The carbon footprint of companies and organisations

Through their activities, companies and organisations have a real impact on global warming. The carbon footprint allows this impact to be quantified by identifying all the greenhouse gases generated by these activities. Six mains gases are responsible for global warming and are translated in the carbon footprint by their equivalent in tons of CO₂.

The carbon footprint of a company or an organisation is defined through direct emissions and the indirect emissions incurred by the activity.

The direct emissions are the result of the activities controlled by the companies or the organisations; indirect emissions result from everything that is prior to (suppliers) or following (clients) the company’s or organisation’s activities.

The definition of the carbon footprint of a company or an organisation is a complex task if all the direct and indirect emissions are to be included.

However, this definition is facilitated by the implementation of international standards, which allow the approach to be structured and systemised.