BusinessClimate ChangeEnvironment

The Scopes of Emissions - What, How & Why?

The impacts of emissions are far reaching and I would go as far as saying that our current climate crisis is undoubtedly one of the scariest challenges the world has faced.

While it is easy to connect the dots between anthropogenic (human) activity and the greenhouse gasses (GHGs) causing global warming, it is important that we understand the bigger picture and how our activities are impacting the whole of our planet.

The first question we need to tackle is what are the scopes of emissions? These are the ways to divide the different ‘sources’ of emissions.

The scopes are:

Scope 1: Direct emissions from sources a company owns or controls.

Scope 2:  Indirect emissions from steam, heating, cooling, and electricity purchased.

Scope 3:  Emissions from the use of purchased goods and services (embedded emissions)

It can be confusing to know how to count emissions and at what level you should be tracking them. The scopes take a lot of the confusion out of the picture, as they allow you to clearly understand where the emissions are coming from.

This is especially important to businesses, as it allows you to understand the impact of your activities and how you are contributing to global warming.

Scope 3 is undoubtably the hardest to manage, with over 88% of global emissions being produced from supply chains.  From materials sourcing, to manufacturing, to end product, and all the logistics & travel in between.  That's a lot of emissions!

But how do you manage it?

To start with, you need to know where it's coming from.  What gets measured, gets managed.  There are multiple ways you can measure your emissions. The two easiest ways are;

1. Have an expert come in and provide you with an emissions audit.  Or

2. Download an emissions tracking & management platform.

The downloading of an emissions tracking & management platform will enable you to track, monitor and manage your emissions output on an ongoing basis. There are many platforms available that can do this for you, the hard part is deciding which platform is the best option for your business.  Of the many platforms that have been developed, no two are the same.  Some were developed for use in businesses of a specific size, some are tailored to specific industries, others have features which your company many not need.  If you need help deciding which one is the best fit, Terran Industries can cut through the jargon for you.

The next step is management. Once you have the data, you can start reducing your emissions output.  This may be as simple as swapping some materials or goods within your supply chain, switching to an electric vehicle, or choosing a renewable energy provider.

However you choose to begin your emissions management journey, the biggest impact you can do today, is to start it.

Reducing your emissions output is one of the most significant things you can do to impact the fight against Climate Change.

Terran Industries is here to make your emissions journey easier. If you're ready to make this journey, and leave a lasting impact on the planet, contact us today and start your transformation.