Four takeaways from An introduction to your carbon footprint: Making sense of scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions

Early in 2020, BookNet Canada, Book Industry Communication (BIC), and the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) announced the formation of the International Green Book Supply Chain Alliance. As part of their educational initiatives, they hosted An introduction to your carbon footprint: Making sense of scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions, a webinar in which Courtney Ward-Hunting, Senior Sustainability Production Manager at Penguin Random House UK, and Liam Conway, Vice President Advisory Services at Carbonzero, discussed the ins and outs of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) and its three scopes, explained where to look and how to estimate emissions, and shared stories of their own sustainability journeys.

Takeaway 1 — Greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint disclosure is becoming very common

As organizations move their operations towards becoming more sustainable, disclosing information about greenhouse emissions and carbon footprint is now increasingly common. For example, Penguin Random House UK’s sharing their approach to sustainability.

There are multiple programs and standards around climate and most of them reference one specific accounting and reporting standard — the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which, among other things, sets the definitions and boundaries of the emission scopes.

Takeaway 2 — The three scopes have clear boundaries for what should and should not be reported

In a nutshell, scope 1 includes all the emissions generated by assets or equipment that your organization owns or controls, for example, emissions from natural gas used for a building’s heating. Scope 2, on the other hand, is limited to emissions generated by off-site energy purchases (e.g., electricity). Scope 3 includes all the other indirect emissions sources related to the organization's activities.

There are 15 reporting categories under scope 3 that help understand what should be reported under this particular standard. Since most organizations don't have to report on all 15 categories, there are tools that help companies determine what categories they do need to report on, including the Scope 3 Calculation Guidance document.

Determining what should be reported on for all three scopes will inform the Operational Boundary of your greenhouse gas inventory. In this part of the presentation, Courtney shows an example of an Operational Boundary and shares how Penguin Random House UK determined what falls under each scope.

Takeaway 3 — Data collection is key to the process, but a complete greenhouse gas emissions inventory is only the first step in a company’s carbon footprint journey

Whether you’re just starting to think about calculating the greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint of your organization or are looking to monitor the impact of your environmental initiatives, data collection will be the foundation of your work. Keeping track of things such as electricity and natural gas consumption, gas and diesel used by the company’s vehicles, etc., will make the inventory process easier and more accurate.

In this part of the webinar, Liam expands on the data and quantification aspect of a greenhouse gas inventory.

Knowing the impact of your operations on the environment is the first step in the process of becoming more sustainable. With the information from the inventory, you’ll be able to make informed decisions about the greenhouse gas reduction initiatives you want to implement, quantify their impact, and forecast reductions.

Takeaway 4 — Publishing houses around the world are on their way to becoming more sustainable

Penguin Random House UK’s process to become more sustainable started years ago. In the webinar, Courtney goes into detail about where their environmental impact lies, how they capture their scope 3 emissions, gives an example of how they measure their book emissions and talks about their reduction initiatives, making all the information about the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and its scopes much easier to understand in the context of the publishing industry.

To watch the recording of the webinar and access copies of the slides used during the presentations, visit the Green Book Alliances website.