Category Title

General guidance Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

Version Guidebook 2016

Lead authors
Justin Goodwin, Tinus Pulles

Contributing authors (including to earlier versions of this chapter)

John van Ardenne, Lee Tooly, Kristin Rypdal

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

Contents
1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 3
2 The inventory process ..................................................................................... 5
2.1 Main objectives and tasks ....................................................................................................... 5
2.2 The process ............................................................................................................................. 6
2.3 Data flow ................................................................................................................................. 7
2.4 Timeliness ............................................................................................................................... 7

3 Institutional arrangements ............................................................................... 8

3.1 Formalising the inventory tasks and co-operation ................................................................... 8
3.2 Data delivery protocols ............................................................................................................ 9

4 The inventory quality framework ..................................................................... 9

4.1 General.................................................................................................................................... 9
4.2 What is QA/QC? .................................................................................................................... 10
4.3 QA/QC Plan ........................................................................................................................... 11
4.4 QC procedures ...................................................................................................................... 14
4.5 QA procedures ...................................................................................................................... 17
4.6 Inventory management report ............................................................................................... 18

5 Archiving, documentation and reporting ...................................................... 19

6 Inventory improvement .................................................................................. 21
6.1 Using the QA/QC systems results ......................................................................................... 21
6.2 Verification ............................................................................................................................. 21

7 Glossary .......................................................................................................... 23
8 References ...................................................................................................... 24
9 Point of enquiry .............................................................................................. 25
Appendix A Elements to include in a transparent inventory report .............. 26

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

1 Introduction
Maintaining good inventory management principles will ensure the efficient and timely delivery of high
quality inventory data. To do this an inventory management system needs to be established and should
include:

1. a clear inventory process so that key activities and resources can be focused towards delivery
deadlines and delivery quality;

2. institutional arrangements: clearly defined roles and responsibilities for delivering the inventory to
specified time and quality standards;

3. a quality framework to ensure that the data is fit for purpose.

An outline inventory management system is presented in Figure 1-1. This illustrates the importance of
establishing roles and responsibilities for the delivery of the inventory as well as a QA/QC framework that
ensures the quality of the inventory process and the inventory outputs.

This chapter provides guidance on how to ensure that this complicated process results in an inventory
submission that is fully compliant with the reporting requirements of the LRTAP Convention and its
protocols (ECE.EB.AIR/125).

Figure 1-1 Aspects of inventory management

Institutional Arrangements
• Responsiblities Report to Conventions, Manage Inventory Process, …
• Roles Inventory Compilers, Data Providers, Experts, Stakeholders, …
• Arrangements Laws, Contracts, MoUs, Job Descriptions

Data Quality Review

Reporting
Inventory Manager

Lessons learned &

Improvement Review
Data Inventory Compiler National
Providers
Consolidation Authority
Data

Data
Raw data Compilation Emissions Dissemination
Data

Data (1)
(2) Request
Request inventory
data
(3) (4) Prioritisation of
Deliver data Estimate Improvements
emissions
(5)
Draft reports
(6)
Report
Inventory Compilation

Data Collection

All of this is basically a management task. It is good practice to ensure that the overall process is managed
by an explicitly appointed ‘Inventory Manager’, which can either be an individual or a formally established
committee. The inventory manager is responsible for the inventory process: management of resources,
data acquisition, internal and external deadlines, and inventory-related external consultant contracts, etc.
The inventory manager and the inventory compiler have different functions, that may or may not be
performed by the same institute or individual.

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

The inventory management guidance is designed to achieve practicality, acceptability, cost-effectiveness,

incorporation of existing experience, and the potential for application on a world-wide basis. The inventory
management system contributes to the objectives of good practice in inventory development, namely to
improve transparency, consistency, comparability, completeness, and accuracy of national air pollutant
inventories.

The process presented in Figure 1-1 is very similar to the one set up under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Convention, where the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) Guidelines and IPCC Good Practice Guidance are to be followed (UNFCCC 2006). This
chapter therefore is largely based on the ‘Quality Assurance/Quality Control and Verification’ chapter of
the 2006 IPCC Guidelines (IPCC 2006). This Guidebook further elaborates the QA/QC and verification
approach as described in the IPCC 2006 Guidelines in that it more explicitly aims at inventory
improvement, using the annual inventory cycle. It is good practice that the compilation of an inventory for
the submission of year N builds explicitly on the experiences of earlier years’ submissions.

NOTE 1:
Since air pollutant inventories cover a wider range of pollutants as compared to greenhouse gas
inventories, managing the compilation of an air-pollutant emission inventory is more complicated. A
concept like ‘Global Warming Potential’, enabling prioritisation across greenhouse gases is not available
or even possible for the wide range of air pollutants.
NOTE 2:
Targets, set under the Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP) Convention and its protocols
and under the European Union National Emission Ceilings (EU NEC) Directive are expressed as absolute
levels of emissions for individual pollutants, rather than reduction percentages of an aggregated indicator.
Together with the fact that these targets are almost directly linked to effects as described by critical loads,
the concept of ‘inventory improvement’ has a slightly different meaning as compared with the greenhouse
gas emissions process. For this reason, this guidebook expands on the guidance as provided by IPCC
2006 Guidelines in further elaborating the inventory improvement process.

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

2 The inventory process

2.1 Main objectives and tasks
The main objective of the inventory process is to respond to the reporting obligation under the LRTAP
Convention and its protocols. Since this obligation follows from the signature and ratification of an
international agreement, the overall responsibility for this reporting lies with the national authorities.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Guidelines for reporting emissions and
projections data ECE/EB.AIR/125 (1) clearly define a deadline and a set of quality criteria. It is good
practice for the inventory to be transparent, consistent, comparable, complete and accurate.

Transparency ‘Transparency’ means that the data sources, assumptions and methodologies used
for an inventory should be clearly explained, in order to facilitate the replication and
assessment of the inventory by users of the reported information. The transparency
of inventories is fundamental to the success of the process for the communication
and consideration of the information. The use of the Nomenclature For Reporting
(NFR) tables and the preparation of a structured Informative Inventory Report (IIR)
contribute to the transparency of the information and facilitate national and
international reviews

‘Consistency’ means that an annual inventory should be internally consistent for all
Consistency the reported years for all elements across sectors, categories and pollutants. An
inventory is consistent if the same methodologies are used for all of the years of the
inventory and if consistent data sets are used to estimate emissions. For projections,
consistency also means that a year of the submitted inventory is used as a base
year.

