Corporate Carbon Footprint Calculation

What is a Corporate Carbon Footprint?

A corporate carbon footprint measures the total greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere as a result of a company's activities. This calculation covers a wide range of activities from the company’s energy consumption to its supply chain, waste management, and transportation. Calculating the corporate carbon footprint allows companies to understand their environmental impacts, develop strategies to reduce that impact, and set sustainability goals. In this way, companies can visualize their corporate carbon footprints and conduct compliant reporting according to regulations, taking actions to avoid financial liabilities in the same direction.

How is the Corporate Carbon Footprint Calculated?

Calculating the corporate carbon footprint is a complex process. Therefore, companies wishing to perform these calculations typically seek services from third-party organizations. However, if we look at how these calculations work, we can examine this process fundamentally in 5 steps.

1. Scope Definition

Before calculating the carbon footprint, companies must identify the emission sources that will be included in the calculation. First, companies should determine which units or facilities will be included in the calculation.

Then, the scopes of the calculations to be made are defined. These scopes are:

• Scope 1 (Direct Emissions): These are the direct emissions produced at the company’s facilities. Emissions resulting from fossil fuels burned in the facilities or vehicles of companies are examined under this scope.

• Scope 2 (Indirect Energy Emissions): These are emissions resulting from energies consumed by companies. It includes emissions produced during the generation of any purchased energy, such as electricity.

• Scope 3 (Operational Emissions): This encompasses emissions arising from processes such as the supply chain, business travel, and waste management. It is the hardest scope to calculate because it involves extensive data collection and a very wide range.

2. Data Collection

The most important stage before performing carbon footprint calculations is the data collection phase. This step is crucial to avoid mistakes and to facilitate the calculations with classified data while performing these complex and time-consuming calculations. During this stage, mandatory data such as energy consumption, logistics data, waste and water management, and fuel consumption must be reliably and categorically listed.

3. Calculation with Emission Factors

Subsequently, the collected data is multiplied by emission factors to calculate carbon emissions. Emission factors are numerical multipliers that convert the consumed fuels into CO2 equivalents. To explain the formula simply:

Carbon Footprint = Fuel Consumption x Emission Factor

Emission factors can be obtained from national or international sources. You can decide which source to use based on the agency or individuals to whom you will report your calculations. For example, these factors can be obtained from organizations like the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) or EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).

Different greenhouse gases have varying climate effects. Therefore, the results are converted into CO2 equivalents for uniformity in calculations. For instance, methane (CH4) is a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent than CO2. When performing this CO2 equivalent conversion, each greenhouse gas emitted is multiplied by its global warming potential (GWP) to obtain the equivalent unit.

4. Reporting and Analysis

Once emissions are calculated, they are documented in reports for easier understanding and analysis of the impacts. At this point, companies must create reports in specific forms according to their purposes or the requests of the individuals and institutions they will report to. These forms can be prepared in various formats such as ISO14064 or GHG Protocol.

5. Reduction Strategies

After the calculation and reporting processes are complete, the next task for companies is compliance with regulations. At this point, to avoid carbon taxes that will impact our lives in the future, companies must reduce their carbon footprints. Therefore, companies must develop reduction strategies such as increasing energy efficiency, utilizing renewable energy, and exploring supply chain options based on the reports prepared.

Conclusion

The corporate carbon footprint is currently a highly discussed topic. What makes this subject so significant is the emergence of global warming as a critical issue, along with the sustainability regulations imposed by the EU and the UN. Although these regulations currently demand that companies calculate their carbon footprints and present them in various forms, it is expected that financial obligations related to the emissions involved in these calculations will also be added to the existing regulations over time.

We have briefly explained how the corporate carbon footprint is calculated above. However, in addition to the calculation, topics such as reporting, analysis, and reduction strategies also require expertise from quality engineers as well as environmental engineers with specialized knowledge. In this context, companies wishing to carry out these calculations often need to establish a special unit to work on sustainability or seek support from a third-party organization that will collaborate with their quality unit.

Corporate Carbon Footprint Calculations with CarbonSmart

CarbonSmart enables companies to stand on their own during this challenging process. With our cloud-based platform, you can calculate your carbon footprints in one place and then automatically generate reports in your desired format, ready for submission. With our advanced analysis interface and AI-supported platform, you can view the most optimal reduction strategies based on your calculations and take action based on the plans presented to you. In this way, you can relieve your company from the laborious aspects of the process and manage your carbon footprints digitally without needing third-party consulting firms.