The how & why of Carbon Accounts
There are two types of carbon accounting - statutory and voluntary.
Statutory accounts are submitted when a business crosses an emissions threshold (usually 25Ktpa). Voluntary accounts can be prepared by anyone, but to get the most out of a voluntary account, it should be reviewed and certified. Carbon Zero Initiative can help you get to grips with the carbon accounting.
There are three stages to carbon accounting:
1. prepare an inventory
2. prepare a reduction plan
3. implement the plan and certify as carbon neutral.
Let’s dig a little deeper into each of these three steps.
Prepare an inventory
The inventory lists all emissions that are directly attributable to you or your business activities (scope 1), from purchased electricity (scope 2) and for some certifications, from purchased goods and services (scope 3). Examples may include: petrol and diesel fuel use (scope 1 & 3), power bills (scope 2), and insurance (scope 3).
Each activity is assigned an emissions factor by unit. The factor is multiplied by the total units, the results are summed. This is your inventory.
Prepare a reduction plan
A plan must have an emissions reduction target and a date by which the target will be met. In Tasmania the single biggest emissions saving will come from reducing fossil fuel powered vehicle use, and switching to low emissions vehicles or no emissions electric vehicles. For other items like waste to landfill, air-travel and software, reducing use where possible is the best option.
Implement the plan and certify
Implementing the plan is the fun part. For businesses there is often serious upfront and long term cost benefits to decarbonising. Rooftop solar, electric vehicles and batteries are all disruptive technologies with decreasing cost profiles and favourable incentives for uptake.
Certification will depend on whether the account is to satisfy a statutory or voluntary scheme. The National Greenhouse Emissions Reporting scheme is an example of statutory report, whilst Climate Active is an Australian approved carbon neutral certification.
If you would like our help with carbon accounting, please get in touch.
