What is a Corporate carbon Footprint?

Why measuring the Corporate Carbon Footprint?

A corporate carbon footprint is simply a measure of the amount of climate-altering gases, or greenhouse gases, connected to a company's activities. This goes from direct emissions from the factory or vehicles, to indirect ones from electricity use as well as the impact of the whole value chain.

Why should a company measure its carbon footprint? Beyond the obvious environmental reasons, there's growing pressure from stakeholders, like customers, employees, but also suppliers and investors. On top of that, upcoming sustainability rules, like the EU CSRD (in force from 2024) and the latest sustainable reporting standards from IFRS, mean companies will soon have to report on their environmental impact on climate change. Being ahead of these changes is not only good for the planet but good for business too.

At ROSE our carbon footprint solution integrates the latest CSRD requirements, so that once you measured your emissions you can easily report them.

Understanding the Greenhouse Effect

The majority of the scientists agree that climate change is mainly caused by human activities that release certain gases into the air, the so-called greenhouse gases. They let sunlight pass through the atmosphere but prevent the heat that the sunlight brings from leaving the atmosphere. These gases, primarily carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases, originate from a variety of human activities.

Each gas contributes differently to global warming and this is expressed with the Global Warming Potential (GWP): for instance 1 kg of methane has the same GWP of 28 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2). For this reasons, to facilitate the comparison, the emissions are calculated in CO2 equivalents (CO2e).

A Deep Dive into the Three Scopes

As defined by the GHG Protocol, the three scopes of greenhouse gas emissions categorize a company's carbon emissions, and understanding their breakdown is crucial for identifying impactful activities to focus on.

Scope 1: Direct emissions generated by the company. For example, emissions from combustion in owned or controlled boilers or vehicles. Scope 1 includes the following categories:

• Stationary Combustion
• Mobile Combustion
• Process Sources
• Fugitive Sources

Scope 2: Indirect emissions resulting from purchased energy, such as electricity and heating. Scope 2 includes the following categories:

• Electricity
• Steam
• Heating
• Cooling

Scope 3: All indirect emissions not included in Scope 2 that occur in the company’s value chain. Scope 3 emissions can be broken down into upstream and downstream activities.

Nota bene

It is extremely important to measure all the scopes as in most of cases, the majority of the emissions come from the value chain (scope 3).

Decoding the Carbon Calculation: From Data to Emissions

Understanding a company's carbon footprint starts with gathering the right data. This is often easier said than done. Companies have various activities, from office lighting to international shipping, and tracking all the associated emissions can be complex. There's also the challenge of incomplete records or data gaps, which can make getting an accurate measure tricky.

Once the data is in hand, the next step is to choose emission factors. These factors help convert actions, like burning a gallon of gas, into the amount of greenhouse gases released. It's vital to use accurate and dependable sources for these factors. Why? Because using the wrong factor can significantly alter a company's carbon footprint. At ROSE we use the most recognized databases, such as ecoinvent and GEMIS, which provide standardized emission factors based on extensive research.

With the data and emission factors ready, the actual calculation begins. It's a matter of multiplying the data (like the amount of gas burned) by the emission factor (how much CO2 that gas releases). This will give a clear idea of the total emissions from each activity. Sum up all these numbers, and you have the company's overall carbon footprint.

While this process might sound straightforward, the devil is in the details. But, when done right, it provides invaluable insights into a company's environmental impact and where improvements can be made.

Our software solution helps companies throughout the whole process: companies can manage data gathering with our built in surveys, choose the right emission factors from world best databases, receive the results instantly on the workspace and report your emissions in the CSRD disclosures.

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