Integrating Carbon Reduction Solutions Into Your Business
In order to achieve meaningful reductions in carbon emissions, businesses must assess their carbon footprint.
Carbon footprint measures the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, both direct and indirect, produced by an organisation.
Assessing Your Carbon Footprint
Conduct a Carbon Audit
The best place to start is by conducting a carbon audit. This involves analysing your organisation’s data to identify the sources of GHG emissions.
Define the Scope and Boundaries of the Audit
- Determine the organisation’s activities: Identify which activities and processes will be included in the audit, e.g. energy consumption, transportation, waste, and supply chain activities.
- Consider the three scopes of emissions:
- Scope 1: Direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by the organisation. For example, Emissions from company-owned vehicles, Emissions released during industrial processes and on-site manufacturing or emissions from agricultural activities, such as livestock farming
- Scope 2: Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling.
- Scope 3: All other indirect emissions that occur in the organisation’s value chain (e.g., upstream and downstream transportation, waste disposal, employee commuting).
Establish emissions boundaries: Decide which emissions sources will be included (e.g. direct emissions from operations, indirect emissions from purchased electricity, and emissions from the supply chain).
Calculate emissions
Once you have gathered data on fuel consumption, energy usage, transportation activities, and supply chain emissions, you can calculate the emissions. There are standards and software tools for GHG accounting, which can automate much of the calculation process.
It is important to verify the accuracy and completeness of the data to ensure reliable results.
Calculate the Carbon Footprint
Once you have verified the data you convert it to CO2 equivalent. Use appropriate conversion factors to convert emissions data into carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e).
Analyse Results and Report Findings
Identify the major sources of emissions and areas where improvements can be made.
Cala Sustain can help you to quantify, analyse and report your carbon footprint, whether that is direct emissions (Scope 1) or indirect emissions (Scope 2 &3). We help you navigate the complexity of emission accounting. Our audits reveal insights such as:
- emissions drivers
- emissions by facility or region
- year-on-year trends
- develop recommendations
Once you have analysed the data you can identify areas for improvements and provide recommendations for reducing emissions. Once implement this will improve your sustainability performance.
Report on the findings
Companies, LLPs and groups that exceed at least two of the following three thresholds in the preceding year will have to report on their carbon footprint:
- £36m annual turnover
- £18m balance sheet total
- 250 employees
The report needs to include: the audit findings, the carbon footprint calculations, analysis, and recommendations. It is important to share the report with relevant stakeholders, such as management, employees, and customers.
Carbon Reduction Plans
Based on the audit findings, develop and implement a plan to reduce emissions.
Carbon Reduction Plans (CRP) detail an organisation’s approach to reducing emissions. These plans help businesses and stakeholders understand the impact their operation has on the environment. Analysing your carbon footprint helps to identify opportunities to reduce emissions and develop a clear carbon reduction plan.
A critical step in the carbon reduction process is engaging senior leadership to identify priority areas for action and align carbon reduction goals with broader business objectives.
The success of carbon reduction initiatives depends on integrating them seamlessly into existing business processes. They must be aligned with operational goals to minimise disruption.
For example, sustainability can be embedded into procurement by using tender criteria or supplier contracts and operational improvements like installing solar panels or EV charging stations. When carbon reduction measures are treated as integral to the business, they are more likely to receive the investment, visibility, and support needed to succeed.
Reducing your company’s carbon footprint is an opportunity to improve the company’s triple bottom line—people, planet, and profit.
Monitor Progress And Conduct Periodic Audits
Once your carbon reduction plan is implemented it is important to monitor the organisation’s emissions to track progress toward reduction targets.
It is worth repeating the carbon audit process periodically to assess your progress and identify new opportunities for improvement.
The Benefits Of A Sustainable Approach
The benefits of embedded sustainability are well documented. They include increased operational efficiencies, innovation, and enhanced brand reputation, which can attract customers, investors, and talent.
Proactively addressing carbon emissions also mitigates risks such as tightening regulations and fluctuating energy costs, ensuring long-term business resilience and competitiveness.
Integrating carbon reduction solutions is a strategic move that delivers measurable benefits for the environment, society, and the business itself.
Cala Sustain can help you Scope your 1,2 &3 Carbon Emissions and create a Carbon Reduction Plan.
Larger, more complex organisations will find value in our multi-disciplinary teams’ approach to seamless and beneficial integration throughout an organisation. Cala Sustain is at the forefront of a groundbreaking initiative to decarbonise UK defence equipment. We are helping the Ministry of Defence (MoD) achieve its Net Zero commitments.