Reporting

Every department of the Velocity Interoperability Network and every member organisation reports its emissions to the Climate Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network each quarter. The Department verifies the returns and publishes a consolidated report for the Network recording emissions by scope, source, site and organisation and the position against the reduction targets.

The arrangements below were published on 6 September 2026. The first return covers the period from the Department's establishment on 6 September to 30 September 2026 and is due by 21 October 2026. Reporting officers are to be named by 30 September 2026.

Reporting steps. The six steps below apply to every quarterly return.

1. 1

   Step 1: Name a reporting officer

   Each department and member organisation writes to the Department by 30 September 2026 naming the officer responsible for its returns and giving an email address at which the officer can be reached. The Department sends the return template and the 2026 conversion factors to the officer by return.

2. 2

   Step 2: Collect the activity data for the quarter

   The reporting officer gathers meter readings for electricity, gas and heat; fuel purchases; vehicle mileage by fuel type; business travel by mode and distance; freight tonne-kilometres; expenditure on purchased goods and services by category; and waste by disposal route. Measured data is used wherever it exists; estimates are identified as such.

3. 3

   Step 3: Convert the data to emissions

   Activity data is converted to tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent using the Department's conversion factors for the year. The return template performs the conversion; officers need only enter the activity data. Electricity bought under a zero-carbon supply contract is entered separately so that it is converted at the contract factor.

4. 4

   Step 4: Submit the return

   The completed return is sent to the Department by email by the twenty-first day after the end of the quarter. Returns received after that date are included in the following quarter's report and noted as late.

5. 5

   Step 5: Answer verification queries

   The Department checks each return against the previous quarter, against the baseline and against the returns of comparable organisations, and raises queries by email. Officers are asked to answer within ten working days. A return is accepted once all queries are closed.

6. 6

   Step 6: Publication

   The Department consolidates the accepted returns into the quarterly report for the Network, which records emissions by scope, source, site and department and the position against the targets. The report is published on this site and announced in the Newsroom.

Reporting calendar. Returns are due on the twenty-first day after the end of each quarter and the consolidated report is published within seven weeks of quarter end. The annual report revises the baseline once, to take account of late returns and corrections, and thereafter the baseline is fixed.

Common questions. The answers below deal with the questions most often raised by reporting officers during the transition period. Further guidance is issued to reporting officers by email as questions arise, and the answers below are extended accordingly.

The return template and the 2026 conversion factors are supplied to named reporting officers by email. Officers who have not received them, or who have a question not answered above, may write to contact@climate.gov.vin. For the inventory the returns feed into, see the Emissions Inventory; for general questions about the Department's work, see the frequently asked questions.