Carbon Footprints

Your Carbon Footprint is a term used in reference to your total carbon emissions resulting from your daily operations. If they’re from your own personal action then it’s your personal carbon footprint, if the emissions result from work related activities then they are part of your place of work’s carbon footprint. Your carbon footprint is accounted for and expressed through a greenhouse gas inventory.

Greenhouse gas inventories are the accounting of all emissions from a defined legal entity or facility. Geographical and organizational boundaries are set, facilities are defined and emissions sources are placed in scope by facility. Scope is a reference to the emission source type and relevance. GHG inventories are required for any kind of offsetting or mandatory emission reporting. Reporting must be done before offsetting.

Emissions sources include all combustion sources both mobile and stationary, purchased electricity, refrigeration and air conditioning, contracted transportation (couriers, air travel, sea travel, land travel, rental car, etc.), and industrial processes. Large structures, including high rise, educational, leisure and institutional structures, will likely have emissions great enough to require reporting or at the very least accounting. It is often overlooked that all buildings, no matter the size, are emission sources. Understanding GHG inventories and reporting will make adapting to new mandatory programs less costly, with fewer surprises and some potential benefits from early adoption like early participation in carbon markets.