Step 1: Define project boundaries

Cost
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Cost
MEDIUM
Cost
HIGH
EFFORT
low
EFFORT
medium
EFFORT
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IMPACT
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IMPACT
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IMPACT
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The first step in your corporate carbon management journey is to map your activities and define the operational boundaries for your carbon footprint assessment. It is useful to use Scopes 1, 2 and 3 as defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standard in the world:

- Scope 1 emissions are the direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by your company, such as company vehicles, your factories or buildings burning fuel.

- Scope 2 emissions are the indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heat and cooling consumed in facilities or operations owned or controlled by your company.

- Scope 3 emissions are the indirect emissions from transporting your products to the point of sale, your employees' business flights and commutes, the raw materials you use in your products...

To facilitate your carbon emissions inventory, start with a simplified list of your company's business physical flow:

  • Operations (e.g.: buildings, employee and visitor mobility, product output)
  • Energy sources
  • Supply chain activities (raw materials and distribution)

Include your Scope 3 emissions in your inventory from the start, even if you think it will be difficult to properly collect all the relevant quantitative data. At least you will have a qualitative overview of your carbon emissions inventory. You may then decide to start with a partial Scope 3 calculation for the first few years and then gradually include the full inventory.

This baseline overview of your carbon emissions inventory will be your starting point for defining the next steps for data collection and management.

Scope 1

are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources
(ghgprotocol.org)

Scope 2

are the indirect emissions from purchased electricity
(ghgprotocol.org)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard provides requirements and guidance for companies and other organisations to prepare a corporate GHG emissions inventory.

Here is an example to download (excel format) of a framework for defining your project boundaries using Scopes 1,2 and 3 of the GHG Protocol.