Carbon: Frequently Asked Questions
ecollective founder, Charlie Cotton, was recently interviewed on the wonderful Sustainable(ish) podcast by sustainability guru Jen Gale. She asked Charlie some pertinent questions. We invite you to listen to the podcast which can be found on this link (or via all the usual podcast apps).
If listening to podcasts isn’t your thing, or you’d like a quick run-down of the conversation, here is a recap in written form:
What is a carbon footprint?
Everyone and everything has one. The term carbon footprint describes the greenhouse gas emissions added to the atmosphere as a result of your actions eg. driving your car, the food you buy, your pension savings, etc. The list is endless.
Whose carbon footprint is it?
There is overlap between your personal footprint and the carbon footprint of the businesses you interact with. The emissions from your commute to and from work is a good example. It’s not that helpful to argue over which bit belongs to whom so the answer here is that they are the responsibility of both parties.
What is carbon labelling?
Items that look very similar can have a very different carbon footprint. The idea behind carbon labelling is to put the carbon footprint value on an item so a business or customer can make comparisons. It is designed to help us buy better. The hope is that it begins a race to the bottom (for the lowest carbon footprint). More products need to be carbon labelled to allow for comparisons and to spark conversation. For more about carbon labelling follow this link.
Does carbon labelling work?
On a business level it is working in terms of getting businesses and employees to take more ownership and responsibility for the footprint of a product. For customers, it’s a bit unknown but we would hope it’s starting conversations and helping people bring carbon emissions into their decision-making process.
Which companies are leading the way?
Travel companies that spring to mind include Explore!, Wilderness Scotland and Adventure Tours UK. These businesses have all carbon labelled their trips. Another company we have worked with is ecommerce jewellery business Alex Monroe, a jewellery designer and purveyor who has carbon labelled their pieces.
What does a carbon reduction target look like?
To halve emissions by 2030 we need to reduce our carbon footprint by 7-8% each year. The longer we leave it before starting, the higher our year on year target will need to be. The important thing to remember is that starting now will make it so much more achievable.
What are the co-benefits of reducing carbon emissions?
One of the potential co-benefits is financial savings. When everything you buy has a carbon footprint, can you still provide value for your customer whilst spending less? You could also make energy cost savings by economising on energy usage and by identifying ways to waste less. If you are entrepreneurial, you’ll start to see opportunities for cost and carbon savings.
What is included in a business’s carbon footprint calculation?
This isn't decided by us, there are existing frameworks such as the GHG Protocol. For a typical company, we would measure its offices, business travel, commuting, website and the product or service they sell. Or another way of looking at it, would be everything the company pays for as well as the product/service it exists to provide. Find out more.
What are scopes 1, 2 & 3?
Your total footprint is split into 3 sections. Scope 1 & 2 include things that you can eliminate the carbon footprint of if you had unlimited funds e.g. electricity supply or gas heating. In theory you could fix these without permission from anyone. You could buy solar panels, some excellent building insulation and electric heaters (that would be powered by your solar panels) and bring your scope 1 & 2 emissions down to zero.
Scope 3 is everything else. It is the things you can influence but not fix yourself. For an individual, the food you eat, who you bank with etc. These things are out of your control but within your influence.
For a business, it’s everything you buy from your suppliers, it’s your business travel, it’s the footprint your customers have when they use your products. Find out more here.
Are all companies starting to measure their carbon footprints?
There has been a shift. We often used to be invited to pitch against an offsetting company. ecollective would propose to accurately measure a footprint and identify strategies for reduction whilst the offsetting company would offer to estimate the company’s footprint and if they had a credit card handy, the business could offset their emissions in just 30 minutes. No prizes for guessing that many companies chose the easier option. Now, I’m meeting more companies that realise the value of reduction over offsetting. Here’s a link to an article about offsetting.
What does carbon neutral mean?
Companies aiming for carbon neutral work out their estimated carbon footprint then, in a nutshell, pay someone else not to have that footprint. With some creative maths, this equals out to nothing.
What is Net Zero?
Net Zero is about reducing your company’s carbon footprint year on year. It’s called Net Zero because getting to actual zero could be impossible. Net Zero involves accurately measuring your company’s carbon footprint then making internal changes to reduce it by 90%. Businesses then usually offset the remaining 10%. Here’s an article about why your business should have a Net Zero strategy.
Is carbon accounting accurate?
No carbon footprint calculation is not 100% accurate, but the standards are improving year on year. We don’t need perfect measurements to start reducing, we just need really good ones. Find out more here.
How can we make carbon information more accessible?
Simple! Ask the question. The ripple effect is much bigger than you might think. Often, one customer asking what the carbon footprint of a product is or what the carbon action plan of the company is can make a difference. Companies do generally want to be able to answer their customers’ questions.
Sometimes companies have this information but haven’t published it widely enough.
So there we have it. It felt like a really comprehensive conversation. If you ever want to chat specifics about your company’s carbon footprint and how to reduce it, get in touch.
