{"id":2666,"date":"2023-08-09T02:31:16","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T02:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/risksafe-esg.com\/co%e2%82%82-balance-sheet\/"},"modified":"2024-01-10T09:32:59","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T09:32:59","slug":"co%e2%82%82-balance-sheet","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/risksafe-esg.com\/en\/co%e2%82%82-balance-sheet\/","title":{"rendered":"CO\u2082 balance sheet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Obligation to prepare a CO\u2082 Balance Sheet<\/h2>\n

Based on the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) <\/span><\/strong>companies will have to disclose their greenhouse gas and CO2 emissions in future. Although this only affects companies with more than 250 employees and a turnover of more than 40 million, smaller companies will also have to deal with their CO2 emissions. To draw up a CO2 or greenhouse gas balance, all direct and indirect greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, SF6, NF3, N2O, HFCs and PFCs) produced (sources) and removed (sinks) are determined or calculated within a spatial and temporal balance framework and recorded in a so-called CO2 balance.<\/p>\n

All greenhouse gases are converted into CO2 equivalents according to their global warming potential (GWP).There are a number of synonyms for the term “CO2 balance”, including Greenhouse Gas Balance, Greenhouse Gas Balance, GHG Balance, Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF), carbon footprint, process carbon footprint or corporate carbon footprint.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Standards for CO2 Balancing<\/h3>\n

There are essentially two globally recognized sets of rules for corporate carbon accounting. These are the Corporate Standard of the GHG Protocol (“GHG Protocol”) and ISO 14064-1. Both standards regulate the framework conditions for carbon accounting and have similar requirements for a carbon footprint.In contrast to the GHG Protocol, ISO 14064-1 is “certifiable”, i.e. it also standardizes the review (“verification”) of the calculated greenhouse gas balance by an independent testing organization (certification). According to the GHG Protocol, greenhouse gas emissions are divided into the following 3 scopes:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Scope 1:<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div>
\n

Direct emissions from own or controlled sources (e.g. gas heating at the business location or operation of own vehicle fleet).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Scope 2:<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div>
\n

Indirect greenhouse gases produced during the generation of purchased energy (e.g. electricity, heat, cooling, steam).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Scope 3:<\/h2><\/div>
<\/div>
Indirect greenhouse gases that result from upstream and downstream business activities but are not under the control of the company (raw materials, services, disposal, transportation, business trips, product use, etc.).<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

ISO 14064-1<\/h3>\n

ISO 14064-1 divides greenhouse gas emissions into the following 5 categories:<\/p>\n

Category 1:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>Direct GHG emissions
\nCategory 2<\/span>:<\/strong> Indirect GHG emissions from imported energy
\nCategory 3:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Indirect GHG emissions from transportation
\nCategory 4<\/strong>:<\/span> Indirect GHG emissions from products used by an organization
\nCategory 5:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Indirect GHG emissions associated with the use of the organization’s products
\nCategory 6:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Indirect GHG emissions from other sources<\/p>\n<\/div>

Right-hand image: Emission categories according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (EnergyAgency.NRW)<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/a><\/span><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Procedure for the initial preparation of a carbon footprint<\/h3>\n

The following steps are usually taken to create a carbon footprint:<\/p>\n<\/div>

  • <\/i><\/span>
    Obtaining comittment of the management<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Calculation of expenses and costs<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Elicitation of existing requirements from customers or other stakeholders<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Determination of any legal requirements (e.g. CSRD)<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Survey of the positioning of competitors in terms of carbon footprint<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Definition of requirements and targets with regard to the carbon footprint to be drawn up<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Determination of the standard for the structure of the carbon footprint (e.g. ISO 14064-1 or GHG Protocol)<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Consideration of whether the carbon footprint should be checked (verified) externally<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Establishment of a project manager and a project team<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Internal communication of the project<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Definition of system boundaries (organizational, operational, local, temporal)<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Determination of the base period<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Identification of all greenhouse gas sources and sinks in Scopes 1, 2 and 3 and determination of the greenhouse gas emissions to be included in the carbon footprint (with special evaluation of any subsequent greenwashing accusations)<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Collection of basic data from all sources for the calculation of CO2 emissions (media consumption, emission factors, transport kilometers, etc.)<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Calculation of greenhouse gas emissions from the determined baseline data<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Comprehensible documentation of all relevant assumptions, data bases and calculations<\/div><\/li>
  • <\/i><\/span>
    Preparation of the carbon footprint taking into account the principles of relevance, completeness, consistency, transparency and accuracy<\/div><\/li><\/ul>
    <\/div><\/div><\/div>

    Benefits and advantages of a greenhouse gas or CO2 balance<\/h3>\n<\/div>
    • <\/i><\/span>
      A greenhouse gas balance creates transparency regarding the current state of climate protection and provides an overview of your company’s direct and indirect CO2 emissions along the value chain. This is an important step on the way to proactive and efficient climate protection.<\/div><\/li>
    • <\/i><\/span>
      You know the CO2 footprint of your organization and can signal to steakholders that you are aware of your social responsibility in climate protection<\/div><\/li>
    • <\/i><\/span>
      The carbon footprint is an essential basis for further decarbonization measures<\/div><\/li>
    • <\/i><\/span>
      Improvement in ESG ranking vis-\u00e0-vis lenders<\/div><\/li>
    • <\/i><\/span>
      Increased competitiveness through better ESG ranking<\/div><\/li><\/ul>
      <\/div>