Why is my business carbon footprint so high? | CyberChat 2

CYBERCHAT / EPISODE 02

A fictional 1990s chat-room conversation explaining real sustainability questions. Joanna and Al appear as themselves; the dialogue is scripted and the other characters are invented.

The short version

A higher-than-expected carbon footprint is a reason to investigate, not hide the result. Check the data, reporting boundary and assumptions before drawing conclusions. Organisational footprints, product footprints and avoided-emissions estimates answer different questions. Keep them distinct so that buyers can understand both your emissions and any wider benefits.

#evergreen : CyberChat

[21:01] Al says: evening!! You finally do your carbon footprint. And the answer is terrible. What now?

[21:02] net_junky says: dont do a carbon footprint. problem solved

[21:03] Joanna says: Ha. Tempting. But a surprising result can be the most useful part of the exercise.

[21:04] Joanna says: I watched an Openreach talk about this. In the study they presented, full fibre’s footprint per connected premises per year was more than double that of their copper-based fibre-to-the-cabinet service. That was a particular product comparison, not Openreach’s whole business footprint or a verdict on fibre everywhere. [1]

[21:05] Sunshine_girl says: so fibre is BAD???

[21:06] Joanna says: No. They were in a major construction phase, with the build emissions shared across fewer connected customers. They projected that full fibre would become the lower-carbon option by 2028 as more customers connected, the electricity grid became cleaner and the build neared completion. That was their projection at the time of the talk, not an outcome already achieved. [1]

[21:07] Ace_Ventura says: so a footprint is a photo not a film

[21:07] Joanna says: Useful way to think about a reporting snapshot, Ace. A product study can also model a whole life cycle, so always check what the picture includes.

[21:08] Ace_Ventura says: £5 for the metaphor

[21:09] Al says: why does an NHS supplier care about broadband

[21:09] Joanna says: Because a number without its boundary and assumptions can mislead. Your annual business footprint and the life-cycle footprint of a medical product are different pieces of work. [2]

[21:10] net_junky says: product footprints sound painful

[21:11] Joanna says: I have been working through a medicine footprint recently. It is not straightforward. Specialist input and good supplier data matter. Start by deciding what question the study needs to answer.

[21:12] Sunshine_girl says: cant you leave the bad bits out??

[21:12] Joanna says: You need a defensible boundary, consistently applied. Explain exclusions and data gaps. Do not redraw it just to make the number smaller.

[21:13] net_junky says: what about all the good my product does

[21:14] Joanna says: That deserves attention too. A medical technology might reduce travel or change a care pathway. But you need evidence of what would otherwise happen, including any new emissions it creates.

[21:15] Joanna says: The difference against that alternative can be assessed as avoided emissions. Some people say scope 4, but it is not a fourth scope in the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol inventory. [3]

[21:16] net_junky says: so i cant use the good stuff to fix my footprint

[21:16] Joanna says: Report the benefits separately. You cannot deduct an avoided-emissions estimate from your scope 1, 2 and 3 inventory. Tell the buyer how you calculated both. [3]

[21:17] Al says: what should someone actually do first

[21:18] Joanna says: Check the surprising result. Has activity increased? Have you included a source you missed before? Has the method changed? Then identify where reductions would make the biggest difference.

[21:19] Sunshine_girl says: this is making me less scared actually :)

[21:20] Joanna says: Good. An uncomfortable number can still be useful. Explain it honestly and use it to decide what to do next.

What this means for you

Review your largest emissions sources and the assumptions behind them. Check whether comparisons use equivalent boundaries, periods and units. A lower footprint per connection or per product does not, on its own, show that total business emissions have fallen. If a buyer requests a product footprint, agree the study scope before commissioning it. Keep any avoided-emissions case separate and supported by evidence.

Your questions answered

Why might my carbon footprint increase?

Possible reasons include business growth, better data, a wider reporting boundary or changed calculation factors. Investigate those explanations before deciding that performance has worsened. Compare like with like and explain changes in the basis of reporting.

How does a product footprint differ from a business footprint?

An organisational inventory covers business activities within a defined reporting boundary and period. A product footprint examines a defined product or service across specified life-cycle stages, such as materials, manufacture, use and disposal. State the unit, included stages and assumptions. [2]

Can avoided emissions be deducted from my carbon footprint?

No. Report avoided emissions separately from scope 1, 2 and 3. Explain the alternative scenario, methodology, boundaries and period used in the comparison. An estimated benefit is not an automatic credit against your own inventory. [3]

Sources and further reading

1. Openreach: What happens when your carbon footprint analysis doesn’t give you the results you expected?

   Relevant sections: 05:04–05:08 for the more-than-double comparison; 08:31–10:29 for the annual footprint per connected premises, network maturity and construction emissions; 11:34–12:35 for the projected 2028 comparison and its assumptions; and 21:01–22:38 for how the findings informed their reduction strategy.

   The 2028 outcome is described as a projection made in the presentation. Product-level results are not presented as Openreach’s total organisational emissions.

2. GHG Protocol Product Standard Product life-cycle accounting and its relationship to corporate inventories.
3. GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard Section 9.5 and Box 9.4 cover separate reporting of avoided emissions.

About the author

Joanna Whitear is the founder of Kintera Limited and supports suppliers with NHS Evergreen assessments and Carbon Reduction Plans. She has more than 15 years of sustainability and climate experience and is a lead ISO 14001 auditor.

Related reading: Carbon Reduction Plans for NHS suppliers.

Explore more Evergreen articles and guides.

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