Computing your emissions
Greenhouse Gases (GHGs): Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect. This effect, accelerated by GHG accumulation since the Industrial Revolution, leads to global warming and climate change. Key GHGs include: Carbon dioxide (CO₂), Methane (CH₄), Nitrous oxide (N₂O), Fluorinated gases.
Carbon Accounting: Physical carbon accounting quantifies the physical amounts of GHG emissions released into the atmosphere. It helps organizations determine their carbon footprint annually and enables them to set reduction targets.
Carbon Footprint: The total amount of GHGs (expressed in tons of CO₂-eq) emitted during a process or by an organization. It serves as a measure of atmospheric pollution caused by human activities, such as a company's operations.
Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO₂-eq): A metric used to compare emissions from different GHGs based on their Global Warming Potential (see GWP). Using CO₂-eq as a common denominator allows for the comparison of different companies' GHG footprints, even if they emit various types of GHGs.
Global Warming Potential (GWP): The GWP of a GHG measures its ability to trap heat in the atmosphere over time relative to CO₂. The higher the GWP, the greater the gas’s contribution to global warming.
Emission Factor: Represents the quantity of GHG emissions associated with a specific activity or product. They are expressed in CO₂-eq to account for multiple GHGs.
Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 Emissions:
Scope 1: Direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by a company (e.g., fuel combustion in company vehicles).
Scope 2: Indirect emissions from the purchase of electricity, heat, or cooling.
Scope 3: Indirect emissions from activities within the company’s value chain (e.g., upstream production and downstream use).
Indirect GHG Emissions: Emissions resulting from the reporting company’s activities but occurring at sources owned or controlled by third parties in the value chain.
Going further on your climate journey
Net-Zero Emissions: Global concept achieved when human-caused GHG emissions are fully balanced by human-caused GHG removals.
Net-zero emissions cannot be meaningfully applied at a company level.
To contribute to a global net-zero goal, companies should primarily reduce emissions within their own value chain (see Decarbonization), and then contribute to the reduction of others' emissions, either by avoiding emissions (see Avoided emissions) or offsetting residual ones (see Carbon offsetting).
Carbon Neutrality: See Net-zero emissions. Global concept that cannot be meaningfully applied at a company level.
Decarbonization: The process by which countries, organizations, or individuals reduce their direct and indirect emissions, aiming to achieve Net-zero GHG emissions. To effectively decarbonize, organizations should set ambitious and time-bound targets and plan concrete measures to achieve these reductions (Decarbonization plan).
Science-Based Targets (SBTs): Clearly defined pathways for companies to reduce GHG emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. Targets are validated by the SBT initiative and aim to limit global warming to below 2°C, with efforts to reach 1.5°C.
Paris Agreement: A global framework adopted during COP21 in December 2015 to avoid dangerous climate change. Its goals are to:
Limit global warming to well below 2°C, with efforts to cap it at 1.5°C.
Strengthen countries' capacity to address climate change impacts.
Avoided Emissions: Reductions in GHG emissions that occur outside an organization’s own value chain but are achieved through the use of its products or services. These reductions occur when a company’s solution allows third parties to lower their emissions compared to a baseline scenario.
Carbon Offsetting: Actions taken to balance the carbon footprint by investing in projects that aim to capture emissions elsewhere, such as reforestation or carbon capture and storage (CCS). Carbon offsetting should be used to address residual emissions that cannot be reduced.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): A method for assessing the environmental impact of a product or service across its entire life cycle, from raw materials extraction to its end-of-life. This approach differs from a company’s carbon footprint assessment.