One, two, three... and the GHG emissions will be well calculated!... And reduced!!! Focus on the integration of the 3 scopes on the GCI platform.

For some, compliance with regulations, for others, compliance with the collective commitment that is essential for a large-scale energy transition, and for the latter, the desire to perpetuate and develop their company, require the company to carry out a greenhouse gas (GHG) assessment.

The new decree of July 1, 2022, which imposes scope 3 and a reduction action plan, and the 2022 Finance Act, which requires most companies with more than 50 employees to also carry out a GHG assessment, albeit initially in a simplified form, confirm the growing regulatory pressure.

The extension of carbon quotas to real estate and transport in 2021, and the announcement of a carbon tax on imports in 2022, make every entrepreneur aware of the imminent arrival of a "carbon tax base" that can only be mitigated by reducing their own GHG emissions.

As a tool for identifying, measuring and reducing its carbon footprint, the GHG assessment is the first essential step in developing and managing a low-carbon path.

From the smallest company to the largest, each company will find only economic and commercial advantages by appropriating its GHG balance sheet as a complementary management and steering tool.

A complete GHG assessment is...

A serious objective of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions requires three steps

• Identify and measure your GHG emissions: make a complete GHG assessment;
• Distinguish the most important items and suppliers in the GHG balance;
• Define and implement an action plan to reduce its emissions by involving its team, suppliers and service providers.

The GHG assessment allows a complete evaluation of the quantity of greenhouse gases emitted by an organization. It is in fact a precise and detailed inventory respecting an official methodology (ISO or GHG Protocol or Bilan Carbone method).

A complete balance sheet requires the consideration of the 3 regulatory emission scopes:

• Scope 1 : Direct emissions
• Scope 2: Indirect energy emissions
• Scope 3: Other significant indirect emissions resulting from the operations and activities of the legal entity and, where applicable, from the use of the goods and services it produces.

Still optional until recently, scope 3 has become mandatory for the companies concerned, decree no. 2022-982 of 1 July 2022.

This extension is a major step forward in a company's energy transition, since scope 3 represents 50 to 80% of an organization's emissions. From now on, all GHG emissions must be taken into account and reduced.

Taking into account direct emissions

The accounting of Scope 1 emissions corresponds to so-called direct emissions. These are emissions directly generated by the organization. They include emissions from sources owned or controlled by the organization.

The French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) details these emissions as those coming from "combustion of stationary and mobile sources, industrial processes other than combustion, emissions from ruminants, biogas from technical landfills, refrigerant leaks, nitrogen fertilization, biomasses...".

According to this definition, this means taking into account the fuels of the service vehicles owned by the company, the refrigerant gas leaks of an air conditioning or the gas heating.

Accounting for scope 1 is mandatory when drawing up a balance sheet for legal entities under private law with more than 500 employees, for local authorities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, for public establishments with more than 250 employees, for government departments and for all companies with more than 50 employees that have received "COVID" aid.

Inventories of indirect energy-related emissions

Scope 2 involves the inventory of indirect energy-related emissions. Easily conceived, it is generally the most obvious scope for companies. It represents the inclusion of emissions generated by the production of electricity, steam, heat or cold that is consumed.

To account for it correctly in a GHG assessment, it is sufficient to refer to the consumption invoices of the different energies that the organization uses.

The same regulations that apply to scope 1 also apply to scope 2, making it compulsory for companies to draw up a GHG balance sheet.

Scope 3, the largest and most important!

The last scope concerns all other indirect emissions. This is a very broad scope, representing up to 80% of an organization's emissions.

Generally representing the largest share of emissions, those related to production, transport of materials and products, travel, waste generated by the organization but also those of the buildings owned or managed by the organization, it is therefore a critical point in the implementation of reduction targets.

Its obligation was expected by all those who wished to see a significant increase in GHG emission reduction targets.

How does the GCI platform combine these three scopes?

Complex to understand in this strict regulatory form, GCI has preferred to offer users of its platform a logical and didactic path, by reorganizing these programs into seven more readable categories:

• Travel
• Incoming materials
• Incoming services
• Energy
• Refrigerants
• Water consumption
• Waste

The calculations made for each of these categories are then reallocated according to the three regulatory scopes. To learn more about GCI's didactic approach, see the document GCI, pioneer of 100% digital carbon footprinting since 2012.

What about scope 4? Read our guide.

Identify, then calculate, then reduce!

Identifying and calculating the carbon footprint of emissions makes it possible to determine the main emitting items, and thus target the environmental impacts of the organization to be limited. 

The next step is to develop a comprehensive reduction action plan that meets these priorities.

Not only will the actions of organizations following a low-carbon trajectory benefit the company and the community, but also the development and sustainability of the organization.

A company that commits to a low-carbon strategy sends a positive message to its customers, but also to its employees, shareholders and partners who will want to participate in this environmentally responsible transformation. Indeed, it is by engaging all entities of an organization that a low-carbon strategy can succeed.

Global Climate Initiatives assists all its clients and users in the implementation of their GHG reduction action plan and their low-carbon strategy. A GCI Guide is available at this link for those who wish to better understand GHG reporting and how it can benefit business performance.

Do not hesitate and engage your company! GCI is an online platform, 100% guided and compliant, which will help you to carry out the complete assessment and the low-carbon strategy of your company.