Organisational boundaries

Before you measure emissions, you need to decide who and what is in scope. That decision is your organisational boundary – the line that says:

“This footprint covers these entities, sites, and operations.”

Getting this clear up front makes your numbers easier to explain, repeat, and compare.

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What is an organisational boundary?

An organisational boundary defines:

• Which entities are included (legal entities, business units, brands)
• Which sites are included (offices, warehouses, venues, facilities)
• Which operations you’re responsible for (owned, leased, operated)

This boundary sits above scopes:

• Organisational boundary – who and what you’re including
• Scopes 1, 2, 3 – how emissions are classified within that boundary

You choose the boundary once, then build your carbon footprint inside it.

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Approaches to organisational boundaries

Most standards (e.g. GHG Protocol) talk about two main approaches: For most Salvidia users, operational control is the right default. You can still note important joint ventures or investments in your methodology.

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What to include (in practice)

When defining your organisational boundary, think in three layers:

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1. Legal entities

List the entities you’re including, for example:

• Example Pty Ltd (Australia)
• Example NZ Limited (New Zealand)

You might:

• Start with just one core entity, or
• Include a cluster of related entities if they’re operated as one group.

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2. Sites and operations

Within those entities, list the major sites and operations:

• Offices, warehouses, factories
• Retail stores, venues, event spaces
• Data centres or key third-party facilities (if you effectively control the space)

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3. Special cases

Flag anything that needs a specific decision, such as:

• Joint ventures
• Franchised locations
• Long-term leased assets
• Shared facilities with complex landlord–tenant relationships

You can document how you treat these in your methodology.

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How Salvidia models organisational boundaries

In Salvidia:

• Each organisation assessment is linked to your workspace’s company profile.
• Inside that assessment, you can represent multiple entities and sites using:
  • Tags
  • Custom fields
  • Separate tables or breakdowns (depending on your setup)

A typical pattern:

• Set the assessment up as:
  Example Group – AU & NZ – FY2025 Organisation footprint
• Use tags or fields to distinguish:
  • Entity: AU vs Entity: NZ
  • Site: Sydney HQ, Site: Melbourne Warehouse, etc.

This lets you:

• Report one total footprint for the group, and
• Still slice results by entity or site if needed.

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Multi-entity groups and subsidiaries

If you operate multiple entities, you have a few options. There’s no one “right” answer — clarity and consistency matter more than the exact structure.

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Organisational vs operational boundaries

Two related decisions:

• Organisational boundary – which entities and sites are “yours”
• Operational boundary – which emissions and scopes you include for those entities

Operational boundary choices include:

• Whether to include all Scope 1 and 2 emissions
• Which Scope 3 categories are in or out for now
• How you treat things like employee commuting or home working

You can document your operational boundary alongside your organisational boundary so readers see the full picture. See Scopes 1, 2, and 3 explained for more.

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Example: simple organisational boundary

“This footprint covers Example Pty Ltd and all operations under its control in Australia for FY2025.
It includes owned and leased offices, warehouses, and company vehicles.”

• Organisational boundary: Example Pty Ltd (Australia)
• Operational boundary: All Scope 1 and 2, plus selected Scope 3 categories

In Salvidia, this would typically be:

• One organisation assessment:
  Example Pty Ltd – FY2025 Organisation footprint

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Example: group with AU and NZ entities

“This footprint covers Example Group operations in Australia and New Zealand for FY2025, including Example Pty Ltd and Example NZ Limited.”

You could:

• Use one group assessment with tags for AU and NZ, or
• Use two assessments (one AU, one NZ) and combine the results manually in your reporting.

Salvidia supports both patterns; just make sure the assessment name and methodology make the boundary obvious.

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How to document your boundary in Salvidia

When you create an organisation assessment, we recommend adding a short boundary statement in your internal notes or methodology section:

• Which entities and sites are included
• Which major pieces are excluded (if any)
• Which approach you used (operational control vs equity share)
• Any special treatment for joint ventures, franchises, or shared sites

This makes it much easier to:

• Reproduce the footprint next year
• Explain differences between years or between entities
• Answer questions from auditors, clients, or stakeholders

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Quick checklist

Before you start entering data, you should be able to answer:

• ✅ Which entities are included in this assessment?
• ✅ Which sites and operations are in scope?
• ✅ Are we using operational control or equity share as our boundary lens?
• ✅ How are we treating any joint ventures, franchises, or shared sites?
• ✅ Have we written this down somewhere that future-you (or your team) can find?

If you can tick these off, you’re ready to build a footprint that’s much easier to trust and explain.

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Where to go next

• Learn how scopes sit within your boundary in Scopes 1, 2, and 3 explained
• See how to balance perfection and practicality in Data quality tiers (if you’ve enabled it)
• Or jump into Create your first assessment and start putting this into practice.