Greening Your Business Through Technology - WITSA

4Next Steps4.2.2 Finance – Carbon Disclosure ReportingIn order for an organisation to make effective decisions regarding the management of the risksand liabilities associated with NGER and the CPRS, it must first accurately measure its currentemission levels.The most prevalent and widely supported mechanism for calculating the carbon emission for anorganisation involves separating the sources of carbon emissions into the three scopes as shownin Figure 11 (commonly known as the GHG Protocol).Figure 11: Operational Boundaries, HOT CLIMATE, COOL COMMERCE:A Service Sector Guide toGreenhouse Gas Management, WRI Report, May 2006.CO2 SF6 CH4 N2O HFCs PFCsScope 2 IndirectPurchased electricityfor own useScope 1 DirectCompany ownedvehiclesFuel combustionScope 3 IndirectProduction ofpurchased materials• Product use• Outsourced activities• Contrator ownedvehicles• Waste disposal• Employee businesstravelInitial calculations are commonly done in-house using existing financial information to provideindicative results. This creates the basis of a carbon inventory which identifies the sources andassociated carbon emissions of each business activity and provides insights into the company’sexposure to any compliance or supply chain obligations.A more comprehensive assessment must be conducted by an independent auditing companyspecialising in measuring carbon emissions if carbon emissions are to be disclosed externally.This is standard practice for financial reporting and ensures consistency, transparency andrepeatability in carbon disclosure across different industries.Refer to Appendix 11: Local Green Directories for a list of organisations that can assist inmeasuring carbon emissions.Page 25