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Carbon accounting 101: What is it and why you should do it

In recent years, or even just the last few days, you’ll no doubt have heard companies making big claims to be ‘carbon neutral’, ‘climate positive’ or to become ‘net-zero’ by a certain date. Noble, no doubt, but all a bit arbitrary unless backed by solid evidence. To add foundations to your ambitions, you need carbon accounting…

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The term ‘carbon accounting’ summarises the process of getting said evidence. In other words, quantifying, tracking and reporting the amount of greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere as a result of your business activity. 
In our <a href="https://ecologi.com/articles/blog/charting-the-path-to-net-zero-for-businesses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Charting the path to net-zero for businesses blog</a> we showed that calculating emissions is a key stage in getting to net-zero. Carbon accounting forms the foundations of these calculations. It helps you understand your starting point,  find the emissions hotspots in your value chain, and pinpoint the biggest opportunities for reduction.

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Carbon footprint assessments can happen at a product or organisational level. At a product level, Product Life Cycle Assessments (or LCAs) evaluate the environmental impact of a product through its entire life cycle, including extraction and processing of raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, product usage, and finally end-of-life.
But for the purpose of this blog, we’ll be exploring organisational carbon footprinting. This means assessing the greenhouse gas emissions of a business’s operating activity through the entire value chain, including upstream suppliers and downstream processes like remote working, product use, disposal and pensions.

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What isn’t measured can’t be managed: The carbon accounting process 

A) The carbon audit 
Conducting a carbon audit lets you allocate responsibility for emissions to the relevant areas of your company and value chain. This will inform decisions on how operations can be decarbonised, and help you to set the right science-based targets. 
B) Target setting 
Target setting determines the level of ambition for your reduction strategy. It opens the door for  carbon accounting to forecast scenarios and strategies to meet these targets. It also allows you to spot the strategies that may appear more sustainable but could actually increase greenhouse gas emissions. For example, swapping to a material with a lower carbon footprint in raw materials, but with increased shipping emissions. *It’s worth noting that this assumes a narrow GHG emissions lens and there may be other environmental credentials unaccounted for in this process but which should be considered. 
C) Emissions reporting 
Carbon accounting isn’t a one-off job. An emissions inventory needs to be taken and reported annually during your journey to net-zero. This is how you’ll measure your performance and impact over time.. 
Emissions reporting is increasingly becoming an industry-standard requirement for many businesses.‍ Under regulations such as the SECR, larger and publicly-listed companies are required to disclose GHG emissions in their directors’ reports. Many investors are also mandating it as a requirement in order to assess liability and risk. High emissions within a difficult to decarbonise scope 3 value chain is considered a liability by some investors. 
By measuring and reporting your footprint, you also acquire supporting evidence for your environmental claims, and reduce the risk of greenwashing accusations. 
To learn more about Carbon Accounting, you can <a href="https://info.ecologi.com/webinar-carbon-accounting-101" target="_blank" rel="noopener">watch Ecologi&#8217;s Carbon Accounting 101 webinar here</a>.
You can measure your footprint and get started on your net-zero journey with <a href="https://ecologi.com/business/zero" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ecologi Zero</a>, our free carbon footprinting tool for small and medium-sized enterprises.

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Hopescrolling: The good news timeline

It’s not all bad. While there’s a lot of negative news about the climate, let’s not forget the good stuff. Find climate wins, reasons to be hopeful and plenty of positivity in our good news timeline.

The good news timeline

Ready to make a difference for our planet? Get in touch, and let’s chat about how we can help you on your climate journey. 

In Depth

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Just as we make sure all our reforestation projects are designed in a way that is most beneficial to our planet, our other terrestrial restoration projects need to be of the highest quality too. Wildflower, Wetlands and Wildlife projects have the potential to provide vital support to a wide array of species, boosting local, national and international biodiversity, as well as being an important and secure carbon store. But for these benefits to come to fruition the projects must be implemented properly, in line with best practices.
We know you might have some questions about this new type of project, so we’ve put together answers to some FAQs to help you learn more about our Wildflower, Wetlands and Wildlife project.

Your questions answered

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Before and after: See how your climate action is making a difference

Before and after: This is how your Ecologi impact is transforming landscapes and lives.

We love a before and after shot at Ecologi. They&#8217;re an incredible way to show the impact of the projects supported by our community. Whether it’s deforested land turning back to verdant green, or solar projects springing to life, sometimes two simple images are worth a thousand words.
On this blog you’ll find snapshot images that paint pictures of the difference our supported climate projects are making, all around the world. Thank you to our community for making it all possible! 
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📍 Location: Ouarzazate, Morocco
⌛ Dates: 2015 –2020
🌱 Project: Verified Carbon Standard
🌳 Type: Solar energy

Morocco

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From a bare area of desert to a haven of clean energy. The Ouarzazate II solar project is a major milestone in Morocco&#8217;s journey towards a clean energy future. It is one of the largest concentrated solar power plants in the world and is expected to supply around 500 GWh per year to Morocco’s power grid.
The project uses thousands of concave mirrors to concentrate solar energy and generate electricity, which can be stored for up to 7 hours. This allows the project to continue generating electricity even after the sun sets.
The Ouarzazate II solar project supplies electricity to nearly 2 million Moroccans and will prevent emissions equivalent to 300,544 tCO2e per year over its 10 year crediting period. The project has also created around 7,000 local jobs and incorporated co-projects that promote the creation of cooperatives, educational opportunities, and skills training.
Learn more about this<a href="https://ecologi.com/projects/morocco-solar"> project</a>.

