Preparing your carbon accounting in 2023

The fight against climate change has become an issue for every sector of activity, public and private alike. Carbon accounting helps reduce the human impact on the environment.  

In this article, find out everything you need to know about carbon accounting for 2023.  

What is carbon accounting?  

Carbon accounting brings together the existing methods that identify, quantify and classify the CO2 emissions generated by human activities.  
The aim of carbon accounting is therefore to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus limit climate change.  

How carbon accounting works  

Carbon accounting can be seen as a form of non-financial accounting. It makes it possible to attribute a quantity of greenhouse gases to a given activity.  

This accounting involves three main stages:  

           ·  The calculation scope, based on scopes 1, 2 and 3. These are used to categorize the different types of GHG.  

           ·  The different components of an organization's activity. This includes the waste it produces, its infrastructure, its consumption, and so on. 

           ·  The CO2 equivalence calculation. All the greenhouse gases produced (methane, nitrous oxide, etc.) are converted into CO2 to harmonize and simplify the assessment.  

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Why do carbon accounting? 

Climate issues are increasingly present and impactful. Today, nearly 85% of the energy used worldwide is non-renewable (Source: Ademe). To achieve the carbon neutrality targets set by the Loi de Transition Energétique pour la Croissance Verte (the French Energy Transition for Green Growth Act), all economic players must take part.  

Carbon accounting provides an overview of the greenhouse gas emissions produced by a company, both in its core business and in its day-to-day management.  
It is an essential tool for understanding your main sources of pollution and putting in place effective, relevant emission reduction strategies.  

How do you set up carbon accounting?  

To carry out their carbon accounting, companies can refer to several existing protocols for accounting for the CO2 emissions produced by human activities.  

The GHG Protocol  

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (GHG Protocol) is an international tool available to companies. It provides different ways of accounting for CO2 emissions according to emission categories or types of activity. These notably include scopes 1, 2 and 3.  

The Bilan Carbone  

Developed by ADEME, the Bilan Carbone (the French carbon footprint assessment method) is used to account for the carbon emissions of companies' activities. It offers a calculation method based on the GHG Protocol. The Bilan Carbone gives companies a comprehensive view of their carbon impact, enabling them to take concrete action to reduce their CO2 output.  

ISO 14064 and 14069 standards 

ISO standards are a set of protocols for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions. These two ISO standards notably set out various requirements to be met when quantifying, measuring and monitoring CO2 emissions.

The importance of a responsible corporate policy 

Beyond contributing to the collective effort to reduce the environmental impact of human activities, corporate responsibility is paramount.  
It is an increasingly important factor for employees and contributes to a company's attractiveness, while also helping to maintain its productivity.  

Putting responsible financial strategies in place and reducing your carbon impact allows you to anticipate changes in legislation. The Bilan Carbone is already mandatory for companies with more than 500 employees. This obligation is likely to evolve as others are introduced to accelerate companies' ecological transition. The measures put in place today will be tomorrow's competitive advantage.  

Your green growth partner 

Leasetic helps you achieve your ecological transition goals while reducing your costs. To do so, we rely on three key principles: finance, use and give a second life! 

Contact one of our experts now!