Carbon Footprint in Business: A Step-by-Step Guide

Conducting a carbon footprint assessment involves evaluating all greenhouse gas emissions generated by an organization’s activities, whether they come directly from its operations or are linked to its purchases, logistics, or the end use of its products. It is a structured measurement exercise that quantifies a company’s overall climate impact and identifies its main emission sources.

In this guide, we explain concretely how to structure your carbon footprint approach.

Step 1: Frame Your Project (and Avoid False Starts)

Define What You’re Going to Measure

Before diving into spreadsheets, define your organizational scope: just your headquarters or all your subsidiaries? Your activities in France only or internationally? Ensure consistency with your legal and operational structure.

Next, define your scopes:

• Scope 1: direct emissions (fuel combustion, gas, refrigerants from air conditioning)
  
• Scope 2: indirect emissions from electricity and heat consumption
  
• Scope 3: all other indirect emissions across your value chain (purchases, transport, travel, product use, etc.)

Mobilize the Right People

Your carbon footprint assessment requires data from several departments: accounting, HR, purchasing, fleet management, and more.

A key success factor: appoint one contact person per department. This person becomes your single point of contact for their scope and can save you weeks of back-and-forth.

Plan a kickoff meeting with all contributors to explain the project, its stakes, and the timeline.

Step 2: Choose Your Measurement Solution

Before collecting data, decide how you will conduct your assessment.

The Different Options Available

Option 1: Train an in-house expert
One of your team members completes the Association Bilan Carbone (ABC) training (2–3 days). You retain the expertise internally, but this requires time and availability.

Option 2: Hire a consulting firm
You benefit from end-to-end support, but costs can reach several tens of thousands of euros. This option is best suited for complex organizations.

Option 3: Use a SaaS platform
Solutions such as Carbo enable you to carry out your assessment online, with guided workflows, up-to-date databases, and tailored support. Data collection becomes collaborative, and calculation errors are minimized.

For a first carbon footprint assessment, SaaS platforms often offer the best balance between cost, quality, and ease of use.

Step 3: Collect Your Data

This is the most time-consuming phase. Allow 2 to 3 months minimum for a first comprehensive assessment.

Organize Data Collection Efficiently

List all emission sources to be covered. For each one, identify the data source: invoices, internal records, questionnaires, accounting exports, etc.

• Employee commuting: a simple questionnaire (mode of transport, distance, frequency) is sufficient.
  
• Energy: invoices provide consumption data (kWh for electricity, m³ for gas). For multiple sites, create a consolidated summary table.
  
• Purchases: often the most complex category. Extract accounting data by expense category. The monetary approach is particularly useful here. If you use a solution like Carbo, you can import data in bulk and automate supplier data collection.
  

Choose Your Calculation Method

There are two main approaches to converting activity data into GHG emissions:

• Physical approach: based on physical data (liters, kWh, kilometers) multiplied by emission factors.
  
• Monetary approach: based on amounts spent, used when physical data is unavailable.
  

In practice, a robust carbon footprint combines both methods depending on the activity analyzed.

Ensure your calculation tool relies on recognized databases:

• Base Carbone® (ADEME) – France
  
• Ecoinvent – international
  
• Agribalyse – agriculture and food
  

The most comprehensive tools aggregate over 100,000 emission factors to cover a wide range of situations.

Step 4: Analyze Your Results and Identify Levers

Your data has been entered and calculated. Now it’s time to interpret the results.

Analyze Emission Distribution

Where are emissions concentrated? Energy consumption? Purchases? Freight transport?

• Service companies often find that business travel and commuting dominate.
  
• Industrial companies usually see energy use and raw materials as the main contributors.
  

Drill down by site, subsidiary, or purchase category to uncover actionable insights.

Benchmark Your Performance

Calculate your carbon intensity (total emissions divided by revenue or number of employees) and compare it with sector benchmarks to define ambitious yet realistic targets.

Ensure Regulatory Compliance

Your assessment must comply with recognized standards:

• France: Bilan Carbone® methodology from the Association Bilan Carbone (ABC)
  
• International: GHG Protocol
  

If you are targeting EcoVadis, CDP, or other ratings, ensure alignment with their methodological requirements.

Step 5: Build a Robust Action Plan

A carbon footprint without an action plan is like a diagnosis without treatment.

Identify and Prioritize Actions

List all potential actions, then prioritize them based on carbon impact and ease of implementation.

Quick wins (0–6 months):

• Switch to a renewable electricity supplier
  
• Install heating timers
  
• Implement a videoconference-first policy
  
• Train employees in eco-driving
  
• Prioritize refurbished IT equipment
  

Structural actions (6–24 months):

• Integrate carbon criteria into procurement
  
• Optimize logistics to reduce distances
  
• Improve building insulation
  
• Electrify the vehicle fleet
  
• Expand remote work
  

Transformational actions (2–5 years):

• Relocate production to shorten supply chains
  
• Invest in on-site solar generation
  
• Eco-design products across their life cycle
  
• Shift toward more circular business models
  

Start with quick wins to build momentum, then scale up ambition over time.

Set Quantified Objectives

“Reduce our emissions” is not enough. Set SMART objectives.

Example: Reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30% by 2028 compared with 2024.

These targets should align with the Paris Agreement and France’s National Low-Carbon Strategy, which aims for carbon neutrality by 2050.

Step 6: Showcase and Communicate

You’ve done the hard work—now make it count.

Publish Your Results

Transparency strengthens credibility. Publish your results on your website, in your annual report, and on social media. Clearly document your methodology, assumptions, and data sources.

For regulated companies, publication on the ADEME platform is mandatory. Even when not required, it remains best practice.

According to a CCI France survey (January 2024), 74% of French people would recommend a company committed to CSR, and 68% would consume more of its products.

Engage Your Employees

Your teams are your first ambassadors. Organize feedback sessions by department, explain results and actions, and collect their ideas.

An OpinionWay survey shows that 95% of Gen Z want to pursue work that feels meaningful—your climate strategy directly supports employer branding.

Leverage Your Certifications

Your carbon footprint feeds multiple initiatives:

• EcoVadis: improved environmental score
  
• ISO 14001: core component of the EMS
  
• CSRD: foundation of non-financial reporting
  
• CDP: basis for climate disclosure
  

Three Mistakes to Avoid

1. Seeking perfection from the start: your first assessment will be imperfect. Progress year after year.
   
2. Underestimating data collection time: it always takes longer than expected.
   
3. Neglecting follow-up: integrate monitoring into routine management.
   

Conclusion: Get Started Now

Conducting a carbon footprint assessment is no longer optional. Regulations are tightening (CSRD from 2025 for large companies), clients are demanding accountability, certifications support market access, and employees expect commitment.

It is also a strategic opportunity: understanding your footprint helps control energy costs, optimize purchasing, and anticipate regulatory change.

Start now. Appoint a project manager, identify your contributors, list your data sources. And if internal expertise is lacking, rely on a solution that simplifies the process.

The first assessment is always the hardest. The second will be much faster. Your low-carbon trajectory starts today.

Company Carbon Footprint Step by Step — Key Takeaways