Comparability ‘Comparability’ means that estimates of emissions reported by Parties in their

inventories should be comparable. For that purpose, Parties should use the
accepted methodologies as elaborated in the Reporting Guidelines and the NFR
formats for making estimations and reporting their inventories

Completeness ‘Completeness’ means that an annual inventory covers at least all sources, as well
as all pollutants, for which methodologies are provided in the latest EMEP/EEA air
pollutant emission inventory guidebook or for which supplementary methodologies
have been agreed to by the Executive Body. Completeness also means the full
geographical coverage of the sources of a Party. Where numerical information on
emissions under any source category is not provided, the appropriate notation key
defined in the Reporting Guidelines should be used when filling in the reporting
template and their absence should be documented

Accuracy ‘Accuracy’ means that emission estimates should be accurate in the sense that they
are systematically neither over nor under true emissions, as far as can be judged,
and that uncertainties are reduced as far as practicable. Appropriate methodologies

(1)The LRTAP Convention Reporting Guidelines and annexes are available online from the CEIP website
(www.ceip.at/)

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

should be used, in accordance with section V below, to promote accuracy in

inventories

2.2 The process

It is good practice that the inventory process is set up such that both the deadlines and the quality criteria
of the Reporting Guidelines are met. The full inventory process is schematically given in Figure 2-1. The
process comprises six distinctive steps, between three types of tasks:

 parties to the LRTAP Conventions, typically via their Ministry of Environment, have the final
responsibility within the country for complying with the obligations under the Convention and its
protocols as specified by the Reporting Guidelines (ECE/EB.AIR/2008/4);
 inventory compiler(s) and several institutions prepare the obligatory submissions following the
requirements of the reporting obligations under the Convention and protocols;
 data providers, such as the National Statistics Office, several ministries, facility operators, regulatory
authorities, and research institutes provide information to inventory compilers.

Figure 2-1 Schematic representation of the inventory process

Inventory Manager

Data Inventory Compiler National

Providers
Authority
Data

Data
Raw data Compilation Emissions Dissemination
Data

Data (1)
(2) Request
Request inventory
data
(3) (4)
Deliver data Estimate
emissions
(5)
Draft reports
(6)
Report

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

These six successive steps are:

Step 1) a national authority must respond to a reporting obligation and requests a draft emission
inventory and a draft inventory report. It is the responsibility of the inventory compiler to deliver
these drafts within a predefined budget in time and resources;

Step 2) to perform this task the inventory compiler will need data and requests these from the data
providers;

Step 3) the data providers deliver these data, serving as the raw data needed to estimate emissions,
to the inventory system,;

Step 4) during inventory compilation, the inventory compiler will use the raw data to estimate emissions;

Step 5) the inventory compiler prepares draft reporting formats and accompanying inventory reports
and delivers these to the national authority;

Step 6) the national authority endorses the draft inventory and report and submits these to the
Convention.

2.3 Data flow

The Convention and its protocols (2) require annual reporting. This means that the full cycle of the
inventory process as drawn up in Figure 2-1 is also an annual process and it is good practice to complete
this full cycle within one year. The Reporting Guidelines (ECE/EB.AIR/2008/4) require annual inventories
to be consistent over time.

Inventory compilation is a data-intensive process. These data include statistical data on activities in the
country:

 energy statistics

 industrial production statistics and data on installed production technologies

 agriculture statistics

 transport statistics

 demographic data and census and questionnaire results

 other.

Many of these data are collected within each country for other reasons than for compiling emission
inventories: they are needed for decision making in all policy fields and in many cases must be reported
to international organisations.

It is good practice to use statistical data, reported in other national and international reporting obligations,
also in the national inventory to ensure consistency amongst different national reports. The inventory
process therefore needs a strong and continuous flow of data from national statistical offices, ministries
and other institutes that collect such data for other reporting obligations and other national use.

2.4 Timeliness
An important issue in this dataflow can be to solve any deadline problems. In a number of source
categories it might very well happen that the statistical data are compiled using a time schedule that does
not lead to timely availability of the required data for the latest year in the inventory under preparation.

(2) And the NEC Directive for the EU Member States.

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

Since the deadlines in the Reporting Guidelines are fixed, either one of the two possible solutions must
be chosen:

 agree with the data provider to speed up the statistical data collection process, such that these data
will be available on time for the emission estimation;
 agree with the data provider to use preliminary data and how to obtain these for the latest year in the
inventory. This will often be the case for energy and other production statistics, that typically take
more time to collect and publish than is available within the deadlines of the inventory submission.

The first option will, in most cases, not be realistic, since statistical procedures within a country are
generally well established and complicated. Use of the second option, however, will possibly lead to the
updates of the activity data used, once the underlying statistics have been finalized. This does not need
to be a problem, since all emission reporting obligations allow for ‘recalculations’ of emissions.

3 Institutional arrangements
3.1 Formalising the inventory tasks and co-operation
In a typical emission inventory process many institutes and stakeholders are involved. The deadlines are
tight and complicated data flows are needed to meet the quality targets of the inventory. It is good practice
to set up a system of formal agreements between the institutions involved, describing who does what
when and what will happen if they do not.

Examples of such arrangements are:

 laws and other formal legislation, requesting (statistical) data to be delivered to the inventory
compilers before a specific date;
 contracts: a contract is a legally-binding exchange of promises or agreement between parties that
the law will enforce;
 memorandums of understanding (MoUs); an MoU is a legal document describing a bilateral or
multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties,
indicating an intended common line of action and may not imply a legal commitment. It is a more
formal alternative to a gentlemen's agreement, but in some cases, depending on the exact wording,
lacks the binding power of a contract;
 a gentlemen's agreement is an informal agreement between two or more parties. It may be written
or oral. The essence of a gentleman's agreement is that it relies upon the honour of the parties for its
fulfilment, rather than being in any way enforceable.

It is good practice to support the inventory compiler with this system of institutional arrangements in
meeting the quality and timing requirements of the reporting obligation. It should ensure that all data
needed are delivered on time.

