Carbon Accounting – Where Do I Start ? 

Are you a business looking to measure your carbon emissions? Do you find yourself lost amongst the numerous complex regulations and uncertain about where to start? Don’t worry, you are not alone! This is a common feeling amongst most businesses looking to start on their carbon emissions journey. 

The first crucial step is knowing what data you need and where to find it ( We will deal with that later). Data sources in carbon accounting are split up into three ‘Scopes’. The easiest way to remember the three scopes is using the 3 ‘B’s’. 

Scope 1:

Scope 1 is anything you BURN in fossil fuels. Scope 2 is any electricity you BUY from the grid and Scope 3 is anything BEYOND Scope 1 & 2.  See it doesn’t have to be complicated. 

Going into slightly more detail Scope 1 emissions are  Direct Emissions (from sources owned or controlled by your business). These emissions are from activities that are directly under your business’s control, such as fuel combustion, company vehicles, and chemical processes.

Scope 2:

Indirect Emissions from purchased electricity.

Scope 3:

All other indirect emissions (from your value chain). These can be upstream (supply chain) or downstream (from your products/services). 

To learn more about Greenfeet, CalQRisk’s Carbon Accounting Solution, you can contact us today.