Appendix B

Boundary setting

Aligned with the GHG Protocol, BDO Canada uses the operational control approach, under which we accounted for 100% of the GHG emissions from operations over which we have control. Operational control is defined as situations and areas where BDO Canada has full authority to introduce and implement operating policies at the worksites. This approach is consistent with the current accounting and reporting practices of many companies that report on emissions from their facilities.

Our carbon footprint reporting period runs from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, which aligns with our financial reporting period. For 2024, we continued reporting our GHG emissions to align with the calendar year.

Principles of reporting

We follow best practice reporting principles for the calculations, as laid out by the WRI:

• Relevance
• Completeness
• Consistency
• Transparency
• Accuracy

BDO's GHG calculation is aligned with the methodology outlined in the GHG Protocol. The completion of our carbon footprint report for Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions involved applying reasonable assumptions where direct data was unavailable.

Global warming potential (GWP)

In line with best practices in organizational GHG accounting and WRI, we have included greenhouse gases (per Kyoto Protocol) where applicable and material. GWPs are factors describing the radiative impact of one unit of a specific greenhouse gas relative to one unit of carbon dioxide. These factors are used in GHG accounting to convert individual greenhouse gas emission totals to a single standardized unit useful for comparison–carbon dioxide equivalent.

BDO's 2024 GHG calculations were completed in accordance with 100-year time-horizon GWP values from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fifth Assessment Report (2014).

Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions

• BDO has natural gas Scope 1 emissions. There are no other substantive fuels (directly combusted) emitted by our worksites.
• We estimated refrigerants and other fugitive emissions to be negligible/immaterial and have therefore assumed zero emissions from these sources. 

Scope 2: Indirect GHG emissions

Our Scope 2 emissions include purchased electricity and steam. We made improvements in the data collection process and continue to employ extrapolation methods in our calculation for worksites with unavailable data.

• Worksites with unavailable data: For locations where 2024 consumption data was not available, but was available for the prior year, we used the corresponding consumption data from 2023 as a best estimate of 2024 consumption.
  For locations where 2024 consumption data was not available nor was there historical data available, we estimated the consumption by calculating a provincial-level average consumption per square foot, based on reported and imputed data from locations with available information and the square footage of those locations in each respective province. We then extrapolated to the locations with no consumption data using this average and the locations' respective square footage, enabling a comprehensive estimation of overall provincial consumption and hence ensuring coverage of all active locations.
• Provinces with unavailable emissions data: For provinces with worksites lacking reported emissions data, we used the conservative data factors from the highest province within Canada and multiplied these data factors by the total office area to estimate emissions.
• Since no renewable energy or Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) were purchased, there is no difference between our location-based and market-based Scope 2 emissions; therefore, both reporting methods result in the same emissions values.

Scope 3: Other indirect GHG emissions

Emissions breakdown of the Scope 3 categories that were determined to be most relevant and material to our business and most significant in terms of their respective emissions (in Mt CO₂ eq) include:

• Category 1: Purchased goods and services
• Category 2: Capital goods
• Category 3: Fuel and energy-related activities
• Category 4: Upstream transportation and distribution
• Category 5: Waste generated in operations¹
• Category 6: Business travel
• Category 7: Employee commuting and remote work
• Category 13: Downstream leased assets

For 2024, we used the spend-based method to estimate emissions associated with categories 1, 2, 3, and 5. To estimate emissions from the spend data, we used emission factors from the environmentally extended input-output (EEIO) method, sourced from the 2022 U.S. EPA Supply Chain Greenhouse Gas Emissions Factors v1.3 and adjusted them for appropriate foreign exchange and inflation rates (i.e., the consumer price index).

For the other applicable categories listed above, emissions were estimated using actual activity-based data, with extrapolations applied where necessary.

As we continue refining our data collection process and improving the quality of our data and estimates, we are aligning with the SBTi's re-baselining policy, which requires organizations to recalculate their base year emissions when significant changes occur, such as:

• Structural changes in the firm.
• Changes in the calculation methodology or improvements in the accuracy of emission factors and activity data that result in improved accuracy and have a significant impact on the base year estimates.
• Discovery of material errors.

As per the guidance, we will re-baseline if changes result in a 5% or greater impact on total base year emissions, ensuring our targets remain meaningful and consistent with our current operations.

Appendices

• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Appendix C
• Appendix D
• Appendix E
• Appendix F
• Appendix G
• Appendix H