NOTE:
It is good practice to identify a single, unambiguous organisation with this responsibility of a ‘national
authority’. A Party could choose to link this responsibility to the ‘national entity’ as defined within the
Kyoto Protocol reporting provisions.

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

The inventory compiler will ensure that the following four aspects are in place and well-functioning:

 a smooth and timely data flow from all data providers into the inventory compilation process
(subsections 2.3 and 2.4 of the present chapter) that should be based on the institutional
arrangements supporting the inventory process (Section 3 of the present chapter);
 an inventory quality framework, that ensures that the inventory is compiled meeting the quality criteria
and deadlines as defined in the Reporting Guidelines (Section 4 of the present chapter);
 a documentation and archiving system that ensures the transparency of the process and allows for
external review (Section 5 of the present chapter);
 an inventory improvement approach that uses the experiences from earlier inventories in improving
the current and future ones (Section 6 of the present chapter).

3.2 Data delivery protocols

To ensure the timely availability and consistency of all data needed it is good practice to establish some
form of formal arrangements between the inventory compiler and the respective data providers as part of
or annex to the institutional arrangements discussed above. It is good practice that such a formal
agreement (a ‘data delivery protocol’) clearly describes what data are needed when and in what format
these data will be delivered. It is good practice that each agreement includes:

 a contact person or (e-mail) address for both the specific data provider and the inventory compiler;

 an agreed data format (text file, spreadsheet or database file or any other format);

 the contents in this format in terms of attributes or fields;

 a deadline;

 a procedure to accommodate any findings from the QA/QC procedures.

 It is advisable to also include a brief description of what will happen if the data provider is not able to
deliver the data as agreed in the data protocol. In such cases the inventory compiler will have no
other choice than to approximate these data to develop at least a first preliminary estimate for the
source category.

4 The inventory quality framework

4.1 General
Compiling an inventory is an annual process. It is good practice to set up a management process involving
a management plan at the beginning of each cycle and an evaluation at the closure of the cycle, providing
proposals for improvements (Figure 4-1). The evaluation of completed cycle feeds into the management
plan of the next. Following the terminology of the IPCC 2006 Guidelines, this Guidebook will call the
management plan the ‘QA/QC plan’.

The QA/QC plan for the inventory establishes all procedural and technical issues to produce an inventory
that complies with the requirements of the Convention for a specific year N. The QA/QC plan directs
activities and attention to ensure the quality of the inventory while it is being compiled. It is essentially an
internal annual plan, but it is good practice to make this plan publicly available, for instance via a web site.

The inventory manager ensures that all institutes keep to the procedures and agreements as laid down in
the QA/QC plan.

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

It is good practice to close the inventory management cycle by the production of an ‘inventory
management report’ (see subsection 4.6 below). The inventory management report evaluates the
inventory process and provides proposals for updates of the QA/QC plan. Also, the inventory management
report is essentially an internal annual report, which could also be made publicly available together with
the QA/QC plan. When the country decides to combine the QA/QC plan (for year N) and the inventory
management report (for year N–1) in one document, both parts should be clearly separated in this
document.

Figure 4-1 Inventory management cycle

Reporting

Lessons learned &

Data Quality Review
Improvement Review

Inventory
Management report

Consolidation

QA/QC plan

Inventory Compilation Prioritisation of

Improvements

Data Collection

Although this Guidebook takes a broader scope as compared to the similar chapter in the IPCC
Guidelines, the guidance provided here and the vocabulary used are fully consistent with the IPCC 2006
Guidelines (IPCC 2006) and the IPCC Good Practice Guidance (IPCC 2000). The IPCC 2006 Guidelines
provide additional details especially in the area of QA and QC, which is not repeated in this chapter. The
reader is referred to the IPCC 2006 Guidelines chapter on ‘Quality Assurance/Quality Control and
Verification’ (IPCC (2006, Volume 1, chapter 6).

4.2 What is QA/QC?

An important goal of this inventory guidance is to support the development of national air pollutant
inventories that can be readily assessed in terms of quality. It is good practice to implement quality
assurance/quality control (QA/QC) and verification procedures as an integral part in the inventory
management approach to accomplish this goal.

The terms ‘quality control’, ‘quality assurance’, and ‘verification’ are often used in different ways. The
following definitions of QC, QA, and verification will be used for the purposes of this guidance (3).

(3) These definitions are copied from the IPCC 2006 Guidelines.

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

Quality Assurance (QA) is a planned system of review procedures conducted by personnel not
directly involved in the inventory compilation/development process. Reviews,
preferably by independent third parties, are performed upon a completed
inventory following the implementation of QC procedures. Reviews verify that
measurable objectives (data quality objectives, see subsection 4.3 of the
present chapter) were met, ensure that the inventory represents the best
possible estimates of emissions given the current state of scientific knowledge
and data availability, and support the effectiveness of the QC programme.

Quality Control (QC) is a system of routine technical activities to assess and maintain the quality
of the inventory as it is being compiled. It is performed by personnel compiling
the inventory. The QC system is designed to:

 provide routine and consistent checks to ensure data integrity, correctness,

and completeness;

 identify and address errors and omissions;

 document and archive inventory material and record all QC activities.

QC activities include general methods such as accuracy checks on data

acquisition and calculations, and the use of approved standardised procedures
for emission and removal calculations, measurements, estimating uncertainties,
archiving information and reporting. QC activities also include technical reviews
of categories, activity data, emission factors, other estimation parameters, and
methods.

Verification refers to the collection of activities and procedures conducted during the
planning and development, or after completion of an inventory that can help to
establish its reliability for the intended applications of the inventory. For the
purposes of this guidance, verification refers specifically to those methods that
are external to the inventory and apply independent data, including comparisons
with inventory estimates made by other bodies or through alternative methods.
Verification activities may be constituents of both QA and QC, depending on the
methods used and the stage at which independent information is used.

The reader is referred to the IPCC 2006 Guidelines chapter on ‘Quality Assurance/Quality Control and
Verification’ (IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 1, chapter 6) for further information on techniques that could
in general be applied for QA/QC of emission inventories.

From the definition above of ‘verification’ if follows that this activity is external to the inventory. It is best
seen as part of the inventory improvement program (Section 6 of the present chapter).

