A beginners guide to carbon accounting - by self-proclaimed net zero novice Chloe England
I confess, when I first started working at Spherics I was overwhelmed with sustainability jargon. From B Corporation to Greenwashing to Wish-Cycling and so much more. Let’s not forget the dozens of acronyms that fly around such as SBTi (Science-based targets initiative) and GHG (Greenhouse gas). If I could give you any piece of advice regarding this, it would be to stick with it and don’t give up! It will all start to make sense soon and you’ll be name dropping those technical terms with confidence.
When looking at Carbon accounting, that too can sound daunting. As businesses are working towards becoming carbon neutral or reaching net zero emission, carbon accounting tools are progressively being sought out to calculate emissions impact and map out a plan for reduction.
So perhaps you need to understand sustainability jargon for work or even to simply educate yourself, here is a beginner’s guide to understanding carbon accounting.
What Is Carbon Accounting?
To dive straight in, it is a type of carbon footprint calculation based on spend (or accounting data) hence carbon accounting. Effectively turning pounds spent into CO2e. (Don’t worry, I will explain CO2e below).
For example here at Spherics, we use your accounting data from software such as Xero, Quickbooks, Sage and Excel and map that to carbon conversion factors to calculate the CO2e from each purchase.
*CO2e stands for Carbon Dioxide equivalent. Because there are more than one Green House Gas (CO2, Methane, F-gases , NOx etc) we use conversion factors for each to convert them all back to CO2. This gives us a level playing field for all further impact calculations.
E.g. 1kg HFC 404A (an F-gas) = 3,920kg CO2.
What does Carbon Accounting allow you to do?
Carbon accounting allows you to measure the amount of Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) your business is emitting into the atmosphere. These emissions are broken down further into three scopes, see our blog on scope 1,2 & 3 emissions.
Not only this, but it helps you set goals based on the resulting data to reduce your business’s environmental impact. Carbon accounting is a great way to help a business identify emission hotspots’.
Why is Carbon Accounting software useful for small businesses?
We know all businesses have accounting data, it is reconciled, audited and a very good reflection of your full business activity. So using it as a base of a carbon footprint saves you having to find data from elsewhere.
Does Spherics only use spend based methodologies?
Spend based methodologies or pure carbon accounting are great for many of the areas of the GHG protocol break down. This method does however fall down in some areas, such as staff commuting. So, in specific areas of our methodology we do seek extra information from the user to increase the accuracy of the footprint.
Are there any wider benefits?
In the grand scheme of things, we all have a similar goal of fighting climate change and making sure the impact we have on the planet is severely reduced.
Think about your brand and how you market yourselves. Using carbon accounting tools and taking steps to reduce the emissions your company produces will help attract potential employees and at the same time keep the employees you already have! On top of this it will keep board members and investors happy.
Essentially carbon accounting helps drive better business decisions that work for the planet and for the people as well as profit for business.
SME Case study: Spherics empowers Vocacio to complete their B Corp certification
SME Case study: Spherics becomes “trusted point of authority” for Ghyston Software
About Spherics
Spherics is an award-winning carbon accounting software helping businesses measure and reduce their carbon emissions, in minutes, from as little as £9pm.
Spherics has two software solutions, one for SMEs and one for larger enterprise businesses looking to better understand their supply chain carbon footprint/scope 3 carbon emissions.
For information on our SME carbon accounting software click here.
For more information on our Enterprise solution click here.
Contact
References
You may also like
.png)
A beginners guide to carbon accounting - by self-proclaimed net zero novice Chloe England
I confess, when I first started working at Spherics I was overwhelmed with sustainability jargon. From B Corporation to Greenwashing to Wish-Cycling and so much more. Let’s not forget the dozens of acronyms that fly around such as SBTi (Science-based targets initiative) and GHG (Greenhouse gas). If I could give you any piece of advice regarding this, it would be to stick with it and don’t give up! It will all start to make sense soon and you’ll be name dropping those technical terms with confidence.
When looking at Carbon accounting, that too can sound daunting. As businesses are working towards becoming carbon neutral or reaching net zero emission, carbon accounting tools are progressively being sought out to calculate emissions impact and map out a plan for reduction.
So perhaps you need to understand sustainability jargon for work or even to simply educate yourself, here is a beginner’s guide to understanding carbon accounting.
What Is Carbon Accounting?
To dive straight in, it is a type of carbon footprint calculation based on spend (or accounting data) hence carbon accounting. Effectively turning pounds spent into CO2e. (Don’t worry, I will explain CO2e below).
For example here at Spherics, we use your accounting data from software such as Xero, Quickbooks, Sage and Excel and map that to carbon conversion factors to calculate the CO2e from each purchase.
