Carbon Accounting

Note

• We have built a prototype carbon accounting calculator here: google sheet

How to measure our carbon footprint internally

Normatives Business Carbon Calculator Need to know: What is the time period you want to calculate emissions for? How many people worked at your company at the end of this time period? What was your company’s revenue? Did your company own or maintain long-term leases on vehicles? How many liters of petrol and diesel fuel did your company’s vehicles use? How much did your company spend on petrol and diesel fuel for vehicles? Did your company own or maintain long-term leases on machinery? How many liters of petrol and diesel fuel did your company’s machinery use? How much did your company spend on petrol and diesel fuel for machinery? How large were your company’s facilities? How much electricity did your company consume? How much did your company spend on electricity? Did your company receive 100% renewable electricity? Did your company receive heating? How much heating did your company consume? How much did your company spend on heating?

*There are numerous online calculators that can calculate your greenhouse gas emissions too, such as the Carbon Trust and the McKay Carbon Calculator

https://mackaycarboncalculator.energysecurity.gov.uk/overview/emissions-and-primary-energy-consumption/?levers=111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111aaabaaabaaabaaaaaaaaaaaabbabbbcbbaabcaabbaaaagggggggggggggeggggggggggiggiiiqgdgggggggggkgg

Steps:

1. Collect Data. You’ll want to measure:

• Energy consumption: electricity, gas, and other energy sources used in operations
• Transportation: Record data on company vehicles, business travel, and employee commuting
• Waste production: track the amount and type of waste generated
• Water supply: measure water consumption and water treatment if relevant
• Supply chain: engage with suppliers to gather data on their emissions To accurately account for shipping emissions:

1. Calculate the total volume or weight of good shipped over a specific period
2. Collect data on shipping methods used, such as type of vehicles and distance traveled
3. Obtain emissions factors for different shipping methods (can probably be obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or industry specific databases)
4. Multiply the shipping volume by the emission factors for each type of shipping method used. This will give you the emissions for each shipping method.

USPS Ground Shipping: Packages are shipping only by truck, not by plane.

https://consumerecology.com/carbon-footprint-of-package-shipping-transport/

3.8 ounces per letter

2. Convert to GHG Emissions

Find the amount of greenhouse gas emissions associated with each activity using an “emission factor,” a representative value that allows you to convert the activity data you’ve measured into step-by-step ghg emissions

OR you can use a carbon accounting software to convert data to approximate emissions

→ Data x Emission factor = Greenhouse gas emissions

• You can use the Department of Energy and Climate Change greenhouse gas conversion factors → you would take all of the activity data measurements collected over the course of a year and multiply it by the relevant emissions conversion factor, which gives an estimate of the greenhouse gas emissions from that activity