Promethium assists clients to calculate their carbon footprint.

Description

A carbon footprint is "the total set of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organisation, event or product" (UK Carbon Trust 2008).
In an organisation, the need for a carbon footprint is driven by:

• a desire for commercial differentiation,
• investor pressures,
• initiatives such as the Climate Risk Disclosure initiative or Carbon Disclosure Project,
• a desire to remain a relevant player in the low-carbon economy of tomorrow or
• Sustainable Development reporting requirements.

Organisations from different industries are calculating their carbon footprints as a first step towards carbon literacy.

Calculating a carbon footprint typically entails identifying the various sources of greenhouse gas in an organisation and quantifying the volumes thereof.  The premier reporting standard is the Greenhouse Gas Protocol developed by (amongst others) the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Reporting of the carbon footprint is done in accordance with ISO14064 in units of tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

A carbon footprint is used to:

• Disclose greenhouse gas status to customers, employees, management, investors and external stakeholders.
• Identify areas in which to reduce carbon emissions through initiatives such as energy efficiency, fuel substitution, process improvements or improved logistics.
• Identify possible carbon credit projects.
• Provide input into the formulation of a climate change and / or carbon management strategy.
• Provide a credible basis for carbon-neutral declarations.
• It will help companies understand the life-cycle climate change impacts of their products.

Promethium services

Promethium has the necessary expertise to assists clients in a wide range of industries and agricultural areas with the determination of their carbon footprints.

Amongst others, Promethium has calculated carbon footprint baselines in accordance with ISO 14064 for the following companies to date:

Promethium developed the South African carbon footprint calculator on the Food and Trees for Africa website (see www.trees.org.za).