How to calculate your carbon footprint

Your Guide to Calculating a Carbon Footprint: More Than Just a Number

Understanding and measuring your carbon footprint is the essential first step toward meaningful climate action. It’s not just about a single number; it’s a comprehensive process that reveals your total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, both direct and indirect, across all business operations. Measured in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e), this calculation provides a standardized way to compare emissions from different sources.

Why It’s Crucial for Your Business

Calculating your carbon footprint is no longer optional; it’s a strategic imperative. Here’s why:

• Regulations and Investor Expectations: A growing number of regulations and investor demands for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosures make accurate emissions reporting a necessity.
• Net-Zero Commitments: You can’t reduce what you can’t measure. Calculating your footprint provides a baseline to track progress toward sustainability goals, such as a net-zero target.
• Operational Efficiency: The process of tracking energy and resource use often reveals opportunities to streamline operations and save costs.
• Reputation and Stakeholder Trust: Consumers, employees, and business partners are increasingly concerned about a company’s environmental impact. Being transparent about your footprint builds trust and strengthens your brand.
• Complete Accountability: The focus has shifted to include Scope 3 emissions, which often make up the largest portion of a company’s total footprint, highlighting the need to look beyond your own walls.

Understanding the Three Scopes of Emissions

The global standard for emissions accounting, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, breaks down emissions into three categories:

• Scope 1: Direct Emissions These are emissions from sources that your company owns or controls. Think of company vehicles, on-site furnaces, or chemical processes in manufacturing.
• Scope 2: Indirect Emissions from Purchased Energy These result from the electricity, heating, or cooling you buy. While you don’t produce these emissions yourself, you are responsible for the demand they create.
• Scope 3: All Other Indirect Emissions This is the most complex but crucial category. It includes emissions from your entire value chain, such as supplier activities, employee commuting, business travel, product use, and waste disposal. Scope 3 can represent over 70% of a company’s total emissions, making it critical for a comprehensive assessment.

How to Calculate Your Carbon Footprint: A Step-by-Step Guide

The process is structured and methodical, following these four key steps:

Step 1: Define Your Boundaries

First, you need to decide what to measure. The organizational boundary determines which parts of your company to include, while the operational boundary defines which emission scopes (1, 2, and 3) you will track. Scopes 1 and 2 are a must, but including Scope 3 provides a much more complete picture.

Step 2: Collect Activity Data

Gathering data on activities that produce emissions is the next step. This includes things like:

• Your electricity consumption from utility bills.
• Fuel usage for company vehicles.
• Travel records for flights and hotel stays.
• Supplier data, such as the volume of goods purchased.

Step 3: Apply Emission Factors

This is where the magic happens. You multiply your activity data by emission factors standardized values that estimate the amount of CO₂e emitted per unit of activity. For example, a specific amount of CO₂e is linked to every kWh of electricity or every liter of diesel. These factors can vary based on location, energy source, and transportation mode. Reputable sources include the EPA, DEFRA, and the IEA.

Step 4: Sum and Categorize

Finally, you total your emissions from all sources and organize them by Scope 1, 2, and 3. The final result is reported in metric tons of CO₂e. This calculation establishes your baseline year, which is essential for tracking future reductions and measuring progress toward your climate goals.

From Calculation to Action: What Comes Next

Calculating your footprint isn’t the finish line; it’s the starting block. Once you have a clear understanding of your emissions, you can:

• Set Science-Based Targets (SBTi) to guide your reduction efforts.
• Integrate this data into your ESG and risk reporting.
• Prioritize emissions hotspots for strategic investments and innovation.
• Offset any remaining emissions with high-quality carbon credits.
• Communicate your progress transparently to all stakeholders.

The goal is not just to measure, but to act. Your carbon footprint calculation empowers your organization to take responsibility and develop a data-driven roadmap for a more sustainable future.

source:

https://onestopesg.com/esg-news/how-to-calculate-your-carbon-footprint-1755110340407