Intensity ratios

Summary:

Ratios that express GHG impact per unit of physical activity or unit of economic value (e.g. tonnes of CO2 emissions per unit of electricity generated). Intensity ratios are the inverse of productivity/effi- ciency ratios.

Description:

Ratios that express GHG impact per unit of physical activity or unit of economic value (e.g. tonnes of CO2 emissions per unit of electricity generated). Intensity ratios are the inverse of productivity/effi- ciency ratios. (Chapter 9, 11)

Intensity ratios express GHG impact per unit of physical activity or unit of economic output. A physical intensity ratio is suitable when aggre- gating or comparing across businesses that have similar products. An economic intensity ratio is suitable when aggregating or comparing across businesses that produce different products. A declining intensity ratio reflects a positive performance improvement. Many companies historically tracked environmental perform- ance with intensity ratios. Intensity ratios are often called “normalized” environmental impact data. Examples of intensity ratios include product emission intensity (e.g., tonnes of CO2 emissions per electricity generated); service intensity (e.g., GHG emissions per function or per service); and sales intensity (e.g., emis- sions per sales).