Head of Marketing
Edited: 22 Oct 2025
Measuring and managing your corporate carbon emissions is no longer a “nice to have”. It’s becoming essential for organisations that want to stay compliant, competitive and credible. From meeting reporting requirements such as the SBTi, SECR or PPN 006 (formerly PPN 06/21), to setting science-based targets or winning new business, accurate measurement is the foundation of effective climate action.
Whether you’re approaching the task for the first time or refining an existing footprint, this guide explains how to measure and calculate your corporate carbon footprint, understand the data, and turn it into a practical strategy for reduction.
What is a corporate carbon footprint?
Your corporate carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by your organisation in a given year. These include both direct emissions from your operations and indirect emissions from your supply chain, measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e).
Under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, these emissions are grouped into three scopes:
Scope 1: Direct emissions you control
Emissions from sources owned or operated by your organisation, such as fuel burned on-site, company vehicles, or refrigerant leaks.
Scope 2: Indirect emissions from purchased energy
Emissions from the generation of electricity, heat or cooling that your business buys. They can be calculated using a location-based method (national grid average) or a market-based one (reflecting renewable energy contracts).
Scope 3: Other value-chain emissions
All remaining indirect emissions that occur in your upstream and downstream activities. These could include purchased goods, business travel, waste, or how customers use and dispose of your products.
For most organisations, Scope 3 makes up between 70 and 90 percent of total emissions, making it the most significant area for long-term reduction.
Why measure and manage your carbon footprint
Every organisation leaves a carbon footprint, but understanding it is what turns good intentions into measurable impact. Measuring and managing emissions gives businesses the data and direction needed to act with credibility, cut costs, and stay ahead of regulation.
Build a credible foundation for climate action
Measurement is the first step in any science-based strategy. You can’t reduce what you haven’t measured, and a verified footprint provides the evidence base for realistic, accountable targets aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
2. Stay compliant and future-ready
From SECR and CSRD reporting to PPN 006 (formerly PPN 06/21) requirements for government contracts, regulators and clients are increasingly demanding transparent emissions data. Establishing your carbon accounting process now ensures your business can adapt as disclosure frameworks evolve.
Uncover operational efficiencies
Accurate measurement often highlights inefficiencies in energy, travel, and procurement. Many businesses discover that carbon reduction also reduces costs — from streamlined logistics to smarter energy use.
Strengthen reputation and trust
Transparent reporting signals leadership. Customers, investors and employees increasingly expect to see progress backed by data, not just commitments. According to Ecologi’s Climate Commitments Survey 2025, 72% of businesses have now set sustainability targets, and more than half plan to increase investment in climate action over the next five years.
Gain a competitive edge
Proactive climate leadership can open new markets, win RFPs with ESG criteria, and attract green financing. Businesses that measure, manage and communicate effectively are better positioned to grow responsibly and lead their sectors.
How to measure your corporate carbon footprint
1. Define your boundaries
Determine which operations, sites and entities to include. If you operate across multiple countries or subsidiaries, document decisions clearly so that reporting remains consistent each year.
2. Collect activity data
Gather primary data wherever possible: electricity and gas bills, fuel records, logistics data, and travel mileage. This information gives the most accurate results. When primary data is unavailable, use spend data carefully and record your assumptions.
3. Apply emissions factors and calculate totals
Convert your data into CO₂e using recognised emissions factors. The UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) publishes annual conversion factors, and other verified databases exist globally. Each data type - electricity, fuel, waste, travel - has its own factor.
Accurate calculation requires technical knowledge of how to apply these factors. Platforms like Ecologi’s carbon measurement tool automate much of this process and ensure alignment with the GHG Protocol.
4. Understand and interpret your results
Once your footprint is calculated, add up emissions across all scopes and analyse the findings. Identify where emissions are concentrated and calculate intensity metrics such as tCO₂e per employee or per £ revenue to help track performance over time.
5. Set targets and act
Use your footprint data to create a reduction plan. Set short- and long-term targets aligned with the SBTi and identify clear actions - switching to renewable energy, improving fleet efficiency, engaging suppliers, or redesigning products for lower impact.
