Carbon Footprints and PAS2060

Carbon Footprint and Carbon Neutrality (PAS 2060)

 Climate change is a current real issue that many businesses are faced with today. It can be critical to all industries. Global warming is a direct impact from it and is caused by emissions of greenhouse gases. The most important of those gases is carbon dioxide. Virtually all human activities contribute to harmful carbon dioxide emissions (such as burning gas for heating, driving a petrol or diesel car, using electricity generated from fossil fuel power stations, etc.). Businesses can connect on this issue via established environmental management systems such as ISO14001. That is why achieving carbon neutrality is so important in today’s day and age. Carbon neutrality refers to achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions.

But how do we get there?

Calculating your carbon footprint is a good place to start. There are two main reasons for calculating a carbon footprint: To manage the footprint and reduce emissions over time and to report the footprint accurately to a third party

So what is a carbon footprint?

The term carbon footprint is commonly used to describe the total amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for which an individual or organisation is responsible. Footprints can also be calculated for events or products.

Steps to producing a footprint:

A good place to start is to, first of all, get a better understanding of it.

?                    Specify the boundary and scope of the footprint – what’s in and what’s out.

?                    Collect emissions data and calculate the footprint.

?                    Verify the results.

?                    Disclosure of the foot print to key stakeholders.

How to calculate a carbon footprint?

For most organisations, calculating a basic carbon footprint is a fairly straight - forward process. A basic footprint covers direct emissions and emissions from electricity, which are the simplest to manage. Usually, the major emissions sources are:

?                    Onsite fuel usage

?                    Onsite electricity usage

?                    Use of transport which you own

 However, calculating a basic footprint excludes sources of indirect emissions which your organisation does not control, for example, emissions from waste, supply chain or employee travel. Accurate calculation of your carbon footprint requires a more detailed approach and may require specialist advice. It’s not enough just to claim that a business is carbon neutral. These claims need credibility. One way to do that is to achieve the internationally applicable PAS 2060 Specification for the demonstration of carbon neutrality. That is where Crowberry Consulting can support you. As consultants, Crowberry Consulting can guide your organisation through PAS 2060 and help you gain a better understanding of the specification. On top of that, they will help you to accurately calculate your carbon footprint using a systematic approach made up of five simple steps.

 On top of that, Crowberry Consulting Ltd offers a half-day Carbon Footprint Workshop delivered straight to your premises. The workshop will show you how to calculate your carbon footprint and how to lower your carbon emissions through a structured carbon management strategy. The course includes an introduction to climate change and carbon management which will help delegates understand carbon footprint legislation for organisations in the UK. Businesses will be presented with a presentation of the impact the organisation has on the environment by calculating its carbon footprint and demonstrating ways of reducing it using carbon management tools.

 For more information on carbon footprints, Crowberry Consulting recently launched a sustainability podcast called Sustainability Street. One of the episodes focuses on carbon footprints. The episode offers more insight on what businesses can do to reduce their carbon footprint, by using conversion factors. The episode can be accessed here (include podcast episode link).

Please call us on 01257 231171 for further help and support with PAS2060 and Carbon Management.

For more information on the course, please click here:

https://www.crowberryconsulting.com/training/

Sustainability Street podcast link to Carbon Footprints and Carbon Management:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/carbon-footprints-and-carbon-management/id1547692465?i=1000512072535