More and more companies need to measure their carbon footprint. Whether driven by client pressure, regulations, or climate commitments, understanding emissions is becoming a key management capability.
The process of measuring corporate emissions is known as carbon accounting. Its goal is to quantify greenhouse gas emissions associated with a company’s operations.
The most widely used global standard is the GHG Protocol, which organizes emissions into three main categories.
Scope 1: direct emissions
These are emissions that come directly from company operations (sources owned or controlled by the company).
Examples:
- Fuel used in corporate vehicles
- Natural gas in facilities
- Industrial processes
Scope 2: purchased electricity and energy
Includes emissions associated with the energy the company purchases to operate, generated by third parties.
Scope 3: value chain emissions
Includes all indirect emissions that occur across the company’s value chain.
Examples:
- Third-party transport and logistics
- Business travel
- Purchased goods and services
- Use of sold products
- Suppliers
In many companies, Scope 3 can represent more than 70% of the total carbon footprint.
The biggest challenge is often collecting and structuring the right data, which is usually scattered across invoices, spreadsheets, or internal systems.
Once a company understands its carbon footprint, it can identify emission sources, set reduction targets, implement actions, and improve both operational and overall business efficiency. In many cases, this also enables access to new markets and improves its position as a supplier or as a company overall.
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