Quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from operations
Brief
Estimate the organization’s “carbon footprint“, in accordance with the UNI EN ISO 14064-1 standard, to measure its corporate performance in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (t CO2 eq.) as part of corporate initiatives in matters of sustainability, environmental management and carbon neutrality. Third-party certification was not envisaged.
Project challenge
: the main challenge was the need to prepare and draw up an inventory according to strict criteria for a major Italian printing and graphic arts company, one of the top fifty at national level.
Particular attention was paid to the determination of indirect emissions from electricity use and direct emissions from the thermal destruction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in post-combustion plant.
Solution
The scope of application was defined by identifying the system’s organisational and reporting context, which included direct emissions from plant facilities and the company’s vehicle fleet, as well as indirect emissions from the use of procured electricity. Subsequently, the inventory was prepared by collecting and processing activity data, and performance indicators were developed.
Execution phases
Preparation of checklists for data collection.
Inspection at the company plant facility.
Data collection and missing information check for data gap filling.
Data processing, preparation of a greenhouse gas emission inventory.
Preparation of the report with the results of the study.
Debriefing dei risultati in incontro finale
Achieved results
the analysis made it possible to measure greenhouse gas emissions for the reference calendar year chosen by the surveyed organisation. The incidence of the various categories was assessed (direct emissions, indirect emissions from electricity use) and, among these, the most significant contributions were identified.
Finally, further activities were proposed to:
- expand the system, also including the most significant indirect emissions;
- implement periodic monitoring of the carbon footprint;
reduce the carbon footprint, through efficiency and/or compensation measures