Obligations of the Carbon Inventory... but an opportunity to reduce your emissions!

" Create a requirement to display the carbon impact of products and services

In 2020, the first of the 146 measures of the Citizens' Climate Convention required companies to calculate and display their GHG inventory®, also known as BEGES (Bilan des Émissions de Gaz à effet de Serre). To do this, the authors of the measure proposed to develop an associated carbon score, based on the Nutri-score model.

What about now?

1. Establish your GHGMP...

The law requires the following organizations to establish a BEGES, or greenhouse gas emissions balance:

• (article L 229-25 of the environmental code of 9 November 2020) : State services, regions, departments, metropolises, communities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, public law organizations employing +250 people and companies employing +500 people.
• (decree no. 2021-1784 of December 24, 2021): Companies with more than 50 employees that receive aid under the Recovery Plan

Until now, the BEGES has allowed us to pursue carbon emission reduction actions in accordance with the roadmap of the National Low Carbon Strategy (SNBC). National Low-Carbon Strategy (SNBC): "to achieve carbon neutrality, i.e. zero net emissions, by 2050 - an objective introduced by the July 2017 climate plan and enshrined in law - and to reduce the carbon footprint of the French people".

However, since Decree no. 2022-982 of July¹, 2022, the French government's expectations have become more rigorous: it is no longer enough to simply produce a GHG inventory report on direct and indirect emissions relating to energy consumption. It must also include all indirect emissions (Scope 3) and declare a strict "transition plan " committing to a low-carbon trajectory with regard to national obligations.

This new pressure requires companies not only to report and demonstrate their efforts to reduce production and energy consumption (i.e., scopes 1 and 2), but also to be able to justify (and then reduce) these other indirect carbon emissions, upstream or downstream of the production chain, which are generally the most significant. This scope 3 is therefore becoming compulsory: upstream, it concerns the design and procurement processes (travel, impact of suppliers, etc.) and downstream, the supply and consumption of the product or service (including recycling of waste produced, employee commuting, etc.).

Since the July^1st decree now considers the overall volume of greenhouse gas emissions, it obliges companies to carry out a more complete (and precise) Bilan Carbone, to justify their trajectory for reducing both direct and indirect emissions. Last but not least, Article L. 229-25 requires that a description of actions implemented and results obtained over the period prior to the assessment, in line with the objectives set at the time, be attached to the mandatory Carbon Balance. Companies must therefore also demonstrate the coherence of their long-term low-carbon trajectory, between objectives set and achieved.

In short, the message of the latest official decree is: "weigh yourself and lose weight!

To do this, the method for calculating GHG emissions published by ADEME and distributed by the Association Bilan Carbone (ABC) is a very useful tool for learning about the process, but it does not take these new issues into account, except by involving consultants, who are often very expensive.

In order to take action autonomously, without delay and at a lower cost, Global Climate Initiatives (GCI ) offers a platform of services to help private and public companies meet these new short-term constraints and, in the long term, build a low-carbon pathway that is consistent with the company's business model, i.e. successful.

As a member of the ABC, GCI offers public and private organizations the possibility of calculating their GHG inventory, reducing their emissions and offsetting their incompressible emissions if desired. No one, from small businesses to large corporations, should hesitate to call on its services, patiently built over the last ten years to ensure compliance, simplicity and progress for everyone.

NB: The BEGES is a tool for accounting for the quantity of GHG generated by the activity of a company or organization, for the production of a good or a service.

This assessment allows the company to evaluate the impact of its activity on the environment, but also to know the sources of GHG emissions and thus to establish a plan to reduce its carbon emissions. Making it public is the first step in raising awareness among consumers, employees and partners, and encouraging the organization to reduce its footprint.

2. ...to make it public

The creation of the "Carbon Score" is supported by Article 1 of the Climate bill adopted by the deputies. Based on the model of the Nutri-Score, the "CO2-Score" must clearly translate the state of the Carbon Weight of each product sold.

Although ADEME had set up a similar experimentation that ended in June 2021, environmental labeling is still under experimentation since March 2021, for a maximum duration of five years.

While waiting for the Carbon Score to become official, it is in the interest of private and public companies to start the process of establishing their complete and detailed GHG inventory. Indeed, this reporting action is essential to prepare companies to reduce their future "carbon tax base" as much as possible. The latter, which will start to be deployed from February 13, 2023, will expand carbon quotas and impose a carbon tax on imports. It is high time to know and reduce your carbon footprint!

See the difference between BEGES and Bilan Carbone;