Carbon footprint assessment has become an essential tool today. It helps organizations understand their emissions, reduce them effectively, and meet the expectations of their stakeholders.
This article is designed to answer any questions you may have about carbon footprints assessments. From its importance for your business to how to implement it, I address all the key points to help you better understand and incorporate this approach into your environmental strategy.
An organization’s carbon footprint assessment is a comprehensive snapshot of all greenhouse gas emissions associated with its activities over a specific period. Unlike what its name suggests, the carbon footprint assessment isn’t limited to CO2 ; it also includes other greenhouse gases (GHGs) defined by the Kyoto Protocol, such as methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and fluorinated gases.
The definition of the carbon footprint does not include the concept of responsibility. It is therefore not about creating an inventory of emissions your organization is responsible for (a concept that would, in any case, be very difficult to define and establish) but rather an inventory of emissions associated with your company’s operations during the period studied.
An organization’s carbon footprint is established retrospectively, at the end of the period for which it is conducted (most often one year).
It should be noted that this article focuses on the carbon footprint of an organization. Other types of carbon footprints exist, applying to different scopes: product carbon footprint (which is more akin to a single-criterion life cycle analysis), as well as carbon footprints for a territory, a project, actions, or even implemented policies.
The European directive CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), which has been gradually coming into effect since January 2024, will require an increasing number of companies to publish their environmental impact, including their carbon footprint. This obligation applies to approximately 50,000 companies across Europe.
However, beyond regulatory obligations, your company might still be indirectly impacted by the CSRD. This will likely be the case if it operates within the value chain of companies formally subject to the directive. In such cases, it is highly probable that you will need to provide information about your emissions and, therefore, conduct your own carbon footprint assessment.
Even if your organization is not subject to regulations requiring the publication of a carbon footprint, it remains an essential tool for ensuring your company can navigate and thrive in an increasingly volatile world (commonly referred to as a VUCA environment—Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity).
Scientific evidence is clear: we are collectively facing an urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions immediately and significantly. A carbon footprint assessment enables your company to achieve these reductions in the most effective way possible.
In this sense, the carbon footprint serves as both a management and decision-making tool.
Beyond reducing your own emissions, your company will need to adapt to a world deeply impacted by climate change and societal transitions. A carbon footprint assessment can help you identify your vulnerabilities, areas requiring attention, and strengths, allowing you to integrate them into your overall strategy.
In this way, the carbon footprint acts as a strategic tool.
When conducted thoroughly and conscientiously, a carbon footprint assessment provides an in-depth audit of an organization’s operations across all aspects—from internal processes and logistics to procurement, markets, and even HR policies.
In this regard, it delivers essential insights into the sustainability of the company.
Yes, the process of establishing a carbon footprint is highly structured. In other words, you cannot simply include whatever you want in a carbon footprint assessment.
There are several methodologies that can be followed. Coherence relies on the GHG Protocol, the international reference standard for carbon accounting, and the Bilan Carbone® method developed by ADEME, the French Agency for Ecological Transition.
Both methodologies align with ISO standards related to carbon accounting. The carbon footprint assessments conducted by Coherence therefore meet international reporting requirements.
The items to be included in your organization’s carbon footprint will depend on the chosen boundaries. Three boundaries need to be clearly defined.
In the simple case of a company with a single entity or one where all entities are fully owned and operated by the parent company, the organizational scope is straightforward and encompasses the entire company.
In more complex corporate structures, two approaches can be used to determine which entities and their portions to include in the carbon footprint: the “Equity Share” approach and the “Control” approach, which can be either financial or operational control.
In the “Equity Share” approach, the emissions of each entity are considered based on the company’s financial stake in that entity.
In the “Financial Control” approach, all emissions from entities where the company has financial control (more than 50% ownership) are included.
If the “Operational Control” approach is chosen, all emissions from entities under operational control are included.
If defining the organizational scope seems complicated, don’t worry. I’m here to help clarify these different approaches and make the most relevant choices based on your organization’s structure.
The scopes represent the three main categories of emission sources defined by the GHG Protocol standard. They form the very structure of an organization’s carbon footprint reporting.
Scope 1 covers direct emissions, meaning greenhouse gas emissions directly emitted within your company (for example, from your boiler) or through equipment owned by your company (such as your vehicles).
Scope 2 covers emissions related to the use of electricity (or other shared forms of energy, such as through a district heating network). These are already considered indirect emissions: while the electricity is consumed within the organization, the emissions related to its production are not directly emitted within your company. They typically occur at a power plant that you don’t own.
Scope 3 includes all other emissions. These are also indirect emissions. They are not emitted within your organization, but without them, your company could not operate.
This typically includes emissions from the production of your raw materials, the use of the products you sell (such as for car manufacturers), all upstream and downstream logistics, the travel of your employees and customers, waste production, the impact of your investments, and more.
At Coherence, we go through the three scopes of your carbon footprint and the details of the various emission sources from our first discussions. Based on this information, I am able to accurately estimate the time required to complete your footprint and provide you with a detailed and final price quote.
Yes, we are talking about estimates. There is currently no way to directly measure greenhouse gas emissions (except in certain exceptional cases). Therefore, these emissions must be calculated.
