Measuring the decarbonation of a producer and its financing
It is impossible to decarbonate effectively without monitoring the decarbonation achieved year by year.
After the carbon weight of the product(s) it sells, the second measure of a producer’s performance is its decarbonation : the annual contribution of its production to the decarbonation of the earth’s atmosphere
The decarbonation measurement described on this site has the following qualities.
– It is annual, as is the measure of decarbonation of the earth’s atmosphere : it is the variation from one year to the next in the net flow of carbon into the atmosphere caused by the producer.
– It is additive, with no double counting : the sum of the decarbonations of the players gives the total emissions measured by scientists.
– It sends the right message to producers: if they decarbonate at their own level, overall decarbonation will increase (conventionally, positive decarbonation reduces the flow of carbon).
Measuring the decarbonation of a product’s producer adds up three effects :
– Its effect on the unit weight of the product through the quantities of inputs used (the effect due to variations in weight is accounted for upstream of the producer).
– Its effect on the average weight of the product’s overall market through substitution (positive effect if it increases sales that are lighter than the market average or decreases sales that are heavier).
– A correction for the rebound effect (which shares the variation in the overall market between producers in proportion to their footprint)
The annual decarbonation of financing is that of the players financed.
See also: the mathematical formula, the practical calculation, the biases of a footprint variation measurement, the integration of a partner’s avoided carbons.
As a landlord who rents out his offices, my decarbonation for the year will be :
– The reduction in the quantity of fuel burnt per m2, multiplied by the carbon weight of one unit of fuel in year 1, multiplied by the number of m2 rented.
– The variation in the number of m2 rented, multiplied by the difference between my carbon weight per m2 rented and this weight for the average rental.
– A possible retrocession of decarbonation, for example to the seller of the boiler that saved me fuel
I’m a restaurant owner, my decarbonation for the year will be :
– The impact on the unit carbon weight of an average meal: a reduction in its composition (less meat, more vegetables); less waste in the kitchen (fewer quantities bought per meal); less heating per meal… to be multiplied by the number of meals.
– The variation in the number of meals sold multiplied by the difference between the average carbon weight of my meal and the average for restaurant operators.
– A possible retrocession of decarbonation, for example to the consultant who helped me rearrange my menus.
An example in figures : the enlarged accounts of a catering company
View and download Accounting rules
See The trajectories
The carbon weights give the producer the annual decarbonation of his organisation (his contribution to the annual decarbonation of the planet, in the same unit : kilos or tonnes of carbon). It measures :
– Its ability to reduce the unit carbon weight of a product sold, by producing it differently (by convention, the reduction in the weight of purchases goes towards decarbonising suppliers). Decarbonation = sum for each type of purchase of the product of the variation in its unit quantity by its carbon weight
– Its ability to increase sales where its product is lighter in carbon than average, and to reduce them where it is heavier. Decarbonation = variation in quantity multiplied by the difference between the product’s carbon weight and the average for producers.
These amounts can be corrected by decarbonation sharing agreements: the inventor of a solution that decarbonates receives half of the announced decarbonation when it occurs.
The annual decarbonation of financing is that of the players financed, and that of a region is that of the players attached to the region.
(details in the rules for enlarged carbon measurements)