4.3 QA/QC Plan

A QA/QC plan is an internal document to organise and implement all activities across all of the emissions
inventory activities including:

 stakeholder engagement (stakeholders = e.g. suppliers of data, reviewers, recipients, other inventory
compiling institutes)

 data collection

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

 data manipulation

 inventory compilation

 consolidating the inventory estimates (e.g. into a single national database)

 reporting.

The QA/QC plan (illustrated in Figure 4-2) is a fundamental element of an inventory management system.
The plan needs to clearly identify all important activities used by the inventory compiler and ensure that
the minimum data quality objectives required under any relevant reporting obligations are met. Figure 4-2
shows the different QA/QC checks against a typical time scale aimed at submitting an official inventory
by mid-February of each year.

Figure 4-2 QA/QC plan process

QA activities
Assurance

e.g. Peer Review: Aviation Other Peer Review: ……

Quality

-peer reviews
-review of emission factors & methods e.g. Peer Review: Agriculture

Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept
Core Activity

Data collection Informative

Database

Output (NFR)

Archiving
entry

Inventory Report
Preparation
Emission
Calculation

-check tables and -database files

-unique reference
numbers
-Time series -spreadsheet
-check data input -Second person check files
-pollutant expert
check -source data
Quality Control

-Full referencing of -check database NFR

-Global check -manuals
input data output
-Explain large -report
-check units, time -NFR totals
changes
series consistency
-Database fuel -check for large changes
-second person check from previous year Key
totals-vs-National
-document on QA/QC statistics Documentation
page
-mass balance Checking
-online manual checks
External Check

The elements of inventory data quality objectives are identified in subsection 2.1 above. These elements
set the scope of a system that will ensure that the required level of quality is established in the inventory
system.

A key element of a QA/QC plan is a list of data quality objectives, against which an inventory can be
measured in a review. Data quality objectives are concrete targets to be achieved in the inventory
preparation and relate to the specific requirements of the reporting obligation or other national commitment
to provide emissions inventory data.

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

Table 1 Data quality objectives

below outlines the core elements of the data quality objectives.

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

Table 1 Data quality objectives

Element Data quality objectives (general)

Transparency  Ensuring sufficient documentation and referencing to be able to trace any inventory estimates
back through the calculations to the source data, data providers and assumptions.
 Maintaining a national inventory report that describes methods, data sources and significant
trends, completeness, accuracy and uncertainty, and changes to the inventory, and
appropriate source sector breakdown are used for reporting.(See Annex 1); this report could
serve as the ‘Informative Inventory Report’ or IIR mentioned in the Reporting Guidelines.
 Addressing recommendations related to transparency provided by the inventory reviewers in
the following inventory submission.
 Maintaining full documentation on quality checks, checklists and electronic checking routines
used during QC procedures.

Consistency  Ensuring that methods are consistent with good practice as defined in this guidebook and
that source data and assumptions are used consistently across the time series and pollutants
in the inventory.
 Eliminating any inconsistencies between the estimates reported under different instruments.
 Ensuring consistency with independent inventory, statistical or measurement data.

Comparability  Using agreed good practice methodologies and formats for estimating and reporting
emissions.
 Allocating emissions and reductions to source categories in accordance with the split given
by the in Reporting Guidelines.
 Implementing cross comparisons with other country inventories (indicator assessments and
Implied Emission Factor comparisons.)

Completeness  Addressing recommendations related to completeness provided by independent inventory

reviews in the following inventory submission.
 Providing all NFR tables including notation keys where appropriate and complete sectoral
background data.
 Providing information in the inventory documentation on the completeness and changes in
completeness of the emissions inventory.

Accuracy  Using of appropriate or better tiered methodology that is consistent with the guidebook and
other guidelines.
 Ensuring that quantitative uncertainty estimates are compiled and reported.
 Ensuring that Tier 2 or higher tier methods are used for estimating emissions from key
categories as far as is feasible.

The QA/QC plan will need to specify the target objectives against each of these elements and contain all
QA/QC and verification actions that will be implemented along with identification of the institutional
arrangements and responsibilities for implementing those activities.

It is good practice that the plan includes a scheduled time frame for the QA/QC activities that follows
inventory preparation from its initial development through to final reporting in any year.

Once developed, the QA/QC plan can be referenced and used in subsequent inventory preparation, or
modified as appropriate (notably, when changes in processes occur or on advice of independent
reviewers).

In developing and implementing the QA/QC plan, it may be useful to refer to relevant standards and
guidelines published by outside groups involved in inventory development. For example, the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) introduced specifications for quantification, monitoring, and
reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals (ISO 14064) in organisations. It is good practice to

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

define any specific details of a QA/QC and verification system in the QA/QC plan so that national
circumstances can be taken into account.

As part of the QA/QC plan, it is good practice to accommodate procedural changes and a feedback of
experience aimed at improving the quality of the inventory. Conclusions from previous reviews need to be
used to improve the procedures. Such changes can also concern data quality objectives and the QA/QC
plan itself. The annual review and revision of the QA/QC plan, as part of the annual inventory management
report (subsection 4.6), is an important element to drive the continued inventory improvement.

4.4 QC procedures
In general, QC procedures include generic quality checks related to calculations, data processing,
completeness, and documentation that are applicable to all inventory source categories. This section lists
the QC checks a compiler should use routinely throughout the preparation of the inventory. It is good
practice that these checks are applied irrespective of the type of data used to develop the inventory
estimates. They are equally applicable to categories where default values or national data are used as
the basis for the estimates. It is good practice to document the results of these QC activities and
procedures as set out in Section 5 of the present chapter.

Figure 4-3 QC checks during the inventory process

It is good practice to discriminate between input data, the conversion algorithm of a calculation and the
output. Not only does the output need to be recorded, but also the input, the conversion algorithm, and
how this algorithm accesses the input. Such an approach allows for intrinsic documentation of the work,
and for easy understanding of the calculation procedure. It is good practice to retain the documentation
with the material archived in support of the completed inventory.

