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View Carbon Footprint data
The Carbon Footprint dashboard displays estimated greenhouse gas
emissions associated with the usage of covered Google Cloud services for the
selected billing account.
Before you begin
To access the Carbon Footprint dashboard, you need the following
IAM permissions:
billing.accounts.getCarbonInformation
billing.accounts.list
billing.accounts.get
These IAM permissions enable you to do all of the following:
List and view the names of billing accounts.
Access Carbon Footprint data associated with these billing accounts.
To obtain these IAM permissions, a billing account administrator must grant you one or more IAM roles listed below for the billing account that contain such permissions:
Carbon Footprint data is computed automatically for your billing
account, there is no API to enable or setup required.
It can take up to 21 days for data of the previous month to become available.
If you have the proper IAM permission and data is
available, data is displayed on the dashboard.
Carbon footprint data is given in metric tons of CO2 equivalent
(tCO2e) in the
UI dashboard and in kilograms of CO2 equivalent
(kgCO2e) in the data export.
Market-based emissions and Location-based emissions
The dashboard is divided into two tabs: Market-based emissions and
Location-based emissions. These two tabs display emissions data estimated using
different Scope 2 carbon accounting definitions according to the Greenhouse Gas
Protocol (GHGP). Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions are identical across the two tabs.
In summary:
Market-based emissions: This tab displays emissions data broken
down by scope 1, scope 2 market-based, and scope 3 GHG emissions. Learn more
about scope 2 market-based emissions methodology.
Location-based emissions: This tab displays emissions data broken down by
scope 1, scope 2 location-based, and scope 3 GHG emissions. Learn more about
scope 2 location-based emissions methodology.
Summary
Each tab displays an overview of the estimated greenhouse gas emissions
associated with the usage of covered Google Cloud services
for the selected billing account.
Annual carbon footprint: The total estimated greenhouse gas emissions
associated with the usage of covered Google Cloud services
for the selected billing account over the past 12 complete months.
Carbon footprint for the past month: The total estimated greenhouse gas
emissions associated with the usage of covered Google Cloud services
for the selected billing account for the most recent completed month, compared
to the previous month.
Recommendations
Carbon Footprint has integrated with Google Cloud Active Assist
Unattended Project Recommender, which analyzes usage activity across all
projects, provides you with the recommendations to reclaim or shut down unattended
projects, and helps you reduce both cost and carbon emissions. If your billing
account has associated projects that are deemed "unattended", you will see the
"Recommendations to reduce emissions" card next to your annual and monthly
summary cards.
Charts
To dig deeper into the specifics of your carbon emissions, the dashboard includes
four charts:
Monthly carbon emissions (in both market-based emissions tab and location-based emissions tab):
Displays the total estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the usage
of covered Google Cloud services for
the selected billing account over all available months, broken down by month.
Carbon emissions by region (in both market-based emissions tab and location-based emissions tab):
Displays the estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the usage of
covered Google Cloud services for the
selected billing account for the past complete month broken down by Google Cloud
region.
Carbon emissions by project (only in the location-based emissions tab):
Displays the estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the usage of
covered Google Cloud services for the
selected billing account for the past complete month broken down by Google Cloud project.
Carbon emissions by product (only in the location-based emissions tab):
Displays the estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the usage of
covered Google Cloud services for the
selected billing account for the past complete month broken down by Google Cloud
service.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-25 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe Carbon Footprint dashboard provides estimated greenhouse gas emissions data for covered Google Cloud services associated with a selected billing account.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAccess to the Carbon Footprint dashboard requires specific IAM permissions, including \u003ccode\u003ebilling.accounts.getCarbonInformation\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003ebilling.accounts.list\u003c/code\u003e, and \u003ccode\u003ebilling.accounts.get\u003c/code\u003e, which can be granted via \u003ccode\u003eroles/billing.carbonViewer\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003eroles/billing.admin\u003c/code\u003e, or \u003ccode\u003eroles/billing.viewer\u003c/code\u003e roles.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe dashboard features two views, Market-based emissions and Location-based emissions, each calculated according to different Scope 2 carbon accounting definitions of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP).\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe dashboard includes an annual and monthly summary of your carbon footprint and charts displaying monthly emissions, emissions by region, emissions by project, and emissions by product.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eData is automatically computed and displayed, with data for the previous month typically available within 21 days, and there is also integration with Google Cloud Active Assist Unattended Project Recommender, offering recommendations to reduce emissions.