Why is a company enlarging its carbon accounting?

-If it already counts its carbons (voluntarily or by obligation: BEGES, CSRD…) it simplifies and makes these counts reliable and obtains two essential steering tools: the carbon weight of its products (increasingly demanded by customers) and its decarbonation performance from one year to the next.

-If it doesn’t already count them, it’s a quick and easy way to have the management tools of a large company and the footprint of its organisation in an international ‘scope 1 + scope 2 + scope 3 upstream’ standard.

-For its partners who are sensitive to the environment, it’s a way of demonstrating the company’s commitment in concrete terms. A company that is experimenting with enlarged carbon accounting can let us know about it, in particular on the website that calls for the deployment of enlarged carbon accounting.

I already have a regulatory footprint for the company (Bilan carbone-BEGES), what does this change?

-You still need to use the calculator to obtain the carbon weight of your products and your decarbonation result (which are not shown). But if your Balance Sheet is for the same year, you’ll save time because the carbon data on the weights of your purchases will be there.

And conversely, I’ve filled in my calculator, does that give me the company’s regulatory footprint?

– No, the calculator gives you a ‘scope 1 + scope 2 + upstream scope 3’ footprint, whereas the regulatory footprint is broader and requires other estimates: the weight of customer or employee journeys to and from your company’s sites that are not reimbursed by your company; the downstream weight required by the use of your products and their end-of-life). If you need to provide a regulatory footprint, you should contact a carbon expert to obtain one.

Who can fill in this calculator?

-It is designed to be used by anyone with no particular accounting or carbon expertise. Any complex case will require the assistance of a carbon expert. The unit weights and the decarbonation result are qualified as “accounting” if they have been validated by the company’s accountant.

How long does it take to fill the calculator?

-The work needs to be done at least once a year, and it takes longer in the first year, because you have to collect data that you don’t necessarily have on hand (and which is then easier to prepare).

-Time also depends on the size and complexity of the company. From the second year onwards, it will represent less than an hour a year for a small business of no particular complexity.

When to use the calculator

It should be used at least once a year to obtain the weight of its products and its decarbonation result. But you can use the calculator more often to build and monitor your carbon strategy, around budgets or business plans.