The calculation is done by multiplying two parameters: activity data and emission factors.
Emissions = Activity Data * Emission Factor
Activity data refers to the operational parameters of your organization. This includes things like your fuel consumption, the quantities of raw materials used, the amount of waste generated, the energy consumption of the products you sell, and more.
Emission factors represent the amount of greenhouse gases emitted per unit of activity data. These might include, for example, kg CO2/kWh of electricity, kg CO2/ton of concrete, kg CO2/km traveled, etc.
The estimation of emissions will therefore be easier or more difficult, and more or less accurate, depending on the availability and accuracy of these two parameters.
Some activity data is easily available (like your electricity consumption, for example), while other data is less accessible.
Some data is even completely unknown (such as the distances traveled by your customers to reach your stores). In such cases, assumptions or generic data might be used.
Similarly, some emission factors are well-known and fairly precise (such as emissions from burning gas), while others are more generic and less accurate. Although more and more manufacturers are providing carbon footprint data for their products, this is still the exception in some sectors.
In the absence of specific data, we turn to official or recognized databases. Even here, the quality and precision of the emission factors may vary.
Coherence provides strong support throughout your data collection process. Close collaboration during this phase helps establish the right assumptions and make informed decisions based on your resources and available time.
Together, we find the best balance between the representativeness/accuracy of the footprint and the time/detail of the available data.
At a minimum, the results of your emission footprint should be presented in the format required by the standards, and particularly in Belgium, following the GHG Protocol methodology.
This is the internationally adopted format, which allows for the sharing and dissemination of your results with your stakeholders.
This format is also required if you decide to engage in initiatives such as committing to Science-Based Targets or if your company is subject to the CSRD.
However, this “methodological” format is often not very readable for most people. Therefore, it’s very useful for your carbon footprint to also be presented in a way that is more accessible to your teams.
A good level of detail, beyond the official emission categories, will also facilitate future reflections and the identification of reduction actions.
It is important to “make your carbon footprint speak” by enabling comparisons of your different products or services, identifying best practices to scale, classifying your emissions by departments that are best positioned to reduce them, or based on other parameters specific to your business.
While the carbon footprint is an essential management tool for the company, it is important to recognize that it has certain limitations that should be kept in mind to draw the best insights from it.
A carbon footprint only evaluates the impact of your organization on one environmental aspect : greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on the climate.
While climate change is a serious threat to our societies, it is not the only one. Issues such as biodiversity loss, pollution, resource overexploitation, and water overuse are also concerns that may be linked to your organization.
These issues are not (directly) addressed in a carbon footprint.
This certainly does not reduce the value of a carbon footprint. The problem of CO2 emissions is so systemic that assessing an organization’s sustainability through this lens remains a very relevant exercise.
However, it’s important not to get trapped in a “carbon tunnel.” A company’s climate strategy and reduction action plans should be developed while considering other planetary boundaries.
A carbon footprint is subject to uncertainties
Indeed, emissions calculations cannot be perfectly accurate ; they are subject to uncertainties arising from the imprecision of emission factors and certain activity data.
This can be a source of frustration.
Therefore, a carbon footprint provides more of an order of magnitude of a company’s emissions rather than a precise estimate.
Know that these orders of magnitude are already sufficient to develop effective action plans, and a carbon footprint improves over the years through the refinement of the data collection process.
Carbon accounting is a still young and continuously evolving discipline
There are still some gray areas in the application of methodologies. These will, of course, disappear as carbon footprints become more widely used and standards are updated.
As I write this, a new version of the Bilan Carbone ®, which includes significant updates compared to previous versions, has just been released.
The GHG Protocol has announced a revision of its standards in 2025.
It’s difficult to compare carbon footprints of different companies
Because the boundaries can vary, different assumptions may be made, and calculations can be done with different levels of precision, it is difficult and not recommended to compare the carbon footprints of different companies. Therefore, it is hard to position yourself within a sort of benchmark.
The evolution of methodologies may help address this common frustration.
For now, however, your carbon footprint can only be compared to your own carbon footprints… from previous years. It should be seen as a tool for continuous improvement.
And finally… A carbon footprint assesses the modalities of your activity but does not address its purpose
In other words, the carbon footprint does not raise the question—yet an incredibly important one—of the very purpose of your activity, the mission of your company.
It must therefore necessarily be complemented (or perhaps even preceded) by in-depth strategic reflections.
“Given the climate emergency and the urgent need to preserve a habitable planet, do the products and services I offer today still make sense for my customers and for society as a whole?”
“How can I help my customers (and other stakeholders such as employees, investors, etc.) create a carbon-neutral world and reduce their emissions?”
A few well-posed questions can sometimes be just as essential to sustainability as a carbon footprint assessment.
While complying with the CSRD is a significant undertaking, it would be a mistake to view it solely as a reporting obligation. In fact, the directive provides a framework for highlighting crucial questions about the future of your company in a rapidly changing world.
Let’s explore how to make the most of the CSRD to best prepare your company for the future, whether or not you are formally subject to this directive.
The goal of this article is to answer all the questions you may have regarding the organization of a Climate Fresk in your company.
