E - Environmental (Carbon, Energy, Resources, Climate) 5 min read

What is Fugitive Emissions? Definition and Context

Credibility Check & Framework Comparison

To ensure absolute regulatory accuracy and reliability, we verify definitions across leading international frameworks before presenting our synthesized SME context.

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GHG Protocol

"Unintentional releases of greenhouse gases from sources like leaks, seals, joints, and evaporative processes in industrial operations."
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EFRAG / ESRS E1

"Specific Scope 1 emissions categories that companies must track, including refrigerant leaks and gas venting."
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EcoVadis

"Environmental indicators assessing a company's actions to monitor, reduce, and prevent leaks and fugitive emissions from industrial cooling or production."

ExecutESG Consolidated Definition

Fugitive Emissions

Fugitive emissions are unintended or accidental greenhouse gas releases occurring from pressurized containment, pipelines, seals, or cooling devices. In commercial buildings and offices, the primary source of fugitive emissions is refrigerant leaks from air conditioning and refrigeration systems.

Common Greenhouse Gases Involved:

  • Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used in refrigerants, which have a global warming potential (GWP) thousands of times higher than CO2.
  • Methane leaks from natural gas joints.

SME Relevance & B2B Inbound Action:

Under the GHG Protocol and VSME standards, refrigerant leakage must be calculated as Scope 1. Keep maintenance logs of your cooling systems and enter refrigerant recharge weights into ExecutESG to automate leak calculations.

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