6. Report transparently
Share your results and progress through recognised frameworks such as SECR, CSRD, CDP or SBTi. Explain your boundaries, data sources and methodologies so stakeholders can trust your data. Tools like Ecologi’s Public Impact Ledger make this process simpler by evidencing verified impact.
7. Review annually
Carbon accounting is iterative. Each year, update your data, refine assumptions and reassess targets. Regular reviews demonstrate accountability and continual improvement.
Turning measurement into meaningful action
At Ecologi, measurement is the foundation of our 3Rs framework - Reduce, Restore and Report - helping organisations move from calculation to climate leadership.
Reduce your emissions
Identify hotspots, set SBTi-aligned targets and track progress toward measurable reductions.
Restore our planet
Fund verified carbon credits and nature-based restoration projects to compensate for unavoidable emissions while long-term reductions take effect.
Report your progress
Meet voluntary and regulatory disclosure requirements and communicate results clearly to customers, investors and employees, reducing reputational risk and avoiding greenwashing.
Measurement in action
Businesses across sectors are using accurate carbon measurement to guide meaningful change and demonstrate climate leadership.
Mishcon de Reya
A pioneering law firm with 1,450+ employees, Mishcon de Reya used Ecologi’s carbon footprinting services to measure complex Scope 3 emissions across global operations. They built a GHG Protocol-aligned system covering all scopes, set science-based targets aligned with the Paris Agreement, and invested in verified carbon removal. Their leadership in initiatives like the Greener Litigation Pledge is now helping shape sustainability standards across the legal sector.
Ecologi has been instrumental in supporting us on our journey to enhance our data capturing and analysis in relation to our GHG emissions.
— Jasmine Henricson, Sustainability Lead, Mishcon de Reya
Deliberate
Digital consultancy Deliberate used Ecologi Zero to calculate their first full-year footprint and identify reduction opportunities. With 101 tCO₂e measured and 215 tCO₂e avoided through funded climate projects, they are embedding sustainability into operations and supply chains. Their data-driven strategy has helped them progress towards B Corp certification and prove that small businesses can make a big impact.
The Ecologi team have been great to work with and invaluable in helping us understand how to measure our carbon footprint.
— Laura Erses, Operations Director, Deliberate
Rayner Essex
Through a detailed footprint analysis, Rayner Essex identified that IT and technology accounted for over a third of their emissions. They now have a clear focus for reductions and a supplier engagement tracker that’s improving data quality across their value chain. Their commitment to annual reporting and Net Zero by 2050 has strengthened client trust and positioned them as a sustainability leader among UK accounting firms.
Working with Ecologi has helped us turn ambition into action and take meaningful steps toward a more sustainable future.
— Laith Hilfi, Partner, Rayner Essex
Hawksmoor
With restaurants across the UK and US, Hawksmoor used carbon accounting to understand its operational footprint and set a 2030 net-zero goal. By embedding sustainability into employee training and supply chain decisions, the group has improved operational efficiency and created a purpose-led culture that inspires staff and customers alike.
It’s a really important area for us to be stepping up the work in.
— Ellie Besley-Gould, Head of Purpose, Hawksmoor
How Ecologi supports your measurement and management
We lead on climate so you can lead in business. Ecologi helps you calculate and manage your corporate carbon footprint through expert guidance and a single, end-to-end platform.
Our carbon accounting specialists work with you to:
Define operational boundaries and gather accurate data
Apply verified emissions factors in line with the GHG Protocol
Develop science-based reduction targets
Produce reports ready for SECR, CSRD and PPN 006 submission
Evidence all results through our transparent Public Impact Ledger
Trusted by more than 24,000 businesses, including 300 B Corps, Ecologi combines trusted science with practical guidance to make credible climate leadership achievable for every organisation.
Take the first step
Measuring your carbon footprint is the start of your journey to genuine climate leadership. With accurate data, clear targets and transparent reporting, your organisation can create lasting value for people, planet and business.
Ready to measure and manage your footprint?
Schedule a call with our team to explore how Ecologi can help.
References
Data referenced from Ecologi’s Climate Commitments Survey 2025, featured in The Leadership Advantage: How UK Businesses Are Turning Climate Action into Growth.