The QC checks therefore cover three areas:

 choosing data: what information and data is used to compile the inventory? Selection and import of
data from data providers into a raw data set;

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

 using data: how is this information used to estimate the emissions? Compilation of the emissions
inventory: conversions and calculations using the raw data to build the emissions database;
 reporting emissions: how are the emissions data included in the inventory formats and reports? Have
any errors or mistakes made during this process?

It is a prerequisite that all calculations leading to emission estimates should be fully reproducible.
Adequate documentation and archiving of the inventory compilation process is therefore crucial. Guidance
on this is given in Section 5 below.

Obviously, it is good practice that any errors found during the QC checks are repaired.

4.4.1 Collecting input data

Emission estimate prepared by inventory compiler

In a typical emission inventorying process the inventory compiler searches for data on both activity rates,
emission factors and other parameters for certain source categories and uses these in estimating the
emissions. Quality controlling the input data collection process aims at ensuring that the data used in the
inventory compilation are traceable and appropriate. It is good practice to perform the following QC
checks:

 where do input data come from?

o check whether the input data for the emission calculations are properly referenced,

o check the availability of the referenced material,

o confirm that bibliographical data references are properly cited;

 what input data are used?

o check that assumptions and criteria for the selection of activity data, emission factors, and other
estimation parameters are documented,
o cross-check descriptions of input activity data, emission factors and other estimation parameters
with information on categories and ensure that these are properly interpreted and used,
o check that parameters and units are correctly recorded and that appropriate conversion factors
are used,

o check that units are properly labelled in calculation sheets,

o check for consistency in data between categories:

 identify parameters (e.g., activity data, constants) that are common to multiple categories, and
 confirm that there is consistency in the values used for these parameters in the emission
calculations,

o Check time series consistency:

 identify temporal inconsistency in time series input data for each category,

 take into account the effects of mitigation.

Emission estimates prepared by other institutions

In some cases, estimates are prepared for the inventory compiler by outside consultants or agencies. In
such cases the inventory compiler uses these emission estimates as inputs for the inventory. The
inventory compiler should:

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

 ensure that the consultants/agencies are aware of the QC procedures listed in this chapter and that
these procedures are performed and recorded;

 confirm that national statistical agencies have implemented equivalent QC procedures.

NOTE:
In cases where the inventory relies upon official national statistics — as is often the case for activity
data — QC procedures may already have been implemented on these national data. However, it is good
practice for the inventory compiler to check that this is indeed the case.

Because activity data may have been collected for other purposes using standards and data quality
objectives different from the inventory, additional QC checks may be necessary.

Confidential data

The Reporting Guidelines allow for not reporting specific information, subject to its laws governing the
confidentiality of commercial information, where such information could lead to the disclosure of
confidential information. Where confidential information is used in an inventory, it is good practice to make
reference to the provision that authorizes such practice. Note that this confidentiality is referring to the
publication of the information only and not necessarily to the inventory compiler having access to it.

It is good practice that the inventory compiler checks the quality of confidential data either through direct
access to the underlying information or by ensuring that these data have been independently audited and
approved, as shown by an official audit report.

When direct access is not possible or an independent audit report is not available, it is good practice for
the inventory compiler to consider not using these data.

4.4.2 Conversions and calculations

The objectives described above for quality controlling input data are similarly applicable to all calculation
procedures used to prepare a national inventory. Checks of the calculation algorithm should safeguard
against duplication of inputs, unit conversion errors, or similar calculation errors:

 check whether all source categories occurring in the country are covered and if specific source
categories that do not occur are marked with the appropriate notation key (NO or not occurring);

 check for any double counting or duplicate input;

 check the use of units and all unit conversions needed;

 check consistency of activity data used across pollutants within each source category.

NOTES:
Energy statistics are in many cases available in (equivalent) mass units (tons of oil equivalents) or volume
units (m3), whereas emission factors will be available on an energy basis (kg/TJ or similar). In these cases
unit conversions are needed.
Emissions from mobile sources might be calculated on the basis of fuel use or kilometres driven or even
both. It is good practice to check whether the mileage data are consistent with fuel statistics.

Check that emissions are calculated correctly:

 reproduce a sample of emissions calculations;

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

 use a simple approximation method that gives similar results to the original and more complex
calculation to ensure that there is no data input error or calculation error.

Check time series consistency:

 check for consistency in the algorithm/method used for calculations throughout the time series;

 check methodological and data changes resulting in recalculations.

4.4.3 Checking the output

When the emission calculations are completed, good practice requires executing a number of arithmetical
checks.

Identify major methodological errors

Such checks can be independent ‘back-of-the-envelope’ calculations, which simplify the algorithms to
arrive at an approximate method. If the original calculation and the simple approximate method disagree,
it is good practice to examine both approaches to find the reason for discrepancy. Whenever a higher Tier
method is applied, a ‘quick and dirty’ re-estimate using the Tier 1 method could serve as such a test,
especially when the uncertainty information on both the Tier 1 emission factors and on the method applied
is available.

The opposite, using a higher Tier to check a Tier 1 estimate is not very probable. If a higher Tier estimate
is available, it is good practice to report the emissions, using the higher Tier.

Check time series consistency

If earlier inventories have been reported, it is good practice to compare the estimates of the latest inventory
with these earlier versions. It is good practice to check any unexpected change in emission levels and, if
it is real, explain it. Any unexplained change in emissions might reveal errors or mistakes, both in the
current or in earlier inventories. If these errors or mistakes occur in the estimates for earlier years in the
inventory, it is good practice to perform a recalculation.

Check comparability

One of the quality criteria of the Reporting Guidelines is comparability between parties to the Convention.
A comparison of the inventory with published inventories of other countries might be helpful in checking
the validity on the inventory. Obviously it is good practice to take into account differences between the
countries in such comparisons. Possible quick and illustrative comparisons might be:

 compare emissions per capita;

 compare emissions per value added;

 compare emissions by fuel type and fuel consumption.

A number of international data sets for population, economic indicators and energy consumption are
available, for instance from the International Energy Agency (IEA), Eurostat and the UN Statistics Division.

Obviously, it is good practice to repair any errors found during these QC checks.

