Emissions to air/water/soil by pollutant (mass)

Unit

i
: Metric tonnes (t)

Indicator

i
: Pollutants released to environment

Metric type

i
: Pressure

Framework alignment notes

i
TNFD C2.0, C2.1 and C2.4. Emissions (mass) by pollutant split by sector/geographical area/type of source/site location. TNFD reports the use of [tonnes] related to soil pollutants. For RE/RS: Pollutants to report under the core global disclosure metric include: • Volume of pesticides used by toxicity hazard level (either extremely hazardous, highly hazardous, moderately hazardous, slightly hazardous, or unlikely to present an acute hazard) against baseline; • Chemical nitrogen fertilisers input by source (tonnes of nitrogen); • Mineral phosphorus fertilisers input by source (tonnes of phosphorus); and • Total manure and compost input.
ESRS E2-4 28a AR 21-22, ESRS E2-4 28a AR 21-22 Emissions to air/water/soil by pollutants
AWS 1.5.4 Water quality, including physical, chemical, and biological status, of the catchment shall be identified, and where possible, quantified. Where there is a water-related challenge that would be a threat to good water quality status for people or environment, an indication of annual, and where appropriate, seasonal, high and low variances shall be identified. AWS 1.3.4 Water quality of the site’s water source(s), provided waters, effluent and receiving water bodies shall be quantified. Where there is a water-related challenge that would be a threat to good water quality status for people or environment, an indication of annual, and where appropriate, seasonal, high and low variances shall be quantified AWS 1.3.5 Potential sources of pollution shall be identified and if applicable, mapped, including chemicals used or stored on site.
CDP Water Security W1.2k Provide details of your organization's emissions of nitrates, phosphates, pesticides, and other priority substances to water in the reporting year.
ISO 14046 - data describing water quality (including for water withdrawal, release and water receiving body) emissions to air, water and soil that impact water quality

Target example
i

[Company name] will reduce emissions of [pollutant type] release to [air/water/soil] in [target location(s)] by [target amount, absolute or percentage] by [target year], compared with a [baseline year] baseline.

Target source: WBCSD target template

Metric assessment

i

Relevance: High

Feasibility: High

Additional Metric Notes
i

ACT-D stage
Assess

Maturity stage
Developing

Metric Contribution to Action
Measuring emissions to air, water, and soil informs targeted actions that collectively advance the site and catchment towards best practice water stewardship, enabling continuous system-wide improvement.

Observations, Successes and Challenges

  • Some pollutants (e.g., CO₂, methane) are well-tracked, but others (e.g., microplastics, pharmaceutical by-products) may be overlooked.
  • Doesn't reflect impact or toxicity as for example, emitting 1 ton of CO₂ is not the same as 1 ton of mercury; reporting by mass alone ignores pollutant severity.
  • Data gaps in indirect emissions
  • Effective use of this metric depends on collaboration with stakeholders to ensure data veracity, contextual relevance, and collective progress towards risk reduction and impact mitigation.

Related actions

i

Avoid environmental harm

Avoid environmental harm

Description