Calculate your carbon footprint

What do one kilo of meat, a plastic bag, an email, a person and a company have in common? The answer is that they all generate an environmental impact known as carbon footprint.

What will I learn from this article?

• What is a carbon footprint?
• Calculate a person’s carbon footprint
• Calculate a company’s carbon footprint

Carbon footprint, the impact we have on the world

To a greater or lesser extent, all products, processes, people and organizations generate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions directly or indirectly. In other words, the carbon footprint is the mark we leave on the planet.

The main purpose of checking our carbon footprint is being able to reduce it and, in case it’s not possible, compensating it. How? For example, through mitigation and adaptation initiatives. One the one hand, mitigation measures are those actions carried out to reduce and limit greenhouse gas emissions, such as the introduction of renewable energies, whereas adaptation strategies seek to reduce vulnerability to effects derived from climate change, promoting for example climate refuges or green building technology.

In the case of organizations interested in knowing their footprint, they analyze their GHG emissions and keep a register through a standardized system. The most used are GHG Protocol and ISO 14064-1.

When talking about products or services, the measurement takes into account the whole life cycle of the product or service itself. In this case, the most commonly used standards are: PAS 2050:2011 and ISO / TS 14067:2013.

How is a person's carbon footprint calculated?

To discover someone’s impact on the planet there is a calculation method accessible to everyone and devised by the French engineer and expert on climate change Jean-Marc Jancovici.

This method includes a set of variables that collect daily data from the user to calculate the level of the direct and indirect CO₂ emissions that their activity implies. The questionnaire is divided into four parts and each of these parts corresponds to ¼ of the individual's total emissions: housing, transport, food, and consumption.

How is a company's carbon footprint calculated?

Companies, like individuals, have a significant impact on the environment, so calculating their carbon footprint is essential for understanding and mitigating this impact. In fact, just 57 organizations are responsible for 80% of global CO₂ emissions, according to the Paris Agreement.

The process for corporations, though, is more complex due to the broad range of activities and operations involved. Although each company is unique, some general, internationally-recognized steps and methodologies are used to calculate their carbon footprints, for example the GreenHouse Gas (GHG) Protocol.

Identification of emission sources

The first step consists of identifying all the possible sources of GHG emissions associated with the company’s operations. These are classified generally by 3 ‘scopes’:

• Scope 1: includes all direct emissions from sources that are the property of the company or are under its control, such as corporate vehicle emissions or from production facilities
• Scope 2: refers to indirect emissions from energy generation acquired and consumed by the company, such as electricity or air conditioning systems
• Scope 3: covers all other indirect emissions produced in the company’s value chain, including goods and services acquired, business journeys, transport of products and waste generated by operations, among others.

Gathering data

After identifying emission sources, the next step is to gather the relevant data. From the amount of electricity and fuels consumed to vehicle mileage, the quantity of waste generated, etc. Collecting these data requires the cooperation of different departments of the company and often the use of specialized software to manage and analyze the information.

Calculating the emissions

Emission factors are applied to the consumption and activity data collected to find out the different GHGs emitted, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O). To reflect all these emissions in a single unit, called CO₂e (CO₂ equivalent), the emissions of each gas are multiplied by conversion factors. These consider the global warming potential (GWP) of each gas compared to CO₂. For example, methane (CH₄) warms the planet much more than CO₂, so its conversion factor is greater. As mentioned above, there are different databases and tools available, such as the GHG Protocol and ISO 14064 standard, which provide emissions factors and guide companies in this process.

Implementation of reduction and offsetting strategies

Once the carbon footprint has been calculated, companies can implement strategies to reduce their emissions. These can include anything from optimizing energy efficiency in operations and investing in renewable energies to restructuring the supply chain to make it more sustainable.

For emissions that cannot be completely eliminated, companies can opt to offset them by investing in carbon capture projects, such as reforestation, or in renewable energy facilities, thereby supporting initiatives that can contribute to reducing polluting emissions.

Lastly, it is important that companies inform transparently about their carbon emissions and the actions taken to reduce or offset them. Verification by third parties assures the preciseness of the calculations and increases the credibility of the affirmations of sustainability by the company.

Calculating the carbon footprint its activities produce does not only help companies become more sustainable, but can also reveal opportunities to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs, as well as respond to increasing demands from consumers, investors and regulators for environmentally responsible business practices.