Carbon accountingYou can't manage what you don't measure |
Measuring your carbon footprint
The first step many businesses take to introduce sustainable practices is to measure the carbon footprint of either their organisation or their products.
Measuring your carbon footprint has a number of benefits:
- Assesses the relative importance of your carbon footprint reduction strategies versus your other sustainability business strategies
- Provides a benchmark to measure improvements in your carbon reduction strategies
- Identifies opportunities for improvements in processes and reductions in waste
- Identifies opportunities for cost reduction
- It’s your first step towards carbon neutrality
External drivers also require businesses to measure their carbon footprint like:
- Determining emissions under the requirements of an emissions trading scheme
- Requirements of overseas markets for carbon labelling of products
- Responding to the requirements of your customers who are seeking carbon footprint information for their own products
- Responding to tender requests in respect of your environmental credentials
How do you go about it?
There are a number of standards to help you measure your carbon footprint, including the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG) (including sector supplements) and ISO 14064-1. There are also product footprint standards, including PAS 2050 (UK standard) and a greenhouse gas protocol for product footprinting currently under development.
Before you start measuring, the most critical step is being clear on why you are undertaking the measurement exercise. This is important because a product footprint looks completely different to an organisation footprint. An organisation footprint based on the mandatory requirements of the GHG Protocol is likely to be different to an organisational footprint used as a basis for offsetting to achieve carbon neutrality.
What you need to be aware of is that any footprinting exercise undertaken for the purpose of making some form of ‘green claim’ needs to be undertaken with care, to ensure that the measurement encompasses ALL material emissions stakeholders would consider to be relevant, given the context of the claim being made. So that any claim you make is robust and credible.
How we can help you
- Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Know your GHG emissions inventory (or ‘carbon footprint’). This data is the basic starting point for all analyses and should be completed using internationally recognised standards. This information will also be useful should your business be included within any compliance regime. - Greenhouse Gas Inventory Audit
Undertake an audit of your GHG inventory to verify the data and to ensure the measurement controls are appropriate. An audit can also provide useful feedback for improvements in the inventory process. - Benchmark Performance
Measure performance against competitors to assess risk and opportunity. Benchmarking also provides a good indication of ‘best practice’ and will assist in setting internal targets. - Abatement options - identify scope for internal reductions
Consider opportunities to adopt energy efficiency practices such as reconfiguring equipment to use gas to replace fossil fuel-fired electricity supply. Change behavioural practices, for example, re-use, reduce and recycle paper in offices. Seek ideas from employees who are familiar with operations. Establishing reduction targets is a key component of becoming ‘Carbon Neutral’. - Strategic Review
Measure total emissions across the full supply chain to better understand the risks and opportunities for your business. - External Reporting
Set performance measures for next year and future milestones (pre-compliance and compliance regimes). Seek stakeholder feedback, including from employees, in this process. This will bring greater transparency to your carbon related activities and enable better preparation ahead of any compliance regimes.
Businesses that understand their own emissions positions will be best placed to take advantage of the emerging opportunities that greater interest in climate change present.
Talk to one of the team about carbon accounting in your business
Jacqueline Robertson – Carbon neutral accounting, risk and emissions audit
Brett Tomkins – Carbon Assurance