Know it all about... calculating and measuring carbon footprints

As companies shift to address the burning topic of reducing carbon emissions to a net zero, measuring and calculating Carbon Footprints is a issue that needs to be addressed.

From late 2019 to September 2020, the number of net zero emissions commitment from government and companies have grown exponentially

Source: Data-Driven EnviroLab New Climate Institute

Understanding the Carbon- Footprint

Carbon footprint is the quantity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are produced as a result of daily activities. Carbon footprints are usually measured in terms of an annual footprint that takes into account the impact of all the key activities over the course of a calendar year. They can be measured for an individual, region, company or a country. Nowadays It’s increasingly common for manufacturing companies to communicate their footprint on a per-product basis.

Measuring the Carbon Footprints

As the number of Companies aiming for net zero carbon emission has increased significantly during the post pandemic sustainability measures, with major brands like Apple, Ford, Walmart, joining the commitment list, many startups are leveraging technology to understand, reduce and offset carbon emissions . But the big question still remains unanswered...

How to calculate (and offset) company’s carbon footprint?

1. Identifying the sources of emissions.

Burning fossil fuels is the main source of human-produced carbon dioxide emissions. Also, the electricity for EV or our day to day needs majorly comes from Fossil fuels only. Thus one needs to identify their daily activities and its associated carbon-dioxide emissions.

2. Collection of data.

Post identifying the sectors that consume energy, how much of the consumption occurs, is the next big question. This can be done, for example by collecting any electricity and gas bills, adding up the miles the products of consumption has travelled (along with the modes of transport) and working out the total quantities and weights of products produced, breaking down into the key component materials. Organizing these information in a spreadsheet and making sure to carefully note the units of quantities.

3. Calculate a footprint.

The data collected is then converted into carbon emissions. Sources that have emission factors associated with the data collected can come into use.

(eg, Defra for transport, electricity and waste in the UK; the EPA for the same in the US; and the Higg MSI for emissions factors for materials).

Furthermore, online calculators are also available like 'Klima, PlanA, Planetly' etc.

4. Looking for potential reduction opportunities.

Once the annual footprint is evaluated, it is imperative to identify disproportionate emissions sources and think for possible methods to reduce the same. For the retail industry working with physical products, the way the freight of goods is determined makes a huge difference to footprint.

5. Buying offsets.

No matter how many reductions one can secure, it's unlikely that one will be able to reduce your carbon footprint to zero while still operating a business. One offset is equal to reducing one tonne of carbon emissions, thus we need to calculate the number of offsets and then purchase them from a reputable provider like Carbonfund.org, Gold Standard or NativeEnergy.

6. Establish a process.

Once the first calculation is complete, this established framework can be revised and repeated in the future.