How to identify the current carbon footprint of your business - a step by step guide
Understanding your business’s carbon footprint is the first step toward creating a sustainable future. This footprint represents the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by your operations and identifying it involves clear steps to assess, measure and analyse your impact. Here’s a streamlined step by step guide to identifying the current carbon footprint of your business.
Step 1: Understand carbon emission categories
Your carbon footprint consists of three key scopes:
Scope 1: Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources, such as company vehicles or on site fuel use.
Scope 2: Indirect emissions from purchased energy like electricity, heating or cooling.
Scope 3: Other indirect emissions from supply chains, employee commuting, waste disposal and business travel.
Step 2: Set boundaries
Decide which parts of your business to include in your footprint assessment:
Organisational Boundaries: Will you measure emissions for the entire business or specific sites?
Operational Boundaries: Determine whether you’ll measure just Scope 1 and 2 emissions or include Scope 3 for a comprehensive view.
Step 3: Collect data
Gather data for all activities that contribute to your carbon footprint. Key data points include:
Energy Use: Utility bills for electricity, gas and fuel consumption.
Transportation: Records of company vehicles, business travel and employee commutes.
Waste: Waste disposal volumes and recycling rates.
Supply Chain: Emissions from purchased goods and services.
Water Usage: Water consumption across operations.
Step 4: Use a carbon footprint calculator
Once you have your data, input it into a reliable carbon calculator, such as the GHG Protocol tool or platforms like Carbon Trust. These tools apply standardised emission factors to convert your activity data (e.g., kWh or litres) into CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e), providing a clear emissions overview.
Step 5: Analyse your results
Review your findings to pinpoint the largest sources of emissions. Ask questions like:
Which activities contribute the most to emissions?
How significant are Scope 3 emissions compared to Scope 1 and 2?
How do your results compare with industry benchmarks?
Step 6: Validate and report
For accuracy and credibility, consider third party verification of your data. Then prepare a clear report outlining:
Total emissions broken down by scope.
Key contributors to emissions.
Methods and tools used for calculations.
Transparency fosters trust with stakeholders and ensures compliance with sustainability standards.
Step 7: Plan for reductions and monitor your progress
Use the insights to create an action plan focusing on high impact areas such as:
Switching to renewable energy sources.
Improving energy efficiency in operations.
Sourcing from eco friendly suppliers.
Establish a system for annual reassessment to track your progress and refine your strategies.
By following these steps, businesses can accurately measure their carbon footprint, identify impactful reduction strategies and demonstrate a commitment to sustainability, benefiting both the planet and long term business success.