Corporate Carbon Footprint

Social and legal background

Climate change, climate protection and climate adaptation - these are issues that concern people, not only in Germany but worldwide. The EU and the German government have adopted reduction targets for the year 2050 in their respective climate laws. These and other measures were defined as part of the European Green Deal, such as regulatory and taxonomic measures. The requirements will affect companies in their activities over the coming decades and will be gradually increased. Environmental performance and, in particular, global warming potential are already essential non-financial indicators for companies. The Corporate Carbon Footprint is a harmonized, scientifically based method for determining, analyzing and communicating your company's global warming potential. This allows you to quantify your greenhouse gas emissions, identify potential for reduction and fulfil the requirements of the transformation to a climate-neutral economy.

How is a corporate carbon footprint created?

The Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF) is a corporate life cycle assessment with a single environmental impact category: the Global Warming Potential (GWP 100). As in life cycle assessments, the following is defined in preparation for the CCF: Goal and scope of the study, reference year, system boundaries, cut-off criteria, underlying standards, and other company-specific parameters. The most important standards for CCF calculation are the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) and the ISO 14064 standard. We will be happy to advise you on the extent to which your CCF should comply with one, both or other sustainability standards and specifications.

GHG Protocol

The GHG Protocol is a standard developed by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development for the calculation and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions by companies. It defines principles, calculation rules and targets for reporting. Direct and indirect emissions from companies are divided into three scopes. Scope 1 comprises direct emissions, such as emissions from combustion processes in production and from company-owned vehicles. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heat, cooling, and steam. Upstream and downstream indirect emissions such as the extraction of raw materials, waste treatment and business travel are included in scope 3. The GHG Protocol also recommends verification of the results.

ISO 14064

Similar to the GHG Protocol, ISO 14064 defines principles for recording, calculating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions from companies in a total of six categories. The emissions included in categories 1 and 2 correspond to scope 1 and 2 of the GHG Protocol, whereby the term "category" is introduced as a counterpart to "scope". In contrast to the GHG Protocol, the upstream and downstream indirect emissions (corresponding to scope 3 of the GHG Protocol) are divided into four categories in ISO 14064: indirect greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, from products used by the organisation, associated with the use of products from the organization and from other sources. The ISO standard also sets out clear requirements for verification.

Figure 1: Examples of scopes according to GHG Protocol and categories according to ISO 14064

The calculation is mandatory for emissions in scopes 1 & 2 or categories 1 & 2. Indirect upstream and downstream emissions (GHG: scope 3 / ISO 14064: category 3 - 6), on the other hand, must be selected on a company or sector-specific basis according to their materiality in order to enable a cost-efficient approach. A high quality is ensured by including all significant indirect emission sources. Figure 1 provides an overview of the considered emission sources in the various scopes according to the GHG Protocol and categories according to ISO 14064.

Relationship between regulatory requirements for sustainability reporting and the corporate carbon footprint

The calculation and assessment of companies' climate-relevant emissions is usually an important part of sustainability reports. In the European Economic Area, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is of central importance for achieving a climate-neutral economy. The CSRD requires companies to report on their sustainability performance in accordance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and to provide information on climate change. The CCF is a mandatory component of CSRD reports under the ESRS-E1 Climate Change Standard.

ESRS-E1 focuses specifically on climate change and sets demanding reporting standards for companies in this regard. ESRS-E1 requires, for example, reporting on the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions, the evaluation of reduction measures, integration into the corporate strategy and financial modelling. The aim of ESRS-E1 is to provide investors and stakeholders with a comprehensive understanding of how reporting companies contribute to climate change and how climate change affects their business activities and financial performance.

What does our collaboration with you look like?

At Kiwa, we create your Corporate Carbon Footprint in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and ISO 14064, both of which are internationally recognized and widely used standards.

• Advice on CCF and product life cycle assessments (LCAs, EPDs)
• Kick-off meeting to introduce the topic, define the scope of the study and the goals
• Support in data collection including provision of an Excel data sheet and checklist for required data
• Creation of the inventory and selection of suitable primary and secondary data sets based on the scope of the study
• Calculation of the CO₂ footprint with our certified CCF tool R<THiNK
• Preparation of the background report
• Independent verification according to ISO 14064-3
• Issue (and publication, if applicable) of the CCF certificate
• Joint evaluation and discussion of the results
• If applicable, ESG consulting and support (e.g. embedding the results in the CSRD report)
• Transition, climate change mitigation and adaptation action plan according to ESRS-E1, if applicable

Figure 2: Process of creating a Corporate Carbon Footprint with Kiwa

 

Contact us now to calculate and verify your company's carbon footprint and integrate it into your sustainability reporting.