Carbon management measures, monitors, and reduces an organisation’s greenhouse gas emissions. It’s important because climate change poses significant business risks, including regulatory uncertainties, supply chain disruptions, and reputational damage. Effective carbon management helps organisations mitigate these risks, improve their sustainability performance, and enhance their reputation among stakeholders.

Measuring your organisation’s carbon footprint involves assessing the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted as a result of your activities. This includes calculating emissions from energy consumption, transportation, waste generation, supply chain emissions, and other sources. To measure your carbon footprint, identify the scope of your GHG inventory, collect data, calculate emissions using emission factors or life cycle assessment software, report and verify your findings, set reduction targets and implement strategies, and monitor progress and update your inventory regularly.

A carbon management plan outlines an organisation’s strategy for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. The main components of such a plan typically include:

• Carbon footprint assessment
• Emission reduction targets
• Energy efficiency measures
• Renewable energy sources
• Carbon offsetting initiatives
• Employee engagement and training programs
• Regular monitoring and reporting

Reducing your organisation’s carbon emissions requires a multi-faceted approach. Some effective strategies include:

• Implementing energy-efficient technologies and practices. (Learn more about energy efficiency management system)
• Switching to renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power
• Investing in carbon offset projects 
• Encouraging sustainable transportation practices (e.g., promoting electric or hybrid vehicles, carpooling, or using public transport)
• Improving supply chain management to reduce indirect emissions
• Engaging employees and stakeholders in carbon reduction efforts (Learn more about our ESG and Sustainability Workshop)

Energy efficiency is crucial in carbon management by helping organisations reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption costs. One of the significant solutions to improve energy efficiency is an energy efficiency management system, which offers a comprehensive solution for monitoring and managing energy usage, enabling organisations to identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions. By implementing energy-efficient technologies and practices, businesses can minimise their environmental impact while benefiting from reduced energy expenses.

Renewable energy sources can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by providing an alternative to fossil fuels, the primary source of greenhouse gases. Solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass, and energy storage technologies can all help lower our reliance on fossil fuels and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, integrating renewable energy sources into the grid, promoting electric vehicles, and implementing carbon capture and utilisation technologies can further reduce emissions. Reforestation, afforestation, and sustainable agriculture practices can also help sequester atmospheric carbon.

Carbon offsetting is the process of compensating for the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) by investing in projects that reduce GHG emissions elsewhere, such as reforestation, renewable energy production, or energy efficiency projects. This can help to offset the negative impact of emissions on the environment and contribute to a reduction in global warming. Some ways to offset carbon emissions include:

• Carbon credits: Companies can purchase carbon credits, representing the right to emit a certain amount of GHGs. These credits can be traded on markets and used to offset emissions from their operations or sold to other companies.
• Sustainability projects: Companies can invest in sustainability projects that reduce GHG emissions, such as reforestation, afforestation, or biofuel production. These projects can generate carbon credits or VERs that can be used to offset emissions.
• Energy efficiency measures: Implementing energy-efficient technologies and practices can reduce energy consumption and lower emissions. Examples include upgrading lighting systems, insulating buildings, and optimising industrial processes.

To engage employees and stakeholders in carbon management efforts, it’s important to communicate the importance of reducing carbon emissions and involve them in decision-making processes. This can be done by educating employees about the impact of carbon emissions on the environment, setting up a green team responsible for implementing and monitoring carbon reduction initiatives, providing training and resources, recognising and rewarding progress, sharing best practices, engaging suppliers and customers, and leading by example. By doing so, employees and stakeholders will feel valued and motivated to contribute to the organisation’s carbon reduction goals.

Common challenges in implementing carbon management strategies include:

• Lack of data accuracy and completeness.
• Resistance to change.
• Limited resources.
• Complexity of carbon accounting.
• Stakeholder engagement.

Establishing clear goals and objectives, developing a roadmap, building a cross-functional team, engaging stakeholders early and often, monitoring and reporting performance regularly, and utilising established carbon accounting standards and software tools to overcome the challenges are essential. By taking these steps, organisations can simplify the process, prioritise initiatives based on cost-effectiveness and potential impact, and demonstrate commitment to carbon reduction efforts.

To track and report on an organisation’s progress in reducing carbon emissions, It’s important to establish baselines, set targets, implement energy efficiency measures such as upgrading lighting systems, insulating buildings, and optimising industrial processes, and utilise IoT solutions such as smart sensors and building management systems to monitor and optimise energy consumption in real-time. Additionally, regularly tracking and reporting on energy consumption and carbon emissions reductions based on ISO standards can help the organisation to improve carbon reduction strategies continuously.

Learn how ISO 14064-1 and ISO 14067 can help you to track and monitor your carbon emission