We often speak about the carbon footprint of individual products. However, you can also look at the environmental impact of an entire company. That is what a Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF) does.
Just as the finance team keeps track of costs in euros, a CCF measures the “cost” of company activities in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions are expressed as CO₂‑equivalent (CO₂e) and calculated according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol). This is the globally recognised standard for carbon accounting.
What is included in a corporate carbon footprint?
Carbon accounting covers all activities linked to our operations and value chain. This includes, for example:
- The energy we use on‑site (gas, steam, heat, renewable sources) = “Scope 1”.
- The energy we purchase (electricity) = “Scope 2”.
- The raw materials we purchase, or transport and logistics, even when organised by suppliers or customers = “Scope 3”.
A company is responsible not only for its own direct emissions but also for emissions across its entire value chain.
Overview of Greenhouse Gas Protocol scopes and activity categories across the value chain. Source: Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
What does “CO₂‑equivalent” mean?
The GHG Protocol looks at seven long‑lasting greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change:
- CO₂ (carbon dioxide)
- CH₄ (methane)
- N₂O (nitrous oxide)
- SF₆ (sulphur hexafluoride)
- NF₃ (nitrogen trifluoride)
- PFCs (perfluorocarbons)
- HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons)
These gases have different levels of warming impact. For example, some HFCs used in refrigeration can have a global warming potential up to 12,000 times higher than CO₂. To make comparison possible, all gases are converted into a single value using CO₂ as the reference. This unified number is called CO₂‑equivalent (CO₂e).
Why is this report important for EOC?
EOC has monitored its energy consumption and related carbon footprint for several years. This new report goes further. It includes the full value chain, giving us a clear picture of where our largest impacts occur. One key example is the carbon footprint of the raw materials we purchase.
With this broader view, we can:
- Identify where reductions matter most.
- Run simulations to test potential improvement actions.
- Develop realistic plans to decarbonise the activities of EOC Group.
The report also responds to growing requests from EcoVadis and our customers. Because they are responsible for emissions in their own value chains, they need accurate and detailed information from their suppliers, including EOC.
A note for specialists
We have limited the use of the spend‑based calculation method as much as possible. For our core business (raw materials in category 3.1), we used actual volumes and the best available emission factors (CO₂e/kg) for each product.