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# View Carbon Footprint data\n==========================\n\nThe Carbon Footprint dashboard displays estimated greenhouse gas\nemissions associated with the usage of [covered Google Cloud services](/carbon-footprint/docs/covered-services) for the\nselected billing account.\n\nBefore you begin\n----------------\n\n| **Note:** You do **not** need access to billing spending data in order to access Carbon Footprint data.\n\nTo access the Carbon Footprint dashboard, you need the following\nIAM permissions:\n\n- `billing.accounts.getCarbonInformation`\n- `billing.accounts.list`\n- `billing.accounts.get`\n\nThese IAM permissions enable you to do all of the following:\n\n- List and view the names of billing accounts.\n- Access Carbon Footprint data associated with these billing accounts.\n\nTo obtain these IAM permissions, a billing account administrator must grant you one or more IAM roles listed below for the billing account that contain such permissions:\n\n- `roles/billing.carbonViewer`\n- `roles/billing.admin`\n- `roles/billing.viewer`\n\nRead more about [Cloud Carbon IAM permission and roles](/carbon-footprint/docs/iam) and\n[Cloud Billing access control](/billing/docs/how-to/billing-access).\n\nAccessing the Carbon Footprint dashboard\n----------------------------------------\n\nThe Carbon Footprint dashboard is located in the **Tools** section\nwithin Google Cloud console.\n\n[Go to Carbon Footprint](https://console.cloud.google.com/carbon)\n\nViewing your carbon footprint\n-----------------------------\n\nCarbon Footprint data is computed automatically for your billing\naccount, there is no API to enable or setup required.\nIt can take up to 21 days for data of the previous month to become available.\nIf you have the proper [IAM permission](#before) and data is\navailable, data is displayed on the dashboard.\n\nCarbon footprint data is given in metric tons of CO~2~ equivalent\n(tCO~2~e) in the\nUI dashboard and in kilograms of CO~2~ equivalent\n(kgCO~2~e) in the data export.\n\n### Market-based emissions and Location-based emissions\n\nThe dashboard is divided into two tabs: *Market-based emissions* and\n*Location-based emissions*. These two tabs display emissions data estimated using\ndifferent Scope 2 carbon accounting definitions according to the Greenhouse Gas\nProtocol (GHGP). Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions are identical across the two tabs.\nIn summary:\n\n- **Market-based emissions** : This tab displays emissions data broken down by scope 1, scope 2 market-based, and scope 3 GHG emissions. Learn more about [scope 2 market-based emissions methodology](/carbon-footprint/docs/methodology#market-based-allocation).\n- **Location-based emissions** : This tab displays emissions data broken down by scope 1, scope 2 location-based, and scope 3 GHG emissions. Learn more about [scope 2 location-based emissions methodology](/carbon-footprint/docs/methodology#ghg-emissions-allocation).\n\n### Summary\n\nEach tab displays an overview of the estimated greenhouse gas emissions\nassociated with the usage of [covered Google Cloud services](/carbon-footprint/docs/covered-services)\nfor the selected billing account.\n\n- **Annual carbon footprint** : The total estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the usage of [covered Google Cloud services](/carbon-footprint/docs/covered-services) for the selected billing account over the past 12 complete months.\n- **Carbon footprint for the past month** : The total estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the usage of [covered Google Cloud services](/carbon-footprint/docs/covered-services) for the selected billing account for the most recent completed month, compared to the previous month.\n\n### Recommendations\n\nCarbon Footprint has integrated with Google Cloud Active Assist\nUnattended Project Recommender, which analyzes usage activity across all\nprojects, provides you with the recommendations to reclaim or shut down unattended\nprojects, and helps you reduce both cost and carbon emissions. If your billing\naccount has associated projects that are deemed \"unattended\", you will see the\n\"Recommendations to reduce emissions\" card next to your annual and monthly\nsummary cards.\n\n### Charts\n\nTo dig deeper into the specifics of your carbon emissions, the dashboard includes\nfour charts:\n\n- **Monthly carbon emissions (in both market-based emissions tab and location-based emissions tab)** : Displays the total estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the usage of [covered Google Cloud services](/carbon-footprint/docs/covered-services) for the selected billing account over all available months, broken down by month.\n- **Carbon emissions by region (in both market-based emissions tab and location-based emissions tab)** : Displays the estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the usage of [covered Google Cloud services](/carbon-footprint/docs/covered-services) for the selected billing account for the past complete month broken down by Google Cloud region.\n- **Carbon emissions by project (only in the location-based emissions tab)** : Displays the estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the usage of [covered Google Cloud services](/carbon-footprint/docs/covered-services) for the selected billing account for the past complete month broken down by Google Cloud project.\n- **Carbon emissions by product (only in the location-based emissions tab)** : Displays the estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the usage of [covered Google Cloud services](/carbon-footprint/docs/covered-services) for the selected billing account for the past complete month broken down by Google Cloud service.\n\nWhat's next?\n------------\n\n- [Export your carbon footprint](/carbon-footprint/docs/export)\n- [Create custom dashboards with the exported data](/carbon-footprint/docs/custom-dashboard).\n- [Understand the methodology behind Carbon Footprint](/carbon-footprint/docs/methodology)"]]
