Carbon Footprint
A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced directly and indirectly by an organisation, individual, event, or product, typically expressed in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e).
What is Carbon Footprint?
A carbon footprint is the total quantity of greenhouse gases emitted as a result of the activities of an organisation, individual, event, product, or service. It is expressed in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e), a unit that normalises the impact of different greenhouse gases based on their global warming potential (GWP) over a 100-year time horizon.
For organisations, a carbon footprint typically encompasses Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions as defined by the GHG Protocol. The boundary of a carbon footprint — what is included and excluded — is a critical methodological decision. A corporate carbon footprint using the operational control approach includes all emissions from facilities the company operates. A product carbon footprint covers emissions from raw material extraction through manufacturing, distribution, use, and end-of-life disposal (cradle-to-grave).
Calculating an organisational carbon footprint involves collecting activity data (energy consumption, fuel use, travel, procurement, waste), applying appropriate emission factors, and summing the results across all sources and scopes. The result is a single number representing the total climate impact, but it is most useful when broken down by scope, source, and business unit to identify where emissions are concentrated and where reduction efforts should be focused.
Carbon footprints serve multiple purposes. They are the foundation for regulatory compliance (SECR, CSRD), voluntary disclosure (CDP, sustainability reports), target setting (SBTi), supply chain requirements (customer questionnaires), and internal decision-making (identifying high-impact reduction opportunities).
The term "carbon footprint" is sometimes criticised for being imprecise — it includes not just carbon dioxide but all greenhouse gases, and the boundary can vary significantly between different calculations. This is why standardised methodologies (GHG Protocol, ISO 14064, PAS 2050 for products) and transparent disclosure of methodology, boundary, and assumptions are essential for any credible carbon footprint.
Common metrics used alongside the absolute footprint include intensity ratios (tCO₂e per revenue, per employee, per product unit) which normalise for business size and enable comparison across years and between organisations. A decreasing intensity ratio alongside a decreasing absolute footprint indicates genuine decoupling of economic growth from emissions.
Practical Examples
A professional services firm calculates its annual corporate carbon footprint at 2,400 tCO₂e: 150 tCO₂e from gas heating (Scope 1), 300 tCO₂e from electricity (Scope 2), and 1,950 tCO₂e from business travel, employee commuting, and purchased services (Scope 3).
A food brand calculates the product carbon footprint of its flagship product at 1.8 kgCO₂e per unit, covering agricultural production, processing, packaging, distribution, and end-of-life disposal, to support an eco-labelling initiative.
An event organiser calculates the carbon footprint of an annual conference at 85 tCO₂e, including venue energy, attendee travel, accommodation, catering, and waste, to inform an offset purchase and identify reduction opportunities for future events.
How Climatise Helps
Climatise produces a complete organisational carbon footprint across Scope 1, 2, and 3 from your raw business data. The platform provides breakdowns by scope, source category, and business unit, along with intensity ratios and year-on-year comparisons — giving you a clear, actionable picture of where your emissions come from.
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