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Policy & Compliance
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Start your journey to sustainability – measure your carbon footprint
As announced in February, BIFA has partnered with Pledge to provide Members with access to a range of tools in order to better understand and address the environmental issues
that affect how they manage international supply chains. As a part of this partnership, Pledge will provide regular blog posts raising awareness of the challenge of an emissions reduction project. In this first article, the importance of establishing a benchmark is explored.
investing in established initiatives such as reforestation or engineered removals with high carbon sequestration permanence (such as biochar, organic material that has been carbonised by pyrolysis for use as a soil additive). In contrast, net-zero programmes have a commitment to first reduce business emissions as much as possible, before offsetting the remaining carbon footprint through projects that remove CO 2 . Understanding the different classifications of emission, known as ‘scopes’, is a good starting point when planning carbon measurement. This breakdown allows businesses to categorise the sources of their emissions and develop appropriate strategies for tackling each source. As classified by the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, (https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/standards/ghg- protocol-revised.pdf) there are three categories, or scopes, of business emissions (see diagram, right): Scope 1 emissions: Direct emissions. These emissions stem from sources owned or controlled by the company, for example from company vehicles. Scope 2 emissions: Indirect emissions from purchased energy for power, heating and cooling. Scope 3 emissions: Typically, the largest business emission footprint, and the most complex to measure, Scope 3 includes all associated emissions indirectly related to an organisation. This covers the full length of the supply chain, such as suppliers, third-party logistics and even associated activity by customers. Due to the complexity and number of stakeholders involved in creating scope 3 emissions, accurate measurement requires contribution from multiple external sources. How can businesses measure their carbon emissions? There are many approaches organisations can take when looking to measure their carbon emissions. For example, a business may opt to hire an external consultancy or set up an
“We can’t fix what we can’t measure”. These are the opening words of The Carbon Call, a sustainability initiative designed to improve carbon measurement for businesses worldwide. Embarking on a journey to reduce emissions can be quite an undertaking. In the simplest terms, your emission data acts as a reference point against which any initiatives or activities can be measured. As with any initiative, before getting stuck in with the analysis stage, an overarching strategy is first required to agree on objectives and understand what the business wants to achieve. As we explore in this blog, the approach to measurement varies depending on how an organisation wants to pursue its sustainability goals. Why measuring your carbon footprint is a critical early step Without a foundation built on data, it is impossible for organisations to understand which activities are leaving the deepest footprints. Effective carbon footprint measurement enables businesses to put a stake in the ground, understand their emissions and work towards achieving their reduction and offsetting objectives while being able to demonstrate quantifiable, transparent results. Out of scope: defining and measuring your Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions A business’s approach to carbon measurement may vary based on what it is trying to achieve. For example, an organisation aiming to become net-zero with its emissions will have very different reduction and offsetting requirements to one looking to offer carbon neutral delivery to their clients. Note: the difference between net-zero and carbon neutral is a simple yet important distinction to make. Carbon neutrality refers to the balancing of emissions with offsetting activities – the idea being that your carbon output is ‘compensated’ by
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March 2023
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