4.5 QA procedures
Quality assurance comprises activities outside the actual inventory compilation. Good practice for QA
procedures includes reviews and audits to assess the quality of the inventory, to determine the conformity
of the procedures taken and to identify areas where improvements could be made. QA procedures may

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

be taken at different levels (internal/external), and they are used in addition to the QC procedures. The
inventory may be reviewed as a whole or in parts. The objective of QA implementation is to involve
reviewers who can conduct an unbiased review of the inventory and who may have a different technical
perspective. It is important to use QA reviewers who have not been involved in preparing the inventory.
Preferably these reviewers would be independent experts from other agencies or national or international
experts or groups not closely connected with the national inventory compilation, e.g. inventory experts of
other countries.

It is good practice for inventory compilers to conduct a basic expert peer review of all categories before
or as part of the endorsement by the national authority. This review will identify potential problems and
make corrections where possible. It is good practice to give priority to key categories as well as to
categories where significant changes in methods or data have been made. In smaller countries, where
there may not be external expertise in all technical areas, it is good practice for the inventory compiler to
consider contacting inventory compilers from other countries as part of an external review.

More specific information on QA procedures related to individual categories is provided in the category-
specific QA/QC sections in Part B of this Guidebook.

4.5.1 Expert review

Expert peer review consists of a review of calculations and assumptions by experts in relevant technical
fields. This procedure is generally accomplished by reviewing the documentation associated with the
methods and results, but usually does not include rigorous certification of data or references such as might
be undertaken in an audit. The objective of the expert peer review is to ensure that the inventory’s results,
assumptions and methods are reasonable as judged by those knowledgeable in the specific field. Also,
where a country has formal stakeholder and public review mechanisms in place, these reviews can
supplement expert peer reviews, although they should not replace them.

There are no standard tools or mechanisms for expert peer review of emission inventories, and its use
should be considered on a case-by-case basis. If there is a high level of uncertainty associated with an
estimate for a category, expert peer review may provide information to improve the estimate, or at least
to better quantify the uncertainty. Effective peer reviews often involve identifying and contacting key
independent organisations or research institutions to identify the most appropriate individuals to conduct
the review. It is preferable for this expert input to be sought early in the inventory development process
so that the experts can provide review of methods and data acquisition that could affect final calculations.

The results of expert peer review, and the response of the inventory compiler to those findings, may be
important to general acceptance of the final inventory. It is good practice that all expert peer reviews are
well documented, preferably in a report or checklist format that shows the findings and recommendations
for improvement.

4.6 Inventory management report

At the end of the annual inventory process a brief internal management report may list all issues
encountered during data flow, inventory compilation and reporting phases of the process. It is good
practice that the report describes the lessons learned during the now almost finalized inventory cycle and
provide proposals for improvements in the next and subsequent cycles. The annual review and revision
of the QA/QC plan, as part of the annual inventory management report, is an important element to drive
the continued inventory improvement.

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

The inventory management report is as essential for the inventory improvement as is the QA/QC plan
(subsection 4.4 of the present chapter). It is good practice that the management report refers back to the
current QA/QC plan, its implementation schedule, and discusses the responsibilities for its
implementation.

In this summary, it is good practice that the inventory compiler focuses on the following activities:

 data and data flows:

o any changes in the institutional arrangements governing the data flow from the data providers to
the inventory compiler,
o explain significant trends in the time series, particularly where trend checks point to substantial
divergences. It is good practice to include any effect of recalculations or mitigation strategies in
this discussion;

 quality assurance and quality control:

o describe which activities were performed internally, and

o what external reviews were conducted for each source/sink category and on the entire inventory?

Records of QA/QC procedures provide especially important information to enable continuous

improvement to inventory estimates (see subsection 4.6). It is good practice for records of
QA/QC activities to include the checks/audits/reviews that were performed, when they were
performed, who performed them, and corrections and modifications to the inventory resulting
from the QA/QC activity. An example checklist to use for recording QC activities at both the
general- and category-level is provided in Annex 6A.1 of Chapter 6 of the IPCC 2006 Guidelines;

 inventory improvement:
o present the key findings, describing major issues regarding quality of input data, methods,
processing, or estimates for each category, and

o show how they were addressed or plan to be addressed in the future.

It is good practice to report a summary of all management issues, including the implemented QA/QC
activities and key findings as a supplement to each country’s annual national inventory.

5 Archiving, documentation and

reporting
Figure 5-1 illustrates the documentation activities throughout the inventory process.

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

Figure 5-1 Documentation activities during the inventory process

It is good practice to document and archive all information relating to the planning, preparation, and
management of inventory activities. This includes:

 institutional:
o responsibilities, institutional arrangements, and procedures for the planning, preparation, and
management of the inventory process (see Section 3 of the present chapter),

o names and co-ordinates of responsible individuals within the co-operating institutions,

o identification of individuals providing expert judgement for emission factors and/or uncertainty
estimates and their qualifications to do so;

 methodological:

o methods used, including those used to estimate uncertainty and those used for recalculations,

o rationale for choice of methods,

o assumptions and criteria for the selection of activity data and emission factors,

o changes in data inputs or methods from previous inventories (recalculations);

 data:

o emission factors and other estimation parameters used, including references to either
 the table in this Guidebook where a default Tier 1 or Tier 2 emission factor is used, or
 published papers or other documentation for other emission factors used in higher tier
methods,
o activity data or sufficient information to enable activity data to be traced to the referenced source,

o information on the uncertainty associated with activity data and emission factors;

 technical:

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

o details of electronic databases or software used in the production of the inventory, including
versions, operating manuals, hardware requirements and any other information required to
enable their later use,
o worksheets and interim calculations for category estimates, and aggregated estimates and any
re-calculations of previous estimates,
o secure archiving of complete datasets, to include shared databases that are used in inventory
development. This is particularly important for categories that rely on the multi-step development
of emissions from a large set of primary data from outside sources;

 quality assurance and quality control:

o QA/QC plans,

o records of QA/QC procedures;

 final inventory report and any analysis of trends from previous years.

It is good practice for inventory compilers to maintain this documentation for every inventory produced
and to provide it for review. It is good practice to maintain and archive this documentation in such a way
that every inventory estimate can be fully documented and reproduced if necessary.

6 Inventory improvement
6.1 Using the QA/QC systems results
It is good practice to manage the improvement process through the QA/QC systems by keeping record of
identified and completed improvements and the impact on the inventory estimates.

