Modern carbon accounting began in the early 2000’s. It is essentially calculating your business’s carbon footprint and understanding where your emissions are coming from, so you can work on reducing it. Then you can measure your sustainability as a business and report it to stakeholders and governments. This comes with many benefits; firstly, fighting climate change and secondly building your brand equity by staying compliant with sustainability global standards.
Carbon accounting, similar to financial accounting, quantifies the impact of a business’s activities through calculating greenhouse gas emissions. It is also known as “greenhouse gas accounting”. This method is used to estimate carbon footprints for businesses, governments and even individuals.
Once you have measured your carbon footprint, you can then work on reducing your impact by identifying your major causes of emissions. This can be through multiple in office initiatives like introducing recycling bins, replacing plastic packaging or providing bikes for transportations and much more.
However it doesn't just stop there, once you have reduced your in-house emissions as much as you can then your organizations can use climate investment to compensate its remaining emissions, completing its journey to net zero.
On your journey to net zero, you might want to share your progress with stakeholders like customers, investors, and employees – or you maybe required to report your emissions by law. Carbon accounting enables companies to report their climate impact.
How Carbon Emissions Are Measured
Carbon emissions are measured by calculating the amount of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide (CO2), released into the atmosphere from various human activities. This process involves several steps:
Data Collection:
Energy Consumption: Gathering data on electricity, natural gas, and other fuel usage.
Fuel Combustion: Tracking the amount of fuel used for transportation, heating, and industrial processes.
Material Usage: Monitoring the consumption of materials like steel, cement, and paper.
Waste Generation: Assessing the amount and type of waste produced.
Emission Factor Calculation:
Emission factors are numerical values that represent the amount of greenhouse gas emissions associated with a specific activity or unit of energy or material. These factors are derived from scientific research and industry standards.
Emissions Calculation:
Multiplying Activity Data by Emission Factors: The activity data (e.g., energy consumption, fuel usage) is multiplied by the corresponding emission factors to calculate the total greenhouse gas emissions.
Data Analysis and Reporting:
The calculated emissions are analyzed to identify trends, hotspots, and opportunities for reduction. Comprehensive reports are then prepared to communicate the findings to stakeholders.
Common Carbon Accounting Standards:
Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol): The most widely used standard for measuring and managing greenhouse gas emissions.
ISO 14064: A series of international standards for greenhouse gas accounting and verification.
By understanding and measuring your carbon footprint ,you can take steps to reduce emissions, improve energy efficiency, and contribute to a more sustainable future. Pebble's innovative platform simplifies carbon accounting, enabling you to measure, report, and reduce emissions with ease. By providing actionable insights and empowering your team, Pebble is your partner in building a sustainable future.
We accelerate climate action by empowering businesses to reduce their carbon footprint. Our focus on transparency, accountability, and impact drives progress in carbon offsetting, renewable energy, ocean conservation, and biodiversity protection. Together, we build a sustainable future.