Define Product End-of-Life Profile

Treatment Method Emission Factors

Packaging End-of-Life

Processing of Sold Products

Other Indirect Emissions

Examples of Other Category 6 Emissions

Query Category 6 Emissions

Complete ISO 14064-1 Summary

Best Practices

ISO 14064-1 Reporting

Next Steps

ISO 14064 Tutorial

GHG Protocol Guide

Custom Emission Factors

API Reference

Calculate Emissions

ISO 14064

GHG Protocol

Use Case Tutorials

Advanced

Automation & AI

​Understanding Other Sources Emissions

​Prerequisites

​Data Map: Category 6 Requirements

​End-of-Life Treatment of Sold Products

​Step 1: Define Product End-of-Life Profile

​Treatment Method Emission Factors

​Packaging End-of-Life

​Processing of Sold Products

​Other Indirect Emissions

​Examples of Other Category 6 Emissions

​Query Category 6 Emissions

​Complete ISO 14064-1 Summary

​Best Practices

​ISO 14064-1 Reporting

​Next Steps

ISO 14064 Tutorial

GHG Protocol Guide

Custom Emission Factors

API Reference

Understanding Other Sources Emissions

Prerequisites

Data Map: Category 6 Requirements

End-of-Life Treatment of Sold Products

Step 1: Define Product End-of-Life Profile

Treatment Method Emission Factors

Packaging End-of-Life

Processing of Sold Products

Other Indirect Emissions

Examples of Other Category 6 Emissions

Query Category 6 Emissions

Complete ISO 14064-1 Summary

Best Practices

ISO 14064-1 Reporting

Next Steps