Annual improvement reviews should determine the priorities for improvement of the inventory. These
reviews should consider the outcomes of the following activities:

 QA/QC and verification that may result in a reassessment of inventory or category uncertainty
estimates (Chapter 5, Uncertainties in the General Guidance part of this Guidebook) and to
subsequent improvements in the estimates of emissions. For example, the results of the QA/QC
process may point to particular variables within the estimation methodology for a certain category
that should be the focus of improvement efforts;
 an uncertainty analysis as described in Chapter 5, Uncertainties, in the General Guidance part of this
Guidebook identifies the major sources of uncertainties in the inventory.

Any improvements must be appropriately addressed in the inventory including application to the full-time
series and checking that the improvement has actually improved the inventory and is repeatable (e.g. data
for future years will be available).

6.2 Verification
For the purposes of this guidance, verification activities include comparisons with emission or removal
estimates prepared by other bodies and comparisons with estimates derived from fully independent
assessments, e.g. atmospheric concentration measurements. Verification activities provide information
for countries to improve their inventories and are part of the overall QA/QC and verification system.
Correspondence between the national inventory and independent estimates increases the confidence and
reliability of the inventory estimates by confirming the results. Significant differences may indicate
weaknesses in either or both of the datasets. Without knowing which dataset is better, it may be worthwhile

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

to re-evaluate the inventory. This section describes approaches that can be used to verify inventory
estimates at both the source/sink category and inventory wide levels.

The considerations for selecting verification approaches include scale of interest, costs, desired level of
accuracy and precision, complexity of design and implementation of the verification approaches,
availability of data, and the required level of expertise needed for implementation.

An ideal condition for verification is the use of fully independent data as a basis for comparison.
Measurements of atmospheric concentrations potentially provide such datasets, and methods of ‘inverse
modelling’ allow using such data as a basis for emission inventory verification. The approach is particularly
valuable as it is independent of standard estimation method drivers, such as sector activity data and
implied emission factors. The scale of such models can be designed around local, regional, or global
boundaries and can provide information on either level or trends in emissions. A recent report by Van
Velthoven et al. (2004) provides an overview of methods and aspects that are available in this respect.
Further discussion and elaboration on application of these techniques in green house gas emissions can
be found in more comprehensive summaries on the use of these methods for inventory verification (Rypdal
et al., 2005; Bergamaschi et al., 2004; Benkovitz, 2001; Benjey and Middleton, 2002).

Where verification techniques are used, it is good practice to reflect their results in the management report
(see subsection 4.6 above) and incorporate recommendations for inventory improvement into the QA/QC
plan. The limitations and uncertainties associated with the verification technique itself should be
thoroughly investigated so that the results can be properly interpreted.

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

7 Glossary
Data provider An institution or individual that holds data needed for the inventory preparation

Inventory report A report describing the methods and assumptions used in the inventory

Inventory system The ensemble of institutions and institutional arrangements set up to meet the
requirements of the reporting obligation under the Convention

Management report An internal report to the Inventory system, describing and evaluating the latest inventory
compilation process; the report should propose improvements in the system, in the data
flows and in the data

National authority The national authority responsible for compliance with the reporting obligation under
the Convention and its Protocols

QA/QC plan A systematic write-up of the procedures and review processes for the upcoming
inventory submission. The QA/QC plan explicitly addresses the inventory improvement
activities in the upcoming compilation process

Quality assurance (QA) is a planned system of review procedures conducted by personnel not directly
involved in the inventory compilation/development process. Reviews, preferably by
independent third parties, are performed upon a completed inventory following the
implementation of QC procedures. Reviews verify that measurable objectives (data
quality objectives) were met, ensure that the inventory represents the best possible
estimates of emissions and removals given the current state of scientific knowledge
and data availability, and support the effectiveness of the QC programme

Quality control (QC) is a system of routine technical activities to assess and maintain the quality of the
inventory as it is being compiled. It is performed by personnel compiling the inventory.
The QC system is designed to:
 provide routine and consistent checks to ensure data integrity, correctness, and
completeness;
 identify and address errors and omissions;
 document and archive inventory material and record all QC activities.
QC activities include general methods such as accuracy checks on data acquisition and
calculations, and the use of approved standardised procedures for emission and
removal calculations, measurements, estimating uncertainties, archiving information
and reporting. QC activities also include technical reviews of categories, activity data,
emission factors, other estimation parameters, and methods

Recalculation A recalculation of an earlier inventory, following improved data or improved methods;

recalculation of earlier inventory years is essential to ensure time series consistency
when improved methods and data are used in the latest inventory year

Reporting guidelines Reporting Guidelines (Guidelines for reporting emission data under the Convention on
Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, ECE/EB.AIR/2008/4

Validation Is the establishment of sound approach and foundation. In the context of emission
inventories, validation involves checking to ensure that the inventory has been compiled
correctly in line with reporting instructions and guidelines. It checks the internal
consistency of the inventory. The legal use of validation is to give an official confirmation
or approval of an act or product

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

Verification Refers to the collection of activities and procedures conducted during the planning and
development, or after completion of an inventory that can help to establish its reliability
for the intended applications of the inventory. For the purposes of this guidance,
verification refers specifically to those methods that are external to the inventory and
apply independent data, including comparisons with inventory estimates made by other
bodies or through alternative methods. Verification activities may be constituents of
both QA and QC, depending on the methods used and the stage at which independent
information is used

8 References
Benjey, W. and Middleton, P. (2002), ‘The Climate-Air Quality Scale Continuum and the Global Emission
Inventory Activity’, presented at the EPA Emissions Conference, 15–18.4.2002.

Benkovitz C. (2001), ‘Compilation of Regional to Global Inventories of Anthropogenic Emissions’,

submitted for publication in ‘Emissions of Chemical Species and Aerosols into the Atmosphere’,
Precursors of Ozone and their Effects in the Troposphere (POET), Kluwer Academic Publishers,
Dordrecht, Netherlands.

Bergamaschi, P., Behrend, H. and Andre, J., eds. (2004), ‘Inverse Modelling of National and EU
Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories’ report of the 23–24.10.2003 workshop ‘Inverse Modelling for
Potential Verification of National and EU Bottom-up GHG Inventories’, held by the European Commission,
Joint Research Centre. Report published.

