Before any business or individual can reduce their carbon footprint, they must first measure their current footprint. Your carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gas you produce in units of carbon dioxide. This footprint is determined by your daily lifestyle and activities, such as travel, electrical use, consumption of products and services, and foods you eat.

Scope 1 covers the Green House Gas (GHG) emissions that a company makes directly, for example while running its vehicles or refrigerants. Scope 2 emissions are indirect, like the purchase of electricity to heat an office building.

Measuring your scope 1 & 2 emissions is the starting point for all carbon footprint reductions.  You only need to focus on three main areas: combustion, emissions and energy.  Each section can be broken down into several detailed areas, but for most businesses and individuals, this will be primarily limited to your gas and electricity consumption.

Scope 3 is where it gets complicated as it involves emissions that are associated by indirect responsibility up and down its supply chain. Measuring your scope 3 emissions isn’t always necessary for smaller companies.  It’s much more involving than scope 1 & 2, but accounts for around 70% of total emissions. You’d need to review your entire business operation and then convert the results of that process into emissions that are equivalent to CO2. 

We built our carbon calculator to comply with both UK SECR policy and the Global Greenhouse Gas Protocol.

GHG Protocol establishes comprehensive global standardized frameworks to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains and mitigation actions. GHG Protocol supplies the world’s most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standards.

This GHG Protocol Corporate Standard is a business specific area of focus amongst the broader GHG protocol. It provides standards and guidance for companies and other types of organizations preparing a GHG emissions inventory.

It covers the accounting and reporting of the six greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).

The standard and guidance were designed with the following objectives in mind:

• To help companies prepare a GHG inventory that represents a true and fair account of their emissions, through the use of standardized approaches and principles
• To simplify and reduce the costs of compiling a GHG inventory
• To provide business with information that can be used to build
  an effective strategy to manage and reduce GHG emissions
• To provide information that facilitates participation in voluntary and mandatory GHG programs
• To increase consistency and transparency in GHG accounting and reporting among various companies and GHG programs.

https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/standards/ghg-protocol-revised.pdf

The introduction of SECR coincides with the end of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme in 2019. SECR builds on, but does not replace, existing requirements that companies may face, such as mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting for quoted companies, the Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), Climate Change Agreements (CCA) Scheme, and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

SECR aims to bring the benefits of carbon and energy reporting to more businesses. The reporting framework is intended to encourage the implementation of energy efficiency measures, with both economic and environmental benefits, supporting companies in cutting costs and improving productivity at the same time as reducing carbon emissions.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trust-financial-management-good-practice-guides/streamlined-energy-and-carbon-reporting

Three groups of businesses are affected by the SECR regulations. Companies that fall within the following definitions must comply unless they meet certain exemption criteria:

• Quoted companies of any size that are already obliged to report under mandatory greenhouse gas reporting regulations.
• Unquoted companies incorporated in the UK that meet the definition of ‘large’ under the Companies Act 2006 will have new reporting obligations. This applies to registered and unregistered companies.
• ‘Large’ Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) will be required to prepare and file a ‘Energy and Carbon Report’.

Private sector organisations which fall outside of the scope of the new regulations are still encouraged to voluntarily report in a similar manner.

Unquoted companies or LLPs are defined as ‘large’ if they meet at least two of the following three criteria in a reporting year:

• a turnover of £36 million or more;
• a balance sheet of £18 million or more; or
• 250 employees or more.

The reporting requirements differ for quoted companies, large unquoted companies and LLPs.

Quoted companies must continue to report their global scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (including all seven gases included under the Kyoto Protocol), and a chosen emissions intensity ratio in their Directors reports for the current and previous reporting periods.

In addition, they will be required to report their underlying global energy use for the current reporting year. Furthermore, the split between UK and offshore energy use in other countries is required, and after the first SECR reporting year, a comparison with the previous year. Scope 3 reporting remains voluntary, but is strongly recommended for material emissions sources.

Unquoted large companies and large LLPs will need to report, as a minimum, UK energy use from electricity, gas and transport fuel, as well as the associated GHG emissions – including at least one intensity metric.

Quoted and unquoted companies and LLPs all need to report energy use, GHG emissions and at least one emissions intensity metric for the current and previous financial years. The relevant report must include a narrative description of measures taken to improve the businesses’ energy efficiency in that year. Where possible, resulting energy saving from the actions reported should also be stated. If no measures have been taken this should also be included in the report.

Companies are encouraged to go beyond the minimum requirements and voluntarily include any other material source of energy use or GHG emissions outside these boundaries, as well as reporting on scope 3 emissions.