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SGA | SISTEMA DE GESTIÓN AMBIENTAL

Panel de Accesibilidad

Carbon Footprint

Environmental Management SystemEducationEducation on Sustainable DevelopmentCarbon Footprint

What is a carbon footprint?

According to the GreenHouse Gas Protocol—the most widely used international tool for calculating and disclosing the inventory of atmospheric emissions—the carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted into the atmosphere by direct or indirect action of an individual, organization, event, or product (PIGA-SDA, 2016).

The carbon footprint is measured in tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent, i.e. in addition to carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, it includes other gases with the same potential. This is a reference value and a useful metric for comparing different GHG emissions (PIGA-SDA, 2016).

Calculation of the institutional carbon footprint:

The identification and quantification of GHG emissions produced by public entities are performed in accordance with the following scopes, set in the GHG protocol:

  1. Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions produced within the entity’s limits.
  2. Scope 2: Indirect GHG emissions, associated with the generation of electricity purchased and consumed by the entity.
  3. Scope 3: All indirect emissions from sources outside the entity’s limits, which are produced as a result of the exchange of goods and services.

Steps to measure and report the carbon footprint:
  1. Identification of the sources of GHG emissions.
  2. Definition of the limits of the entity and its operations.
  3. Collection of information.
  4. Quantification of emissions.
  5. Analysis of results and generation of conclusions.
  6. Determination of mitigation and compensation strategies.
  7. Monitoring of the emissions generated and their reduction.