How Can I Measure My Business's Carbon Footprint?

When considering your business’s carbon footprint, you first need to identify the sources. The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol is a set of accounting standards that helps businesses track and report their greenhouse gas emissions. They classify three different categories of emissions involved in carbon accounting: Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3.

What Are Scope 1 Emissions?

Scope 1 emissions are directly produced from sources owned or controlled by the company. This is generally the first area of focus for a company trying to reduce their carbon footprint as it is also the easiest to measure.

What Are Examples of Scope 1 Emissions?

There are four categories that Scope 1 emissions can fall under:

• Stationary Combustion: Emissions from the combustion of fuels on-site, such as oil, natural gas, and propane. This is typically the biggest contributor to Scope 1 emissions.
• Mobile Combustion: Emissions from the combustion of fuels like gasoline and diesel in company-owned vehicles, such as cars, trucks, and ships are a part of this category.
• Fugitive Emissions: Not all emissions in this scope are intentional. Leaks of greenhouse gases, such as from air conditioners and refrigeration units, are included. Also, agricultural processes such as cows’ methane emissions or alcohol fermentation’s carbon dioxide emissions.
• Process Emissions: Emissions from certain industrial chemicals and processes such as cement production or metal smelting. 

‍What are Scope 2 Emissions?

‍Scope 2 emissions are indirectly produced by the purchase of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling. Although Scope 2 emissions physically occur at the facility where they are generated, they are accounted for in an organization’s emissions report because they are a result of the organization’s energy use.

‍What are Examples of Scope 2 Emissions?

‍Scope 2 emissions are anything that the company is required to purchase in order to fuel or operate the organization. This includes:

• Electricity: Emissions from power plants that generate the electricity your company utilizes such as fossil fuel grids
• Steam: Emissions from the production of steam by a factory producing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases
• Heating & Cooling: Emissions from the production of heating and cooling systems such as hydrofluoric carbons 

‍What are Scope 3 Emissions?

‍Scope 3 emissions are the indirect production of greenhouse gases throughout the company’s entire value chain, both upstream and downstream. This essentially encompasses anything not categorized as Scope 1 or 2. They are not produced by sources directly owned or controlled by the company, but a result of their operational activities. Because of this, Scope 3 emissions are the most difficult to track as data may not be readily available to the company. Estimates are often necessary to fill the gap.

‍What are Examples of Scope 3 Emissions?

‍There are 15 categories of Scope 3 emissions separated into upstream and downstream emissions. Upstream emissions are from the production of your business's products or services, while downstream emissions come from their use and disposal.‍

Upstream:

• Purchased goods and services
• Capital goods
• Fuel and energy related activities
• Upstream transportation and distribution
• Waste generated in operations
• Business travel
• Employee commuting
• Upstream leased assets

Downstream:

• Downstream transportation and distribution
• Processing of sold products
• Use of sold products
• End-of-life treatment of sold products
• Downstream leased assets
• Franchises
• Investments

After collecting data from all of the sources, your company can use a carbon footprint calculator or hire a professional to aggregate the numbers. Aclymate has resources available for you to get started on this journey. The website offers software for companies to calculate measurements themselves or a variety of programs where climate bookkeepers and consultants are available to help you reach your goals. After analyzing the results, your company can begin setting a target and reducing your GHG emissions.