We need carbon accounting to curb our emissions

It’s time for a pop quiz. Here are your two questions:

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1. ‍Do companies release more direct or indirect emissions? (Direct = carbon emissions from assets the company owns, like buildings and trucks; Indirect = electricity + other stuff related to their value chain like warehouse electrification, business travel, emissions from servers that are rented)
2. ‍What greenhouse gas emissions are companies mandated to report globally?

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Start your action journey by reading this article: “What are Scope 3 Emissions and Why Companies Must Start Reporting Them”.

Here are the basics:

• 💨 What is carbon inventory (aka corporate carbon footprint aka carbon accounting)? Measurement of an organization’s carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. This footprint theoretically accounts for direct and indirect emissions.

• ✏️  How is this carbon accounting categorized? Internationally, we use Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 to sort these corporate carbon emissions. Scope 1 (direct emissions) is emissions from owned assets, Scope 2 (indirect emissions) is basically electricity usage, and Scope 3 (indirect emissions) is everything else that happens along a company’s operations.

• 💼  Which Scopes do companies have to report? Although this is a global framework, not every country’s companies have to report. There are currently 40~ countries that mandate greenhouse gas reporting. But, most of these only require Scope 1 and Scope 2. Also, this GHG protocol most of the 40 countries use generally only apply to large corporations.

• 🤔 Who cares about Scope 3? Isn’t it the most indirect Scope? Scope 3 is all about indirect emissions. The catch: basically anything you rent or lease can count under Scope 3. More than 85% of most companies’ emissions fall under Scope 3 and we’re not measuring it!
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The bottom line: We can’t figure out how to tackle climate change through markets if we’re not measuring it in the first place. We have the tech and tools to track what matters; we just need to do it.

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If you’re reading this and you work at a company, congratulations! You know at least 1 organization you can ask about measuring greenhouse gases.

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Greenhouse gases are hella bringing us down. They’re damaging every aspect of our health and economy. If organizations are emitting into the planet, they’re paying for it, right?

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‍Haha, no. Currently, greenhouse gases (mainly carbon) are considered an “externality," which is fancy economics for “not my problem”. In fact, this carbon is barely being measured, let alone priced. This makes it hard to assess policies’ climate benefits, too. The concept of a “social cost of carbon” addresses this. Watch this 3-min explainer!

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You can access the video, transcript, and more facts from the Resources for the Future website.

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What you'll learn about the social cost of carbon: 

• 💰 It's an estimate, in dollars, of the economic damages that result from each additional ton of greenhouse gas emissions
• 🏛️ It puts the effects of climate change into economic terms to help policymakers understand how emissions-related policies affect the economy
  

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How does this actually work? The video has a detailed explanation and examples of how this is already being used, so check it out!

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Our worldly desires — marked by our growing global carbon footprint — are getting out of control. IT’S TOO BIG! As the age-old wisdom goes: “size matters.”

If you’ve been wondering how you can make a meaningful difference against climate change, there’s obviously a bunch you can do, but we all need a baseline.

Whether that’s in our personal lives or at work, it’s time to account ourselves. Today’s ACT just has 3 simple actions — 1 for your personal life, 1 for work, and 1 related to consumer advocacy! Choose one or more and let’s go.

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1. Use your consumer superpowers for good at Climate Neutral.
There are a bazillion certifications popping up to help consumers navigate this ever-changing space, but we really like Climate Neutral’s because it’s rooted in measurement first. Go to their consumer action hub and fill out a 15-second survey. You can also @ your favorite brands to #beclimateneutral on social media! Keep that in your mind’s back pocket as you go about your online life.

2. Download Commons to start measuring your own footprint.
We talked about Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions (long story short — It’s a way of categorizing carbon emissions for large entities like corporations. Scope 3, which is the majority of emissions, DOESN’T EVEN GET MEASURED because it’s ‘indirect’). We like to apply this framework for my own life. What am I measuring? The answer: despite being climate-conscious, we weren't  measuring anything until we downloaded Commons. Also, if you don’t want another app on your phone or if it doesn’t support your geography, just pick one thing to measure. If you eat meat and dairy, track how much you consume per week! See how you can chip away at that number. The biggest individual impacts we can make are cutting out flights, cars, and meat. Pick one!

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3. Get your company to set a science-based target.
It has literally never been easier to take corporate action. Companies care because if they don’t, it’s hurting business — so let’s use it! Science-based targets show companies how much and how quickly they need to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to prevent the worst effects of climate change. You can view the companies already taking action here — there’s an option on the same page to set a target. Talk to your company ASAP — just send them the link and ask, “Hey, can you share more info on our role in this?”

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If you're not already talking about these things at work or with your friends/family, that's your simplest talking point. Everything starts with conversation, and now you have some robust action tools to support the discussions you're having!

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Before we go any further, it's time for you to pledge your commitment. It takes less than 30 seconds to pledge and we can bother you about it in a friendly way, so we can hold each other accountable. Pledge here!

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🎯 Action step 4 of 4: REFLECT — what can you commit to? What fresh perspectives can we look at?

‍When you complete the 30-sec form to record your actions, you’ll see a link to this article that shows us the valuable info we gain when we do measure our emissions.

You can see how your country fares — are you using more or less carbon than you need? How has this changed over time compared to other countries? How does this relate to colonial history? It’s an interactive graphic so you can look at data through time and see if you’re up or down.

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Take 30 seconds to hold yourself accountable! It’s so important to look at this stuff on a global scale — it’s clear to see which of us really needs to up the pressure on our officials, while also making meaningful individual change!

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‍🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 4 of 4: REFLECT.

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Check out our membership community for more resources like free weekly events with social justice experts, sustainable product discounts, pre-written email templates, a social impact job board, and in-person hangouts with new friends. Thanks for taking action with Soapbox Project!