Greenhouse Gas Protocol: Carbon Scope
Climate change is one of the prominent issues of the 21st century, it used to be a concern within the scientific community yet throughout the years has broadened into economics, geopolitics, national and local politics, law, sociology, health, and many other fields. There are a lot of factors contributing to the rapid climate change, greenhouse gasses is one of them. Greenhouse gasses have been the most prominent driver of climate change, one of the factors that drive the increase of greenhouse gasses is human activities since halfway through the 21st century. If greenhouse gas emissions build up within the atmosphere leading up to the warming of the climate, therefore creating massive changes all over the world whether it is in the atmosphere, in the ocean, or on land.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development, which encompasses well-known companies, created the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG) as a global guideline on how to measure, manage, and report the greenhouse gas emissions from each industry. The purpose of its implementation is to achieve efficiency, resilience, and prosperity of the industry itself. The companies’ greenhouse gas emissions can be classified into three scopes:
Scope 1: Direct Emissions
Direct emissions come from sources that are owned by companies and controlled resources. They are the kind of emissions that are released into the atmosphere correspondingly as the direct impact of series activities at a firm level. For instance, all emissions that are related with fuel combustion in vehicles, factory fumes, and boilers.
Scope 2: Indirect Emissions – Owned
Indirect emissions that come from purchased energy by a utility provider. It is the kind of emissions that are released into the atmosphere as a result of consumption of heat, cooling, and purchased electricity (all the consumption of electricity by end-user)
Scope 3: Indirect Emissions – Not Owned
Indirect emissions excluding the scope 2 that connected throughout the company’s operations encompassed upstream and downstream emissions. Upstream emissions include material acquisition and pre-processing such as purchased goods and services, capital goods, and fuel and energy–related activities. Downstream emissions include distribution and storage, use, and end-of-life such as investments, franchises, and processing of sold products.
This kind of measurement should be implemented in order to know the right amount of carbon footprint an organization or business offers to accurately know their impact towards the environment. There are a few reasons on why we should measure our carbon footprint which are:
Transition Towards a More Carbon Neutral Business
“Carbon neutral” is a term used to describe the same amount of CO2 released as the amount being erased. In order to start the transition process towards a more carbon neutral business, there has to be action taken such as measuring the carbon footprint and taking a carbon neutral status. Knowing and understanding our emissions inventory is essential since it aligns with “SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production”. By transitioning towards carbon neutral status, we help the process of achieving SDG 12 in promoting the efficient use of resources and energy, sustainable infrastructure, and offering the accessibility to fundamental services, adequate jobs, and a better quality of life. It aims to do more and better with less.
Decrease the Rapid Climate Change
Since the carbon footprint is one of the prominent drivers in rapid climate change, the urgency to calculate and understand the scope of our carbon emissions is intensifying. Through the understanding of our carbon emissions inventory, it is easier for us to contribute positively towards the environment. It can keep us accountable for what we have been doing towards the environment. This action supports the achievement of SDG 13 in ensuring the actions taken towards climate change and its impact.
Improve the Efficiency of Businesses
In running a business, there will always be regulations issued by the government covering scopes be it local, national, or even international. The regulations are the benchmark on how to run business particularly in regards to the impact upon the environment. Some companies encounter difficulties in identifying the problems and action that should be taken in order to mitigate their activities’ impact upon the environment simply because they are lacking the knowledge of their emissions inventory. Having adequate knowledge and understanding of our carbon inventory enables us to have specific and firm data and inform key stakeholders in regards to our environmental status. Therefore, offer the opportunity to our business to be transparent. Moreover, carbon reporting also helps us to build a formidable image thus gaining public support. It enables us to be more efficient in terms of decision making process and business practices since it facilitates risk and opportunity assessment and underlining the inefficiencies in our whole company supply chain.
By: Alya Rachma
READING TAB
Greenhouse gas protocol. World Resources Institute. (2019, August 19) from https://www.wri.org/initiatives/greenhouse-gas-protocol
Tara Bernoville Tara is the content writer at Plan A. She obtained a master's in entrepreneurship and sustainable innovation. What are Scopes 1, 2 and 3 of carbon emissions? Plan A Academy from https://plana.earth/academy/what-are-scope-1-2-3-emissions/
United Nations. (n.d.). #ENVISION2030: 17 goals to transform the world for persons with disabilities enable. United Nations. from https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/envision2030.html
REFERENCES
Admin. (2019, November 5). Greenhouse Gas Protocol - IAP2 Indonesia. IAP2 Indonesia - international association for public participation indonesia. Retrieved June 22, 2022, from https://iap2.or.id/greenhouse-gas-protocol/
Briefing: What are scope 3 emissions? The Carbon Trust. (2020, June 23). Retrieved June 25, 2022, from https://www.carbontrust.com/resources/briefing-what-are-scope-3-emissions
CEPAL, N. (2019). The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals: An opportunity for Latin America and the Caribbean. Goals, Targets and Global Indicators.
Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). EPA. Retrieved June 22, 2022, from https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/greenhouse-gases
Lyakhovetskaya, O. (2021, October 19). What are scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions? LinkedIn. Retrieved June 22, 2022, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-scope-1-2-3-carbon-emissions-olga-lyakhovetskaya
Maslin, M. (2014). Climate Change: A Very Short Introduction (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Tara Bernoville Tara is the content writer at Plan A. She obtained a master's in entrepreneurship and sustainable innovation. (2022, June 15). What are Scopes 1, 2 and 3 of carbon emissions? Plan A Academy. Retrieved June 22, 2022, from https://plana.earth/academy/what-are-scope-1-2-3-emissions/
Tara Bernoville Tara is the content writer at Plan A. She obtained a master's in entrepreneurship and sustainable innovation. (2022, June 15). What is the difference between carbon-neutral, net-zero and climate positive? Plan A Academy. Retrieved June 26, 2022, from https://plana.earth/academy/what-is-difference-between-carbon-neutral-net-zero-climate-positive/
What are scope 3 emissions?: Ghgi analytics: CO2 emissions reporting. GHG Insight. (2022, May 3). Retrieved June 25, 2022, from https://www.ghginsight.com/what-are-scope-3-emissions/
Why measure your carbon footprint? Pathzero I Accelerate your net zero goals. (n.d.). Retrieved June 26, 2022, from https://www.pathzero.com/blog/why-measure-your-carbon-impact