What is Carbon Accounting?

Carbon accounting or greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting refers to processes used to measure how much carbon dioxide equivalents an organization emits. This foundational first step provides the basis for understanding and managing a company’s climate impact and developing climate change initiatives.

An organizational GHG emissions assessment measures the organization’s carbon footprint by quantifying the total amount of greenhouse gases the organization produces, whether directly or indirectly. These emissions fall into three categories.

Scope 1 – Direct GHG emissions

Scope 1 covers all direct GHG emissions by a company. It includes fuel combustion, company vehicles and fugitive emissions. These emissions are direct GHG emissions that happen from sources owned or controlled by an organization including fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces, vehicles, etc.

Scope 2 – Electricity indirect GHG emissions

Scope 2 covers indirect GHG emissions from consumption of purchased electricity, heat, cooling or steam. These emissions are a result of a company’s activities but often occur outside a company’s physical facility, hence scope 2 emissions are considered an indirect emission source. Scope 2 emissions amount to at least one third of global GHG emissions due to the high demand for and consumption of electricity.

Scope 3 – Other indirect GHG emissions

Scope 3 covers other indirect emissions and can best thought of as the value chain emissions. These emission sources include activities both upstream and downstream of the organization’s actual activities such as suppliers, downstream product use, and transportation of goods as just a few examples. Scope 3 emissions often represent the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions for organizations and in some cases can account for up to 90% of the total carbon impact.

Where to Start?

GHG Environmental follows specific industry guidelines and accepted protocols developed by the World Resource Institute (WRI), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) when developing an organization’s carbon footprint and subsequent climate improvement plan.

While those protocols can seem complex and involved, we have broken it down to four simple steps…the most important being to simply get started

• Step 1: Get Started: Scope and Plan Inventory
• Step 2: Collect Data and Quantify GHG Emissions
• Step 3: Develop a GHG Inventory Management Plan
• Step 4: Set a GHG Emission Reduction Target and Track and Report Progress

At GHG Environmental we help you decide where you are, where you want to be, and those critical steps in between. We will help you develop and integrate a climate strategy that’s a unique fit for your organization. Contact us today to begin your climate strategy!