Image Source: https://www.epa.gov/greeningepa/greenhouse-gases-epa
Many companies are feeling growing urgency to address their carbon emissions. This can be derived internally from employees, externally from corporate headquarters, or simply from the company’s commitment to sustainability. To address your carbon footprint, it’s important to understand where your emissions are coming from.
Carbon emissions are classified into three areas: scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3.
Scope 1 emissions are from sources owned by the company, such as fleet vehicles or gas burning equipment.
Scope 2 emissions are from purchased energy (think electricity).
Scope 3 emissions are linked to a company’s value chain and activities both up and downstream (think suppliers).
It can be difficult for organizations to know where to begin their journey to sustainability. It is important to maximize your environmental impact while also keeping budget at the forefront. So where to start?
We recommend four easy steps to address your carbon emissions: track, reduce, neutralize, and remove.
Track: First, it’s critical to identify and measure your current emissions to establish a baseline.
Reduce: Once that baseline is established, reduce your overall emissions as much as possible through energy efficiency measures.
Neutralize: After reducing your overall emissions, neutralize scope 2 emissions by installing onsite renewable energy (e.g. solar panels) or purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates.
Remove: Finally, to remove your remaining carbon emissions, purchase carbon offsets or invest in carbon sequestration projects.
If you are interested in learning more or want assistance in addressing your carbon emissions, visit https://viridi.eco.