📍 Location: Brodoclea, North Ayrshire, Scotland
⌛ Dates: 2018 –2021
🌱 Project: Future Forest Company
🌳 Type: Temperate reforestation

Scotland

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Nestled in North Ayrshire, Brodoclea is a sprawling 174-hectare haven of broadleaf woodland that plays host to woolly pigs, the incredible ecological restoration engineers! 
Under <a href="https://thefutureforestcompany.com/">The Future Forest Company</a>&#8216;s guidance, these pigs awaken the soil seed bank, nourish soil microbiology, create space for sapling growth, reduce competition, and form pondlets for breeding amphibians and invertebrates. This enriches the ecosystem, offering sustenance for birds and materials for nests. 
Since 2018, the Ecologi community has helped make a significant impact on this site, funding the planting of 56,170 trees, with a focus on native broadleaf species including oak and birch, creating important habitat for local invertebrate and bird species.

📍 Location: Belavenika, Madagascar.
⌛ Dates: 2019 –2022
🌱 Project: Eden Reforestation Projects
🌳 Type: Mangrove reforestation

Madagascar

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Madagascar’s mangroves are amazing habitats that, sadly, have been deforested over the years and become degraded. This project is one of three currently being supported by the Ecologi community that are replanting mangroves in Madagascar to bring benefits to local biodiversity and communities.
Creating new sustainable income streams for local people is a key component of the project, as is female empowerment. The project employs an average of 85 people per month, with female employees making up approximately 37.5% of the workforce in 2022.
As a result of their involvement in this project, local people are now able to purchase more nutritious food, leading to improved health, and can afford to send their children to school.
To date, the Ecologi community has funded 7.9 million trees on this site in north-west Madagascar.
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📍 Location: Marotaola, Madagascar.
⌛ Dates: 2019 –2022
🌱 Project: Eden Reforestation Projects
🌳 Type: Mangrove reforestation

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This was the very first project we supported, so it holds a special place in our hearts. Seeing its progress over the last four years has brought us so much joy! 
Native mangrove species are being planted on this site, including Avicennia marina, Rhizophora mucronata, and Ceriops tagal. To date, the Ecologi community has funded the planting of over 10 million trees here, and there’s room for another million. 
This site is particularly fascinating as the mangroves are only separated from the open ocean by a thin strip of sand about 100m wide. Despite being more exposed to the ocean, mangroves that have successfully become established are growing well, creating an important habitat for coastal biodiversity and protecting the coastline from erosion by the waves.
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📍 Location: Vĩnh Hảo, Tuy Phong District, Bình Thuận, Vietnam
⌛ Dates: 2018 –2023
🌱 Project: Verified Carbon Standard
☀️ Type: Solar

Vietnam

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Vietnam&#8217;s demand for energy has been rising sharply since the 1990s, and it’s a demand that the country has struggled to fulfil, with an overreliance on coal and frequent power outages.
This project, in the Vinh Hao commune, Vietnam, is generating electricity using photovoltaic technology, which transforms sunlight into electricity. The project is on around 60ha of salt farm, and will generate 83,750MWh of power annually.
Local people have been involved throughout the design phase and operation of the project. The construction process of the project was carefully managed to minimise the impact on the local environment. During the operation of the project, pollution will also be minimised through a series of measures, including ensuring no littering takes place, and waste materials will be responsibly disposed of off-site.
Over the 10-year crediting period, the project will prevent 704,110tCO2e from being emitted by replacing energy in the grid that would otherwise have come from fossil fuels.
The project has given a real boost to the living standards of local communities through economic support funds: the commune gratitude fund in the Vinh Hao commune, and the learning promotion fund in the Binh Thuan province.
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📍 Location: Mount Elgon, Uganda. 
⌛ Dates: 2021 – 2023
🌱 Project: Trees for the Future
🌳 Type: Reforestation and sustainable agroforestry

Uganda

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Trees for the Future’s innovative Forest Gardens approach is all about engaging farmers in reforestation and sustainable agroforestry. The farmers take part in a 4-year programme, learning the skills they need to better manage their land. This brings multiple benefits, including protected crops, stabilised soils, and habitats for pollinators, as well as increasing household incomes.
Over the past two years, the Ecologi community has funded the planting of 766,663 trees in Forest Gardens through this project. Three hundred farmers (57% of whom are women) are involved, with 3,522 people benefitting from the project so far. 
Pictured is 56-year-old Philister Khana, a farmer enrolled in the programme. In just two years she’s taken the number of trees on her plot from 4 to 2,001!
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Carbon accounting 101: What is it and why you should do it

What is carbon accounting?

Organisational vs product footprinting

What isn’t measured can’t be managed: The carbon accounting process

More posts

Hopescrolling: The good news timeline

Your questions answered about our Wildflowers, Wetlands and Wildlife project

Before and after: See how your climate action is making a difference

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