What is a carbon footprint?
A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gases linked to your organization's activity, expressed in tonnes of CO2-equivalent (tCO2e), calculated under recognized international methodologies such as the GHG Protocol.
The three emission scopes
- Scope 1: direct emissions from sources the organization owns or controls, such as boilers, generators and fuel-based vehicle fleets.
- Scope 2: indirect emissions from the electricity the organization purchases.
- Scope 3: the remaining indirect emissions across the value chain, such as raw materials, transport and waste — the hardest to measure and often the largest share.
The calculation steps
- Defining the accounting boundary and the base year.
- Collecting activity data: fuel, electricity, vehicle fuel, business travel, waste.
- Selecting appropriate emission factors for each activity.
- Calculating and documenting in an auditable way.
- Analyzing the largest emission sources and building a realistic reduction plan.
Export markets and major customers increasingly request emissions data, and early accounting gives you time to reduce them before they become a contractual requirement. Start with an initial inventory of your carbon footprint with our consultants.
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