Carbon footprinting has moved from something large organisations did voluntarily to something more and more businesses of all sizes are being asked to do — by customers, by procurement teams, by investors, and increasingly by regulation.
If you've been asked to provide your carbon footprint and weren't sure where to start, you're not alone. Most businesses in the UK and Ireland are in the same position.
This guide explains what a carbon footprint actually means for a business, how emissions are measured in practice, and why getting a handle on it now is worth more than the compliance tick-box suggests.
A carbon footprint is the total volume of carbon/greenhouse gas emissions your organisation produces — directly and indirectly — typically expressed in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e). That last word, "equivalent," matters. Carbon footprinting covers all greenhouse gases, including methane and nitrous oxide, not just carbon dioxide. These are all converted into a common unit so you can compare and track them over time.
The internationally recognised framework for measuring business emissions is the GHG Protocol, which divides a company's footprint into three categories, known as Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3. Understanding these three categories is the foundation of any carbon footprinting exercise.
These are emissions from sources your organisation owns or directly controls. Fuel consumed in company vehicles, gas used in on-site boilers, refrigerant use in air conditioning and chillers, diesel/natural gas running a generator — all of this is Scope 1. If it comes from something you own and operate, it counts here.
These are emissions associated with the electricity, heat or cooling you buy and use. Your organisation doesn't produce these emissions directly — they're generated by whoever supplies your energy.
In the UK and Ireland, annual emissions factors for grid electricity are published, which are based on the fuel mix used by power generators to produce the electricity. These grid factors have decreased steadily over the years as less carbon-intensive fuels are used, e.g. the move from coal to natural gas, as well as more renewable energy generators (e.g. wind turbines) becoming part of the mix.
In the UK for example, the most recent grid carbon emissions equivalent factor is 0.177 kg CO2e/ kWh of electricity. This means that for every 1,000 kWh your organisation uses from the grid, it results in approximately 177kg of CO₂equivalent.
This is where things get more complex — and more significant. Scope 3 covers all indirect emissions across your supply chain: including the goods and services you purchase, business travel, employee commuting, waste disposal, and the use or disposal of products you sell. For most organisations, Scope 3 accounts for the majority of their total footprint. According to Business in the Community Ireland, over 90% of corporate emissions fall under Scope 3.
Many businesses focus on Scope 1 and 2 first because the data is easier to collect. But as customers and supply chain partners begin asking for more comprehensive reporting, Scope 3 is becoming increasingly important to understand.
The most time-consuming part of carbon footprinting is not the calculation — it's gathering the data. For a first carbon footprint assessment, the key data sources are typically:
For Scope 1: Natural gas, oil and fuel invoices; fuel card records for company vehicles; any on-site combustion equipment e.g. boilers or CHP units. Fuel used in forklift trucks is also typically included here.
For Scope 2: Electricity bills for all premises; any district heating or cooling arrangements. It is also worth looking at any customer portals you might have from your supplier, as they can have good reporting capability for historic consumption.
For Scope 3: Business travel records (flights, hotel stays, staff mileage claims); freight and logistics data; waste records; water bills; procurement spend data for major categories of goods and services.
You don't need perfect data to produce a useful first carbon footprint. Many organisations start with estimates based on spend data for the categories where activity data isn't available, then refine over time. The goal of a first assessment is to establish a baseline, identify where your significant emissions are coming from, and prioritise where to focus reduction efforts. Ideally, you will also want to prioritise getting better quality data for significant emissions sources.
The businesses that get the most value from carbon footprinting aren't treating it as a reporting exercise. They're using it to make better decisions.
Once you know where your emissions come from, you can target the areas where reduction will have the greatest impact and often the greatest cost savings. Energy, Fuel, Water and Raw Materials all cost money. A carbon footprint normally shows you which operational processes are generating the most emissions, and addressing those typically produces a financial return alongside the environmental benefit.
Anne McLaughlin, Business Improvement Manager at BA Components in Cookstown, Northern Ireland, describes exactly this experience working with us:
"They identified numerous opportunities for us to reduce our energy costs and consumption and developed an associated high-level carbon reduction plan for the business. We continue to use them to develop product carbon footprints and support our annual carbon reporting requirements."
In addition, the UK and Ireland's public sector procurement processes increasingly embed sustainability criteria in tenders. Supply chain partners (particularly larger organisations subject to mandatory sustainability reporting requirements) are asking their suppliers for emissions data as part of their own Scope 3 calculations. Having a credible, independently produced carbon footprint puts you in a position to respond to these requests clearly and confidently.
For most SMEs, the prompt to act comes from one of three directions: a customer or tender asking for emissions data, a desire to reduce energy costs, or a commitment from senior leadership to improve the company's environmental performance. Whatever the trigger, the process of measuring a business's carbon footprint is more straightforward than it sounds — and the value of doing it properly far outweighs the effort of finding out and any costs incurred in getting one done by a specialist consultant (as long as it’s done right!).
Carbon footprinting for a business is the process of measuring the total greenhouse gas emissions produced by an organisation's activities — directly and indirectly. These are calculated in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) and categorised into Scope 1 (direct emissions), Scope 2 (purchased energy) and Scope 3 (supply chain and value chain emissions). The result is a baseline figure that organisations use to identify where to reduce emissions and to report to customers, investors and regulators.
Scope 1 covers direct emissions from sources the organisation owns or controls - vehicles, boilers, on-site equipment. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heat or cooling. Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions across the value chain; purchased goods and services, business travel, employee commuting, waste and product use. For most businesses, Scope 3 represents the largest share of the total footprint.
Carbon footprints are calculated by collecting activity data — energy consumption, fuel use, travel records, waste volumes, procurement spend — and multiplying it by the relevant emissions factors published by bodies such as the UK Government and the Strategic Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) Many organisations work with a sustainability consultant to collect and structure this data, apply the correct methodology and produce a report that independently meets reporting requirements.
At a minimum, you will need gas and fuel invoices, electricity bills for all premises, business travel records and waste data. For a more complete picture that includes Scope 3 emissions, procurement spend data and logistics records are also helpful. The UK Government and the SEAI publish updated emissions factors annually, which are used to convert activity data into carbon emissions.
Not all businesses have a legal obligation to measure their carbon footprint — but an increasing number are being asked to do so by customers, supply chain partners and public sector procurement processes. Even without a formal obligation, carbon footprinting helps identify where energy and resource costs can be reduced, and positions a business well for tenders and supply chain relationships that increasingly include sustainability criteria.
If you'd like to understand what a carbon footprint assessment would look like for your organisation, get in touch with the AD Sustainability team for a straightforward conversation about where to start.