Category 4: Products Used Emissions

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   │
│                                                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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.

Key Differences Between Subcategories

Aspect	4.1 Capital Goods	4.2 Waste Disposal	4.3 Purchased Goods
Type	Capital expenditure (CAPEX)	Waste treatment	Operational expenditure (OPEX)
Timeframe	Multi-year useful life	Generated during operations	Consumed within year
Examples	Buildings, machinery, fleet vehicles	Landfill, recycling, composting	Raw materials, services, supplies
Dcycle API	`/purchases` with `expense_type: "capex"`	`/facilities/{id}/wastes`	`/purchases` with `expense_type: "opex"`
Amortization	Can be spread over useful life	No amortization	Full 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.)

Quick Start by Subcategory

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/v1/purchases",
    headers=headers,
    json=capital_good_data,
)

→ Full Capital Goods Guide

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/v1/facilities/{facility_id}/wastes",
    headers=headers,
    json=waste_data
)

→ Full Waste Disposal Guide

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/v1/purchases",
    headers=headers,
    json=purchase_data,
)

→ Full Purchased Goods Guide

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                             │
│                                                                                        │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Emission Factor Sources

Subcategory	Primary Source	Secondary Sources
4.1 Capital Goods	Exiobase 3.8.2 (spend-based), Ecoinvent (activity-based)	Manufacturer EPDs
4.2 Waste Disposal	IPCC Guidelines for National GHG Inventories	National waste databases
4.3 Purchased Goods	Exiobase 3.8.2 (spend-based), Ecoinvent (activity-based)	Supplier EPDs/PCFs

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/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/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/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")

Best Practices

ISO 14064-1 Category 4 Best Practices

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

Comparison with GHG Protocol

ISO 14064-1 Category 4 maps to several GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories:

ISO 14064-1	GHG 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)

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

Calculate Emissions

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Category 4: Products Used Emissions

Understanding Products Used Emissions

Category 4 Subcategories

4.1 Capital Goods

4.2 Waste Disposal

4.3 Purchased Goods

Key Differences Between Subcategories

Quick Start by Subcategory

Category 4.1: Capital Goods

Category 4.2: Waste Disposal

Category 4.3: Purchased Goods and Services

Calculation Methods Overview

Emission Factor Sources

Query Category 4 Emissions

Best Practices

Comparison with GHG Protocol

Next Steps

Category 5: Products Sold

Category 3: Transportation

Back to ISO 14064 Tutorial

Custom Emission Factors

​Understanding Products Used Emissions

​Category 4 Subcategories

4.1 Capital Goods

4.2 Waste Disposal

4.3 Purchased Goods

​Key Differences Between Subcategories

​Quick Start by Subcategory

​Category 4.1: Capital Goods

​Category 4.2: Waste Disposal

​Category 4.3: Purchased Goods and Services

​Calculation Methods Overview

​Emission Factor Sources

​Query Category 4 Emissions

​Best Practices

​Comparison with GHG Protocol

​Next Steps

Category 5: Products Sold

Category 3: Transportation

Back to ISO 14064 Tutorial

Custom Emission Factors

Understanding Products Used Emissions

Category 4 Subcategories

Key Differences Between Subcategories

Quick Start by Subcategory

Category 4.1: Capital Goods

Category 4.2: Waste Disposal

Category 4.3: Purchased Goods and Services

Calculation Methods Overview

Emission Factor Sources

Query Category 4 Emissions

Best Practices

Comparison with GHG Protocol

Next Steps