Step 2: Hub operations

What is a hub?

In GLEC, a hub is any facility where goods stop between transport legs — warehouses, cross-docking centers, distribution centers, or cold storage facilities.

Hubs consume energy (electricity, heating, forklifts) and that energy generates emissions separate from transport.

Two types of hubs

Type	How emissions are calculated	Scope
Owned	Actual energy data from invoices	Scope 1 (fuel) + Scope 2 (electricity)
Subcontracted	Default intensity from HOC category	Scope 3

Owned hubs connect to a Dcycle Facility where you upload energy invoices. This gives measured, accurate emissions.

Subcontracted hubs use default values based on the facility type. Less accurate, but useful when you don’t control the facility.

What is a HOC?

A HOC (Hub Operation Category) classifies the facility type and determines its default emission intensity (kgCO2e per tonne processed).

HOC category	Description	Intensity
Ambient transshipment	Simple transfer, no storage	Lowest
Ambient warehousing	Standard warehouse	Low
Temperature-controlled transshipment	Refrigerated cross-dock	Medium
Temperature-controlled warehousing	Cold storage	High
Cold storage	Deep freeze facilities	Highest

Setting up a hub

To create a hub, you need:

1. Name — a descriptive label (e.g., “Madrid Central Warehouse”)
2. Address — the physical location
3. Type — owned or subcontracted
4. HOC category — the facility classification from the table above
5. Facility ID (owned hubs only) — links to your Dcycle Facility for real energy data

Connecting hubs to transport legs

When you create transport legs (Step 1), you can associate them with a hub using hub_id. This lets you:

• See which transport activity flows through each hub
• Aggregate emissions by facility
• Build a complete picture of your logistics network

Hub emission formula

For subcontracted hubs:

Emissions (kgCO2e) = HOC intensity (kgCO2e/tonne) x Tonnes handled

For owned hubs:

Emissions come directly from the energy invoices uploaded to the linked Dcycle Facility:

• Scope 1: fuel combustion (heating, forklifts, generators)
• Scope 2: purchased electricity and district heating

Best practices

1. Start with subcontracted defaults. Get a baseline estimate first, then upgrade significant hubs to owned status with real energy data
2. Focus on your biggest hubs. A large cold storage facility will have far more emissions than a small ambient cross-dock
3. Update addresses carefully. Changing a hub’s address triggers recalculation of transport legs connected to it
4. Link transport legs to hubs. Without this connection, hub emissions and transport emissions remain separate in your report