The Benefits of Carbon Footprinting for an Organisation

The Benefits of Carbon Footprinting for an Organisation

19th October 2022

A Carbon Footprint is one of the most powerful (if underutilised) tools in your organisation’s sustainability arsenal. According to research from the BBC, “…only one in 10 of over a thousand firms surveyed by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) are measuring their carbon footprint and currently 26% of larger firms with more than 50 employees are measuring theirs.”

What is a Carbon Footprint, why should your organisation be measuring it, and what are the benefits? We unpack these important Carbon Footprint questions below.

Carbon Footprint: The Basics

The Carbon Footprint of an organisation is defined as “the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) produced to directly and indirectly support business activities”, and it is expressed in terms of tonnes of carbon dioxide. An organisation can look to sources such as fuels and transport, purchased electricity and other emissions such as business travel, water, waste and supply chain for the largest contributors to a Footprint (more on Scopes and Emissions here).

A Carbon Footprint is essential for all organisations wishing to reduce their environmental impact, and when undertaken on an annual basis, it can be used to improve operational efficiency within the business, highlighting cost savings and performance benefits. A Carbon Footprint analysis is important so that organisation know what the current GHG emissions levels of their business are, and to develop strategies to lower them.

Carbon Footprint Benefits

The benefits of calculating your organisation’s Carbon Footprint include:

  • Identification of energy and carbon hotspots: one of the first measures that the GEP Environmental team takes when providing Carbon Footprint support for an organisation is an assessment. This allows us to target the areas of an organisation that produce the most carbon, ensuring that recommended measures will have the greatest impact.
  • Strategy assessment: after conducting the initial assessment and recommendations, our team will then carry these findings into a wider sustainability strategy. For organisations at the beginning of their sustainability journey, the Carbon Footprint will form a baseline for which all other measures are considered, and for those further along, our team will review and update the organisation’s current Net Zero Carbon or Environmental Social and Governance Strategy to align with the findings of the assessment.
  • Target setting: no strategy would be complete without target setting. Our experts work with organisations to inform the setting of robust GHG emissions reduction targets and environmental objectives, ensuring that the targets have the greatest impact on the Carbon Footprint.
  • Compliance consideration: following target setting, it’s time to discuss compliance. Environmental compliance varies from organisation to organisation and sector to sector, but our team of experienced professionals will enable your organisation to comply with mandatory GHG reporting (such as Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting), other legislative requirements, and broader supply chain requirements.
  • CSR and stakeholder engagement: one of the many benefits of a Carbon Footprint is how actionable it can be – a Carbon Footprint provides a snapshot of where your organisation is, emissions-wise, and a Carbon Footprint from GEP Environmental gives actionable recommendations for ways to reduce those emissions. The recommendations, and the footprint itself, is an excellent way for an organisation to showcase its commitment to managing and reducing its impact on the environment to stakeholders.

For more information about Carbon Footprinting or to speak to one of our in-house experts, get in touch today.


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