IPCC (2006), IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, prepared by the National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme, Eggleston H.S., Buendia L., Miwa K., Ngara T. and Tanabe K.
(eds.), published by IGES, Japan,
(URL: www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/index.htm ).

IPCC (2000), Good Practice Guidance and Uncertainty Management in National Greenhouse Gas
Inventories, IGES, Japan (URL: www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/gp/english/).

ISO 10005: 1995 Quality management — Guidelines for quality plans.

ISO 10012: 2003 Measurement management systems — Requirements for measurement processes and
measuring equipment.

ISO 14064-1: 2006 Greenhouse gases — Part 1: Specification with guidance at the organisation level for
quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals.

ISO 14064-2: 2006 Greenhouse gases — Part 2: Specification with guidance at the project level for
quantification, monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emission reductions or removal
enhancements.

ISO 14064-3: 2006 Greenhouse gases — Part 3: Specification with guidance for the validation and
verification of greenhouse gas assertions.

ISO 17020: 1998 General criteria for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection.

ISO 19011: 2002 Guidelines for quality and/or environmental management systems auditing.

ISO 9000: 2000 Quality management systems — Fundamentals and vocabulary.

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

ISO 9001: 2000 Quality management systems — Requirements.

ISO 9004: 2000 Quality management systems — Guidelines for performance improvements.

ISO/TR 10013: 2001 Guidelines for quality management system documentation.

Rypdal, K., Stordal, F., Fuglestvedt, J.S. and Berntsen, T. (2005), ‘Bottom-up vs. top-down methods in
assessing compliance with the Kyoto Protocol’, Climate Policy 5, pp. 393–405.

UNFCCC (2006), updated UNFCCC Reporting Guidelines on annual inventories following incorporation
of the provisions of decision 14/CP.11 FCCC/SBSTA/2006/9 (18.8.2006)
(URL: unfccc.int/resource/docs/2006/sbsta/eng/09.pdf).

Velthoven, Peter van, Peter Builtjes and Martijn Schaap (2004), ‘An assessment of assimilation
techniques presently available, as well as an assessment of the requirements for a fully functional aerosol
assimilation system’, Report D21, Daedalus project.
(URL: www-loa.univ-lille1.fr/Daedalus/Publications/report/DAEDALUS_D21_report_v4b.pdf).

9 Point of enquiry
Enquiries concerning this chapter should be directed to the co-chairs of the Task Force on Emission
Inventories and Projections (TFEIP). Please refer to the TFEIP website (www.tfeip-secretariat.org/) for
the contact details of the current co-chairs.

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

Appendix A Elements to include in a transparent

inventory report

Note that a template providing the recommended structure of an Informative Inventory Report (IIR) is
provided as an annex to the EMEP Emission Reporting Guidelines.

Recommended element Description

National inventory  Explanation of the inventory in a national context, including:

background o geographic scope (e.g. explanation of differences between
totals presented in table IV1A);
o national total for the entire territory;
o national total for the entire territory (1997 Guidelines);
o national total for the European Monitoring and Evaluation
Programme (EMEP) grid domain.
 Explanation of the reason for differences in reported national totals
compared with other related national inventories.
 Explanation of differences between activity data in the inventory
and published national statistics.

Institutional arrangements  A description of the institutional arrangement for inventory

preparation, institutional responsibilities, stakeholders’
responsibilities.
 Information on archiving.

Inventory preparation process  A brief description of the process of inventory preparation (e.g. data
collection, data processing, data storage, data base systems and
procedures).

General methods and data  Brief general description of methodologies and data sources used,
sources e.g. national statistics, regulated process information and
country/default emission factors used.

Key categories descriptions  Explanation of methods used to determine key categories.

 List of key categories by pollutant.

QA/QC and verification  Identification of quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) and

methods verification methods used to ensure quality and time-series
consistency of the inventory.

General uncertainty evaluation  Identification of methods used to assess uncertainty and the use of
uncertainty analysis to prioritise inventory improvement.

Sources not estimated (NE)  List of sources not estimated in the inventory.
 A qualitative assessment of their importance, currently and in
future.
 Description of intentions to calculate these in future or an
explanation of why there are no such plans.

Sources included elsewhere  Identification of sources aggregated in Table IV1A and not assigned
(IE) to a specific NFR.
 Justification of the decision to aggregate them rather than report the
data under specific NFR categories and intentions for future
aggregation.

Explanation of key trends  Explanation of significant changes in the time trend for key
categories (i.e. dips and jumps) to enable a reviewer or data user to

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 6. Inventory management, improvement and QA/QC

be confident that the changes result from changes in the

activity/abatement/process of the source and not as a result of
different methods or source data used for different years.
 Identification of methodology or activity data based time series
inconsistencies.

Main sector method  Detail of key activity statistics and statistical balances (e.g. energy
descriptions balances).
 Identification of major changes in methodology for key categories.
 Identification of the key methodology features and country specific
emission factors used for the sector, e.g. basis of fuel-based
estimates (either fuel-combusted or on fuel-sold basis) providing
rational for the choice of statistics and method used.
 Quantitative or qualitative assessment of uncertainties per NFR or
sector group.

Recalculations  Identify and justify recalculations (by sector, year and pollutant).
 Highlight implications for the inventory totals and trends with
reference to the new methods documented in Chapter 2, Key
category analysis and methodological choice,
 Identify new sources added to the inventory (reference new
methods on the methodology chapter).
 Overview of recalculations since the base year of each any target
commitments (relevant for assessment of compliance with each
commitment) (including a description of sources that were not
included in the base year but have been added since or sources
that were included in the base year and no longer is).

Planned improvements  Identify any improvements and sector and pollutants affected.

Projections  Description of methods and background data used for any reported
projected emissions and activity data.

Annexes  Annexes necessary to improve transparency

 Annex 1: Key category analysis
 Annex 2: Detailed methodological descriptions for individual source
categories (where relevant)
 Annex 3: Further elaboration of completeness use of IE and
(potential) sources of air pollutant emissions excluded (where
relevant)
 Annex 4: National energy balance
 Annex 5: Additional information to be considered part of the IIR
submission (where relevant) or other useful information
 Annex 6: Other annexes (any other relevant information - optional)

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