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Understanding Products Used Emissions

Category 4 under ISO 14064-1 covers indirect GHG emissions from products and services purchased or acquired by your organization. This includes the cradle-to-gate emissions embedded in everything your organization buys, the disposal of waste generated, and long-lived capital assets. 
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           CATEGORY 4: INDIRECT GHG EMISSIONS FROM PRODUCTS USED                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                                 │
│  ┌─────────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────────────┐  │
│  │ 4.1 CAPITAL GOODS   │  │ 4.2 WASTE DISPOSAL  │  │ 4.3 PURCHASED GOODS     │  │
│  │                     │  │                     │  │ & SERVICES              │  │
│  ├─────────────────────┤  ├─────────────────────┤  ├─────────────────────────┤  │
│  │ • Buildings         │  │ • Landfill          │  │ • Raw materials         │  │
│  │ • Machinery         │  │ • Incineration      │  │ • Components            │  │
│  │ • Equipment         │  │ • Recycling         │  │ • Office supplies       │  │
│  │ • Vehicles          │  │ • Composting        │  │ • Professional          │  │
│  │ • IT infrastructure │  │ • Transport         │  │   services              │  │
│  └─────────────────────┘  └─────────────────────┘  └─────────────────────────┘  │
│                                                                                 │
│           Cradle-to-gate emissions of all products used by your organization   │
│                                                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Category 4 Subcategories

ISO 14064-1 Category 4 is divided into three subcategories:

4.1 Capital Goods

Emissions from purchased capital assets with extended useful life: buildings, machinery, vehicles, IT infrastructure.

4.2 Waste Disposal

Emissions from disposal and treatment of solid and liquid waste generated at your facilities.

4.3 Purchased Goods

Emissions from purchased goods and services consumed within the reporting year.

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Key Differences Between Subcategories

Aspect4.1 Capital Goods4.2 Waste Disposal4.3 Purchased Goods
TypeCapital expenditure (CAPEX)Waste treatmentOperational expenditure (OPEX)
TimeframeMulti-year useful lifeGenerated during operationsConsumed within year
ExamplesBuildings, machinery, fleet vehiclesLandfill, recycling, compostingRaw materials, services, supplies
Dcycle API/purchases with expense_type: "capex"/facilities/{id}/wastes/purchases with expense_type: "opex"
AmortizationCan be spread over useful lifeNo amortizationFull in year of purchase
Why Category 4 MattersCategory 4 typically represents 40-80% of an organization’s total GHG emissions. For manufacturing companies, purchased goods and capital assets often dominate the carbon footprint. Accurate accounting of Category 4 is essential for:
  • Understanding your true environmental impact
  • Identifying emission reduction opportunities
  • Engaging suppliers on decarbonization
  • Meeting disclosure requirements (CDP, CSRD, etc.)

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Quick Start by Subcategory

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Category 4.1: Capital Goods

Track emissions from long-lived assets purchased by your organization: 
# Record a capital good (machinery)
capital_good_data = {
    "description": "CNC Machining Center - Model X500",
    "sector": "Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.",
    "product_name": "Machinery and equipment n.e.c.",
    "quantity": 500000,  # €500,000 acquisition cost
    "unit_id": eur_unit['id'],
    "country": "DE",
    "purchase_date": "2024-03-15",
    "expense_type": "capex",  # ⚠️ This makes it Category 4.1
    "purchase_type": "spend_based",
}

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.dcycle.io/api/v1/purchases",
    headers=headers,
    json=capital_good_data,
)
→ Full Capital Goods Guide

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Category 4.2: Waste Disposal

Track emissions from waste generated at your facilities: 
# Record waste disposal
waste_data = {
    "facility_id": facility_id,
    "ler_code": "150101",       # Paper and cardboard packaging
    "rd_code": "R03",           # Recycling
    "quantity": 500,            # 500 kg
    "start_date": "2024-01-01",
    "end_date": "2024-03-31",
    "description": "Office paper and cardboard waste - Q1 2024",
    "total_km_to_waste_center": 25,
}

response = requests.post(
    f"https://api.dcycle.io/api/v1/facilities/{facility_id}/wastes",
    headers=headers,
    json=waste_data
)
→ Full Waste Disposal Guide

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Category 4.3: Purchased Goods and Services

Track emissions from goods and services consumed within the year: 
# Record a purchase (spend-based)
purchase_data = {
    "description": "IT consulting services Q1 2024",
    "sector": "Computer programming, consultancy and related activities",
    "product_name": "Computer programming, consultancy and related services",
    "quantity": 15000,  # €15,000 spent
    "unit_id": eur_unit['id'],
    "country": "ES",
    "purchase_date": "2024-03-15",
    "expense_type": "opex",  # ⚠️ This makes it Category 4.3 (default)
    "purchase_type": "spend_based",
}

