The very first step in understanding your company’s climate impact is to measure your carbon footprint. Surprisingly, there is not a lot of good information available to guide businesses short of learning greenhouse gas accounting, which can be challenging. So, I thought it would make sense to communicate the basic steps to measuring a business’s carbon footprint, which involves calculating the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) that are produced directly or indirectly by the business’s operations, including its supply chain and employee activities. Here are the general steps to measure a business’s carbon footprint:

1. Determine the scope of your carbon footprint: Identify the sources of emissions that are relevant to your business operations. These may include direct emissions (Scope 1) from burning fossil fuels or using refrigerants, as well as indirect emissions from purchased electricity (Scope 2), transportation, and other value chain emissions (Scope 3).
2. Collect data: Collect data on your business’s energy consumption, travel, and other relevant activities. This may involve reviewing bills and invoices, conducting surveys, and using monitoring tools such as smart meters or software applications. Collecting data is the heaviest lift of the process and can take some time to collect without proper guidance.
3. Calculate emissions: Use an emissions calculator or a specialized software tool to calculate your business’s carbon footprint. These tools can help you convert your data into units of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) and estimate your emissions based on established emissions factors. The basic formula for calculating emissions is: Activity Data x Emission Factor = Carbon Footprint mtCO2e
4. Verify your results: Consider having your emissions calculations verified by a third-party auditor to ensure accuracy and reliability.
5. Develop a plan for reducing emissions: Once you have calculated your carbon footprint, develop a plan for reducing emissions. This may involve setting targets, implementing energy-efficient practices, using renewable energy sources, and working with suppliers to reduce emissions along the supply chain. We recommend setting science-based targets for emission reductions.
6. Monitor and report: Monitor your emissions regularly and report your progress to stakeholders, including investors, customers, and employees. Providing a Carbon Footprint Report, or a more comprehensive Annual Sustainability Report, is certainly an effective way to help build trust and demonstrate your commitment to sustainability.

Measuring your business’s carbon footprint can be a complex process, but it is an important step in understanding your environmental impact and identifying opportunities for reducing emissions. If your company would like help measuring its carbon footprint, please reach out to Emerger Strategies, who can streamline measuring your carbon footprint. More information can be found below on Scope 1, 2 & 3 greenhouse gas emissions: