Assessing the organisation's Scope 3 carbon footprint

What is a carbon footprint assessment? The carbon footprint assessment is a diagnostic tool invented by the Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (ADEME) to understand and analyse the activity of associations, companies, local authorities and public administrations in terms of direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. To make it easier to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions arising from a company’s activity, a categorisation into 3 scopes exists. - Scope 1: includes all of the company’s direct greenhouse gas emissions, such as heating of premises and emissions from company vehicles. - Scope 2: includes indirect emissions linked to energy consumption (electricity, steam, heat, cooling, compressed air, etc.) during the production of a product or service. - Scope 3: brings together all the company’s other indirect emissions, such as purchases of goods and services, use of the products sold, upstream and downstream transport of goods and raw materials, etc. Scope 3 generally accounts for the majority of companies’ total emissions. In summary, Scope 1 covers the organisation’s direct emissions, Scope 2 concerns indirect emissions linked to purchased energy, and Scope 3 encompasses the broader indirect emissions associated with the organisation’s entire value chain. Why carry out a Scope 3 carbon footprint assessment? A Scope 3 carbon footprint assessment is recommended because it gives a more complete view of an organisation’s total carbon footprint, including indirect impacts throughout its value chain. This helps organisations identify opportunities to reduce their emissions at different levels of their activity and to work with their partners to achieve shared sustainability goals. How to carry out a carbon footprint assessment for your organisation? It is recommended to call on sustainability experts or specialist consultants for guidance throughout the process. Here are some key steps for carrying out the carbon footprint assessment: 1. Define the scope of the assessment: It is important to determine which activities will be included in the company’s carbon footprint assessment. This may include direct emissions from the company’s facilities and vehicles, indirect emissions linked to the energy consumed and indirect emissions resulting from supply chain activities (scopes 1, 2 or 3). 2. Collect the data: needed to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions of each category included in the carbon footprint assessment. 3. Calculate the greenhouse gas emissions of each category: specialist software, online calculators and recognised methodologies, such as the GHG Protocol (Greenhouse Gas Protocol), can be useful in this process. 4. Analyse the results: Once the emissions figures for each category are obtained, they must be analysed to identify the main sources of emissions and the areas where reduction measures can be taken. 5. Set targets and implement reduction measures: On the basis of the results and analyses, define greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. 6. Monitor and communicate progress: Set up a monitoring system to regularly measure progress against the targets set.

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France