As a business, you are responsible for more than your bottom line. It’s imperative to understand the impact you have on your environment to do your part to preserve the future of our planet. Fortunately, with a carbon footprint analysis, evaluating your carbon footprint and devising strategies to reduce emissions is easier than ever. As Fox Valley’s leading recycled plastics manufacturer, at Becher Plastics, we design tailored solutions and emissions reduction initiatives.
What is a carbon footprint analysis? Let’s get started!
A carbon footprint analysis, also referred to as a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions assessment, is the process of assessing emissions produced by a manufacturer of a product or any other activity that contributes to global warming.
An analysis evaluates carbon, sulfur, hexafluoride, and methane, which are converted into carbon dioxide equivalents. GHG assessments enable businesses to understand their footprint for a product, factory, or an entire organization.
There are four central standards to an analysis that enable corporate leaders and governments to understand, quantify, and control emissions. The four standards include:
This standard helps quantify and understand emissions that pertain to a specific product by evaluating raw materials used, production, distribution, and disposal.
This standard evaluates the impact of a specific project intended to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
Similar to an organizational life cycle analysis, this standard is intended for businesses to evaluate their greenhouse gas emissions from all business operations and activities. Ultimately, it helps formulate and implement plans to minimize emissions.
This standard assists organizations and businesses in analyzing their entire value chain and determining the environmental impacts across the chain, which is essential to devising ways to reduce an organization’s emissions.
Along with understanding what a carbon footprint analysis is, it’s essential to understand why conducting an analysis is important.
Firstly, corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies have become increasingly significant. Investors confer more importance on these considerations when making investment decisions.
Analyzing your footprint, holding your organization accountable, and making a genuine effort to mitigate your footprint can help attract more prospective investors and retain current investors.
Moreover, consumers and employees value engagement, transparency, and organizations holding themselves accountable. Conducting a carbon footprint analysis telegraphs you are committed to making the world a better place.
Ultimately, this has an invaluable impact on your reputation. With climate change and climate risk becoming more prominent concerns, companies must understand their carbon footprint to disclose risks and opportunities for improvement.
Also, governments across the globe are implementing and enforcing regulations to ensure companies are doing their part at the risk of penalization. A carbon footprint analysis ensures you are compliant and don’t incur costly penalties.
Lastly, the only way to truly comprehend the full scope of your carbon footprint and understand how to reduce it is by having professionals assist you with an analysis. Without their extensive expertise and training, it’s impossible to realize the full picture.
For example, a carbon footprint analysis will examine both direct and indirect emissions in your supply chain, which is nearly impossible to do accurately without considerable training.
Now that you know what a carbon footprint analysis is, you understand how critical it is to your business and the environment. Fortunately, since the mid-1970s, Becher Plastics has been the leading recycled plastics manufacturer and broker in Fox Valley, and we take the time to understand you and your unique needs. Contact us now to get started! We can help you fulfill your recycling and carbon footprint reduction objectives.
