Humanity needs drastic measures to reduce emissions. To solve this problem in 2015 there was
The task is truly global, and the mainpressure falls on the manufacturer. Although it is often forgotten that it is demand, that is, the consumer, that creates supply, that is, the product. The path to net zero can only be achieved by the consumer and the producer together: the former by choosing a product with the least environmental impact, thereby supporting responsible value creation, and the latter by working on the most energy-efficient production methods and choosing the lowest emission supply chains.
Just imagine, according to the SIBUR report, onToday, companies account for more than 65% of the planet's emissions, and more than 90% of these emissions are generated in the supply chain—11.4 times more than a company's operations. However, if a company wants to reduce its impact on the climate, it must start with major changes in its supply chain.
New industrial revolution
The volume of greenhouse gas emissions generated inin the course of a company’s activities, and methods for reducing them, is an important indicator of operational efficiency, which has recently played a key role in making business decisions. At the current stage of development of society, it is already possible not only to estimate the carbon footprint, but also to track it over time. To do this, various measurement methods are used and optimal solutions are created to reduce the carbon footprint. In essence, we are talking about a new industrial revolution, the symbols of which will be low-carbon technologies.
Currently, there are already a number of systems that allow you to calculate your carbon footprint, but so far none of them is an absolutely accurate measurement method.
The current methodology for measuring the carbon footprint
The first step to achieving net-zero emissions istaking into account the carbon footprint in the process of creating the value of a product. This includes not only Scope 1 and 2 emissions—direct emissions from a business's activities—but also the hard-to-measure Scope 3, which includes emissions from all suppliers and contractors.
Currently, the following three-phase approach is used to calculate carbon footprint:
- Scope 1 is the direct emissions of the enterprise during production.
- Scope 2 - emissions that are associated with electricity consumption or the purchase of heat or cold. In other words, emissions from consumed (purchased) electricity.
- Scope 3 - indirect emissions during the life cycle of products associated with the use of suppliers and contractors, car rental.
The osprey method measures your carbon footprintcompany, however, in this case, the company's management will not be able to accurately determine the most serious sources of emissions. After all, in the process of creating the value of a product, individual units can go through different supply chains - and the level of emissions will, accordingly, differ. Accurate analysis requires measuring emissions from a single commodity throughout the entire supply chain.
After taking into account the entire carbon footprint and findingemission hotspots, you can create and implement an effective plan to reduce your plant's carbon emissions, starting with the largest CO2 sources.
Let's look at an example of how producing two shirts X and Y from the same batch from the same manufacturer can have a different carbon footprint.
So, when producing one 222g cotton shirt, there is a carbon footprint of 6.29kg across all major stages of its production:
- cotton growing and cleaning - 1.27 kg, or ~ 20.1%;
- making a shirt - 3.00 kg, or ~ 47.69%;
- preparation of a product catalog that includes a shirt - 1.53 kg, or ~ 24.3%;
- packaging - 0.24 kg, or ~ 3.82%;
- utilization - 0.25 kg, or ~ 3.97%.
Shirt X, weighing 222g, like Shirt Y, generated a 6.29kg carbon footprint. The manufacturer will calculate this number, multiply it by the production volume and get the company's carbon footprint.
But the life cycle of a product does not end in production. After all, after it the goods will go to the warehouse, then to the distribution center, to the point of sale, and only then will fall into the hands of the consumer.
Let’s take a closer look at the further steps of the shirt’s “journey” around the planet.
X shirt route: 6.29 kg emission manufacturer -transport to distribution center with 2.29 kg emissions - high energy consumption wholesaler - transport with sub-optimal logistics - higher carbon footprint.
Y shirt route:production center/factory with low levelemissions - transport to distribution center with 0.29 kg emissions - transfer to wholesaler with low energy consumption - transport with optimal logistics - lower carbon footprint.
If you take another transportation method orpackaging of products, then emissions may become more or less, respectively. From one batch of shirts, some may be sold out immediately, others may be sold/taken for fitting, but returned, which means repeated logistics, cleaning, packaging and storage, that is, additional carbon footprint emissions, and others will remain unclaimed and will return to distribution centers.
Even within the same company, oneproduction cycle and one batch, the carbon footprint of two identical products will be different. Therefore, a new methodology is needed that will allow us to measure the full carbon footprint with even greater accuracy, including for each item of goods.
New methodology for tracking emissions
Utrace has developed a solution for measuring andtracking the level of greenhouse gas emissions at all stages of product production - Track&Trace. This solution helps you gain greater visibility into your carbon footprint throughout the entire production cycle by:
- Automatic Consolidation is a unique carbon accounting engine that automates the costly and time-consuming process of data collection and calculation.
- A unified methodology - a transparent system based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
- Real-time reporting - regularly updated data on environmental impact assessment based on an automated solution.
The main distinctive feature of the solutionis that at all stages of the product’s life cycle, without harming the business, it becomes possible to track the carbon footprint as the product moves throughout the supply chain - not an average, but a specific number for each unit of product. In this way, the optimal logic chain can be determined in terms of emissions level.
Technology can clearly show customerscontribute to solving current climate challenges and provide them with data on the full carbon footprint of the products they consume. It turns out that both the consumer and the producer can trace their carbon footprint, and their joint efforts are the basis without which it is impossible to achieve zero emissions.
This method is a potentialmore accurate measurement, which is necessary in our time, including for the further development of eco-friendly production methods. When building a dialogue with consumers, it is important to create an understanding of the product value process, explaining exactly how they can contribute to reducing their carbon footprint by choosing products with a lower level of production emissions. Only the joint work of producers and consumers will help reduce emissions to zero.
Read more:
Physicists have proposed a new theory to explain the mass of the Higgs boson
Omicron and children: how the smallest get sick with a new strain and what to look for
Look at the flying motorcycle from Japan. It costs $777,000 and flies for 40 minutes.