Measurable and comparable data regarding the environmental impact of your company or organisation.
Insight into the largest contributors to the carbon footprint.
A clear indicator, the reduction of which can be set as the aim for reducing your environmental impact.
The carbon footprint of your company or organisation is the quantity of CO2 and other greenhouse gases that are emitted as a result of your business operations. It is one way to measure the impact of your activities on the environment and take conscious steps to reduce this impact.
Scope 1 accounts for direct emissions from emission sources in the possession or under the control of an organisation or its operations, including:
Scope 2 accounts for indirect emissions from the production of energy that an organisation purchases and consumes.
All other indirect emissions which are generated as a result of the upstream or downstream activities in the value chain of an organisation. The causes of carbon emissions of Scope 3 highly depend on the area of activity of an organisation, and usually, Scope 3 carbon emissions make up the majority of the entire carbon footprint of an organisation while being the most complicated ones to calculate. Therefore, Scope 3 calculations are currently not very common.
Scope 1
Scope 1 accounts for direct emissions from emission sources in the possession or under the control of an organisation or its operations, including:
Scope 2
Scope 2 accounts for indirect emissions from the production of energy that an organisation purchases and consumes.
Scope 3
All other indirect emissions which are generated as a result of the upstream or downstream activities in the value chain of an organisation. The causes of carbon emissions of Scope 3 highly depend on the area of activity of an organisation, and usually, Scope 3 carbon emissions make up the majority of the entire carbon footprint of an organisation while being the most complicated ones to calculate. Therefore, Scope 3 calculations are currently not very common.
Ways to reduce the carbon footprint of your organisation are individual and depend on the greatest contributors to the footprint. However, there are some general principles that help almost any organisation reduce its footprint.
Create possibilities for the in-house production of at least some of the power you consume (with the help of solar panels, for example). The rest of the energy you purchase should be green energy. Ask your electricity provider for a certificate of origin.
Find possibilities for reducing the use of vehicles in your business operations that rely on fossil fuels. Prefer electric vehicles or try to find ways to move on foot or use public transportation.
Select F-gases with as little environmental impact as possible for your refrigeration and cooling equipment. In the case of refrigeration and cooling equipment, use the assistance of advisers to find the best-suited solution for your building which also has the smallest carbon footprint, as a whole.
Create possibilities for the in-house production of at least some of the power you consume (with the help of solar panels, for example). The rest of the energy you purchase should be green energy. Ask your electricity provider for a certificate of origin.
Find possibilities for reducing the use of vehicles in your business operations that rely on fossil fuels. Prefer electric vehicles or try to find ways to move on foot or use public transportation.
Select F-gases with as little environmental impact as possible for your refrigeration and cooling equipment. In the case of refrigeration and cooling equipment, use the assistance of advisers to find the best-suited solution for your building which also has the smallest carbon footprint, as a whole.
Some organisations might want to become carbon-neutral. Usually, reducing the amount of emissions to zero is not possible, and at least some of the emissions must be offset in such cases. For this, various methods are used in Estonia as well as globally, from planting trees and supporting circular economy to constructing renewable energy production units. If necessary, find a suitable method for yourself and make sure that you can prove the offsetting with appropriate certification.
Read more about voluntary carbon market.
Currently, calculating the carbon footprint is not required. It will become obligatory for large companies on the basis of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive in 2025, when an ESG report on 2024 must be submitted along with the annual report for the first time.
The GHG Protocol accounts for carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC), sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃).
Currently, there are no established norms or comparative scales for carbon footprint, and therefore, it is hard to assess whether a footprint is big or small. However, a few reference frameworks based on similar companies or sectors are beginning to emerge, which help to evaluate the footprint of your company compared to others a bit better. Regardless, carbon footprint calculation is sensible because it provides excellent insight into the biggest contributors to your carbon footprint while allowing to set objectives for the reduction of the footprint and building a habit of working on the reduction of your footprint in a meaningful and consistent manner.