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.dcycle.io/api/v1/purchases",
    headers=headers,
    json=purchase_data,
)
→ Full Purchased Goods Guide

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Calculation Methods Overview

All Category 4 subcategories support multiple calculation methods: 
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                            DATA QUALITY HIERARCHY                                       │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                                        │
│  Level 1: Supplier-Specific Data ─────────────────────────────────── HIGHEST ACCURACY │
│  ├─ EPDs, Product Carbon Footprints, Supplier PCFs                                    │
│  ├─ Accuracy: ±5-15%                                                                  │
│  └─ Use: custom_emission_factor_id                                                    │
│                                                                                        │
│  Level 2: Activity-Based Data ─────────────────────────────────────── MEDIUM ACCURACY │
│  ├─ Product category + physical quantity (kg, m³, units)                              │
│  ├─ Accuracy: ±20-40%                                                                 │
│  └─ Use: quantity + unit_id + sector/product_name                                     │
│                                                                                        │
│  Level 3: Spend-Based Data ─────────────────────────────────────────── LOWER ACCURACY │
│  ├─ Only monetary value + category                                                    │
│  ├─ Accuracy: ±50-100%                                                                │
│  └─ Use: quantity (€) + unit_id (€) + sector/product_name                             │
│                                                                                        │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Emission Factor Sources

SubcategoryPrimary SourceSecondary Sources
4.1 Capital GoodsExiobase 3.8.2 (spend-based), Ecoinvent (activity-based)Manufacturer EPDs
4.2 Waste DisposalIPCC Guidelines for National GHG InventoriesNational waste databases
4.3 Purchased GoodsExiobase 3.8.2 (spend-based), Ecoinvent (activity-based)Supplier EPDs/PCFs

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Query Category 4 Emissions

Get a complete picture of your Category 4 emissions: 
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"),
}

# Query Category 4.1 (Capital Goods)
capital_goods = requests.get(
    "https://api.dcycle.io/api/v1/purchases",
    headers=headers,
    params={
        "expense_type": "capex",
        "start_date": "2024-01-01",
        "end_date": "2024-12-31",
    },
).json()

# Query Category 4.2 (Waste)
wastes = requests.get(
    f"https://api.dcycle.io/api/v1/facilities/{facility_id}/wastes",
    headers=headers,
    params={
        "start_date": "2024-01-01",
        "end_date": "2024-12-31",
    },
).json()

# Query Category 4.3 (Purchased Goods)
purchased_goods = requests.get(
    "https://api.dcycle.io/api/v1/purchases",
    headers=headers,
    params={
        "expense_type": "opex",
        "start_date": "2024-01-01",
        "end_date": "2024-12-31",
    },
).json()

# Calculate totals
cat41_total = sum(p['co2e'] for p in capital_goods.get('items', []))
cat42_total = sum(w.get('co2e', 0) for w in wastes.get('items', []))
cat43_total = sum(p['co2e'] for p in purchased_goods.get('items', []))
cat4_total = cat41_total + cat42_total + cat43_total

print(f"📊 ISO 14064-1 Category 4: Products Used (2024)")
print(f"")
print(f"   4.1 Capital Goods:    {cat41_total:>12,.0f} kg CO₂e ({cat41_total/cat4_total*100:.1f}%)")
print(f"   4.2 Waste Disposal:   {cat42_total:>12,.0f} kg CO₂e ({cat42_total/cat4_total*100:.1f}%)")
print(f"   4.3 Purchased Goods:  {cat43_total:>12,.0f} kg CO₂e ({cat43_total/cat4_total*100:.1f}%)")
print(f"   ─────────────────────────────────────────")
print(f"   TOTAL CATEGORY 4:     {cat4_total:>12,.0f} kg CO₂e")

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Best Practices

ISO 14064-1 Category 4 Best Practices
  1. Start with spend-based: Get comprehensive coverage quickly, then improve accuracy
  2. Identify hotspots: Focus on top 10-20 emission sources for data improvement
  3. Engage suppliers: Request EPDs/PCFs from key suppliers (top 20% by emissions)
  4. Track waste streams: Ensure all waste types are captured with treatment methods
  5. Use activity data: Provide physical quantities when available for better accuracy
  6. Review annually: Update emission factors and methodologies yearly

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Comparison with GHG Protocol

ISO 14064-1 Category 4 maps to several GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories:
ISO 14064-1GHG Protocol Scope 3
Category 4.1 (Capital Goods)Category 2 (Capital Goods)
Category 4.2 (Waste Disposal)Category 5 (Waste Generated in Operations)
Category 4.3 (Purchased Goods)Category 1 (Purchased Goods and Services)

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Next Steps

Category 5: Products Sold

Account for emissions from product use by customers

Category 3: Transportation

Track transportation and business travel emissions

Back to ISO 14064 Tutorial

Return to the main ISO 14064 tutorial

Custom Emission Factors

Create and manage supplier EPDs/PCFs