The Benefit of Carbon Measurement

Measuring carbon footprint is a technical subject, and British business culture does not lend itself to the technical. It is more in tune with creativity and seat of the pants innovation and problem solving. It is therefore not surprising that CO2 assessment is often considered as a subject too expensive, too time consuming and complicated, and therefore its ideal place lies somewhere in the future.    

This begs the question, is carbon measurement necessary to create an effective eco strategy. The answer is no, not at all, despite what small army of dyed in the wool environment specialists will tell you. They preach that assessing carbon output is the essential first step to climate redemption, though of course changing behaviour does not depended on measurement, it depends on actions. Having said that, it is no bad thing to understand company environmental profile. It will identify some areas of business function that may be overlooked for improvement, and money saving.  

Carbon assessment 

There are now a large and growing industry dedicated to undertaking company carbon assessment, and providing regular updates that track results, and even get close to real time evaluation. But for most smaller businesses there is too much expense involved in being caught up in such scenarios, so the answer to turn to the increasing number of free and effective carbon counting DIY options available. They are worth looking at to obtain an overview of carbon emissions, and the cost savings that can be made.   

For those new to the subject, calculating carbon output is similar to financial accounting. Each company has an emissions balance sheet, whether they know it or not. It is a matter of working out what it looks like. To help understand it, a standard assessment format has been established through something called the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. It is widely accepted as an effective evaluation system, and is based on escalating stages measurement, with Scope 1 being the most basic and Scope 3 the most detailed.

Effective free online carbon calculators are available, including those for SMEs, including one created by Carbon Trust https://www.carbontrust.com/our-work-and-impact/guides-reports-and-tools/sme-carbon-footprint-calculator , and another by SSE Energy Solutions https://www.sseenergysolutions.co.uk/small-business-sustainability/carbon-footprint-calculator , and even some high street banks have free to use calculators.

What Scope 1, 2 and 3 mean

Scope 1 is about emissions directly generated by business activity, such as fuel used by cars, vans or lorries.

Scope 2 is about indirect carbon output created by emissions from the use of electricity and gas. It is relatively easy to work out the carbon output for Scope 2 because energy bills contain the necessary detail. In fact, Scope 1 and 2 can often be based on fuel costs and energy bills. 

Scope 3 is more complex because it is focused on indirect emissions that take place as a result of wider business activity. For example, carbon emissions within the supply chain, shipping and distribution, business travel, staff commuting, how customers dispose of spent goods, and even finance including how a company pension fund invests. 

Scope 3 can clearly become complicated. For a start, suppliers themselves have to carbon count and provide data, and some of the information received may be knowingly or unknowingly unreliable. Plus there are a variety of ways for measuring Scope 3 emissions.

However, it is often worth attempting assessment, not least because cost savings can sometimes be identified, such as reducing unnecessary business travel, reviewing suppliers and sourcing alternative materials. Having an approximate measurement relating to Scope 3 is better than no measurement at all. It can always be treated as a work in progress. 

There is another benefit of undertaking Scope3. Being able to state that it is something completed sends out a positive signal, and can influence buying decisions among many consumers and companies. 

Scope X

There is also a growing movement to recognise Scope X. This is the influence businesses bring to bear to change on a broad scale. This can be engagement with suppliers and employees, lobbying local politicians, government authorities and trade organisations, or publicising good environmental practice through marketing channels.

Needless to say, measurement of such activity is not easy, but can make a difference, and again, there is often commercial advantage in being seen as a carbon reduction campaigner as long as the positioning does not come across as lecturing others, and long as the campaigning company has green credentials firmly in place. Any attempt at this is best done under the supervision of an experience public relations professional and someone equally qualified in public affairs. Without expert guidance on public presentation there is the risk that efforts could go wrong, and even be counterproductive. 

Next steps

If carbon calculation is something yet to be tried, it is certainly worth considering if there is time. At a basic level, online calculators mean it does not take long, and it can identify some areas of business that need attention as well as possible cost saving without having to drill down into painstaking detail. However, carbon measurement itself will not do anything for the planet, and it may be best to delay while practical steps are being taken to make a difference to company CO2 profile.