Carbon Trackers & Calculators – which one is right for my business?
Starting your journey to Net-Zero can seem daunting, but the best place to begin is with a Carbon Tracker or Calculator. These allow you to work out how much carbon your business generates and where it comes from; you can then create an action-plan to reduce your carbon emissions, starting with simple steps and moving on to larger changes.
Carbon Trackers look at three different types of emissions, called Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3:
Scope 1
Direct emissions from the combustion of fuel in assets that a company operates, such as fuel emissions from company-owned cars, diesel generators, gas boilers, and air-conditioning leaks.
Scope 2
Indirect emissions from the generation of energy purchased from a utility provider, such as heating, cooling, steam, and electricity.
Scope 3
All indirect greenhouse gas emissions that do not fall under scope 2 – upstream and downstream. This calculator includes upstream emissions from purchased goods and services, capital goods, upstream transport and distribution, and business travel, calculated from your expenses.
There are lots of Carbon Trackers and Calculators on offer:
Advantage: you can find a Tracker that suits your business and allows you to more easily input your various emissions, sometimes using existing software and information.
Disadvantage: it can be difficult to know which Tracker is right for you and how to compare results from different trackers.
Below you can find some Carbon Trackers recommended by the BCL Board and Cohort and recommendations of which one you should use, depending on how your business runs:
Carbon Footprint
This Tracker is free for Small Businesses and is a brilliant place to begin if you are exploring your options. Focusing on your Scope 1 and 2 emissions this will help give you an idea of where you are and what the best next steps are. Create a free account here.
Normative
Founded in 2014, Normative is one of the world’s leading Carbon Calculators and is the official Calculator of the SME Climate Hub, a non-profit global initiative that empowers small to medium sized companies to take climate action and build resilient businesses for the future.
If you’re unsure where to start and need software that is easy to use, Normative is a great choice of Calculator to use – you can begin your journey through the SME Climate Hub or directly through Normative.
Ecologi Zero Beta
A slightly newer Tracker, Ecologi Zero Beta works by using date from Xero Accounting Software in conjunction with manually entered data to make your job easier. A certified B Corp, Ecologi works on projects like reforestation in order to help tackle the Climate Crisis. A perfect choice for those SMEs already using Xero Accounting Software – start tracking here.
Cohort #1 member Smash Marketing have shared their experiences of using Ecologi Zero Beta – find out more here.
Sage Earth
Working in a similar way to Ecologi, Sage Earth uses data from Sage Accounting Software to help calculate your Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. Sage Earth is aimed at Small and Medium-sized businesses and also integrates with Xero and Intuit Quickbooks for ease of use.
TIP: You need to enter lots of data so make sure you have this available – below are some examples of what Carbon Calculators ask for:
- What were your company’s total expenses?
- Company revenue for the financial year (April to March)
- Financial intermediation (i.e banking charges)
- Insurance and Pension spend
- How much you spend on electricity and heating
Chambers Carbon Tracker Results
Here at the Norfolk Chambers we’re also on our Journey to Net-Zero. One of the first things we did was use a Carbon Tracker (in our case we used Normative, through the SME Climate Hub) to calculate our emissions.
The estimated total emissions based on our expenses and activities is 17.8, which is LOW level.
Scope 1 – Direct Emissions – 0
Scope 2 – Indirect Emissions – 1.75
Scope 3 – Supply Chain Emissions – 16.1
