ADEME (Agency for Ecological Transition)
ADEME is the French public agency for ecological transition. It manages Base Empreinte, France's public reference database of emission factors, used for corporate greenhouse gas inventories and product environmental labeling.
ADEME, the French Agency for Ecological Transition, supports the shift to a low-carbon, circular economy through research, funding, and public data. Its best-known carbon accounting resource is Base Empreinte, launched in 2023 by merging Base Carbone (organizational emission factors) and Base Impacts (product lifecycle data).
Base Empreinte is the official reference for France's regulatory greenhouse gas reporting. Under Article 75 of the Grenelle II law, companies with more than 500 employees, public organizations with more than 250 employees, and municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants must complete a Bilan GES using Base Carbone factors. The database is free to use and covers energy, transport, materials, waste, agriculture, and food.
ADEME also manages Agribalyse, a lifecycle database for food products, and supports the French environmental labeling program. Its data is widely used beyond France for product carbon footprints, especially in food and agriculture.
Carbon accounting platforms reference Base Empreinte factors for French operations and for product categories where ADEME has particularly strong coverage, such as food, transport, and waste.
Frequently asked questions
What is ADEME? +
ADEME is the French public agency for ecological transition. It provides tools, funding, and data to support the low-carbon transition, including Base Empreinte, France's public emission factor database.
What is Base Empreinte? +
Base Empreinte is ADEME's public database of emission factors, created by merging Base Carbone and Base Impacts. It is the official reference for French corporate GHG reporting and product environmental labeling.
Who must use ADEME's Base Carbone factors? +
French companies with more than 500 employees, public organizations with more than 250 employees, and municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants must complete a Bilan GES using Base Carbone factors under Article 75 of Grenelle II.
Related terms
Emission Factor
An emission factor is a coefficient that converts an activity measurement — such as litres of fuel burned, kilowatt-hours of electricity consumed, or dollars spent on a commodity — into a quantity of greenhouse gas emissions, typically expressed in kilograms or tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (tCO₂e).
Lifecycle Assessment (LCA)
A lifecycle assessment (LCA) is a systematic analysis of the environmental impacts of a product, process, or service across its entire lifecycle — from raw material extraction through production, use, and end-of-life. Governed by ISO 14040/14044, LCAs evaluate multiple impact categories including climate change, acidification, eutrophication, and resource depletion.
Product Carbon Footprint (PCF)
A product carbon footprint (PCF) quantifies the total greenhouse gas emissions associated with a product throughout its lifecycle — from raw material extraction (cradle) through manufacturing, distribution, use, and end-of-life disposal (grave). It is expressed in units of CO₂e per functional unit of the product.
Carbon Accounting
Carbon accounting is the systematic process of measuring, recording, and reporting the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by an organization, product, or activity. It follows standardized methodologies — most commonly the GHG Protocol — to quantify emissions across Scope 1 (direct), Scope 2 (purchased energy), and Scope 3 (value chain) categories, producing an auditable inventory that underpins disclosure, reduction planning, and regulatory compliance.
Scope 3 Emissions
Scope 3 emissions are all indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur in an organization's value chain — both upstream (suppliers, purchased goods, business travel, employee commuting) and downstream (product use, end-of-life treatment, investments). Scope 3 typically represents 70–90% of a company's total carbon footprint.