*CO2e stands for Carbon Dioxide equivalent. Because there are more than one Green House Gas (CO2, Methane, F-gases , NOx etc) we use conversion factors for each to convert them all back to CO2. This gives us a level playing field for all further impact calculations.
E.g. 1kg HFC 404A (an F-gas) = 3,920kg CO2.
What does Carbon Accounting allow you to do?
Carbon accounting allows you to measure the amount of Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) your business is emitting into the atmosphere. These emissions are broken down further into three scopes, see our blog on scope 1,2 & 3 emissions.
Not only this, but it helps you set goals based on the resulting data to reduce your business’s environmental impact. Carbon accounting is a great way to help a business identify emission hotspots’.
Why is Carbon Accounting software useful for small businesses?
We know all businesses have accounting data, it is reconciled, audited and a very good reflection of your full business activity. So using it as a base of a carbon footprint saves you having to find data from elsewhere.
Does Spherics only use spend based methodologies?
Spend based methodologies or pure carbon accounting are great for many of the areas of the GHG protocol break down. This method does however fall down in some areas, such as staff commuting. So, in specific areas of our methodology we do seek extra information from the user to increase the accuracy of the footprint.
Are there any wider benefits?
In the grand scheme of things, we all have a similar goal of fighting climate change and making sure the impact we have on the planet is severely reduced.
Think about your brand and how you market yourselves. Using carbon accounting tools and taking steps to reduce the emissions your company produces will help attract potential employees and at the same time keep the employees you already have! On top of this it will keep board members and investors happy.
Essentially carbon accounting helps drive better business decisions that work for the planet and for the people as well as profit for business.
SME Case study: Spherics empowers Vocacio to complete their B Corp certification
SME Case study: Spherics becomes “trusted point of authority” for Ghyston Software
About Spherics
Spherics is an award-winning carbon accounting software helping businesses measure and reduce their carbon emissions, in minutes, from as little as £9pm.
Spherics has two software solutions, one for SMEs and one for larger enterprise businesses looking to better understand their supply chain carbon footprint/scope 3 carbon emissions.
For information on our SME carbon accounting software click here.
For more information on our Enterprise solution click here.
Contact
References
You may also like
Not all carbon offsets are equal, a guide to help you pick the right schemes
A beginners guide to carbon accounting - by self-proclaimed net zero novice Chloe England
I confess, when I first started working at Spherics I was overwhelmed with sustainability jargon. From B Corporation to Greenwashing to Wish-Cycling and so much more. Let’s not forget the dozens of acronyms that fly around such as SBTi (Science-based targets initiative) and GHG (Greenhouse gas). If I could give you any piece of advice regarding this, it would be to stick with it and don’t give up! It will all start to make sense soon and you’ll be name dropping those technical terms with confidence.
When looking at Carbon accounting, that too can sound daunting. As businesses are working towards becoming carbon neutral or reaching net zero emission, carbon accounting tools are progressively being sought out to calculate emissions impact and map out a plan for reduction.
So perhaps you need to understand sustainability jargon for work or even to simply educate yourself, here is a beginner’s guide to understanding carbon accounting.
What Is Carbon Accounting?
To dive straight in, it is a type of carbon footprint calculation based on spend (or accounting data) hence carbon accounting. Effectively turning pounds spent into CO2e. (Don’t worry, I will explain CO2e below).
For example here at Spherics, we use your accounting data from software such as Xero, Quickbooks, Sage and Excel and map that to carbon conversion factors to calculate the CO2e from each purchase.
*CO2e stands for Carbon Dioxide equivalent. Because there are more than one Green House Gas (CO2, Methane, F-gases , NOx etc) we use conversion factors for each to convert them all back to CO2. This gives us a level playing field for all further impact calculations.
E.g. 1kg HFC 404A (an F-gas) = 3,920kg CO2.
What does Carbon Accounting allow you to do?
Carbon accounting allows you to measure the amount of Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) your business is emitting into the atmosphere. These emissions are broken down further into three scopes, see our blog on scope 1,2 & 3 emissions.
Not only this, but it helps you set goals based on the resulting data to reduce your business’s environmental impact. Carbon accounting is a great way to help a business identify emission hotspots’.
Why is Carbon Accounting software useful for small businesses?
We know all businesses have accounting data, it is reconciled, audited and a very good reflection of your full business activity. So using it as a base of a carbon footprint saves you having to find data from elsewhere.
Does Spherics only use spend based methodologies?
Spend based methodologies or pure carbon accounting are great for many of the areas of the GHG protocol break down. This method does however fall down in some areas, such as staff commuting. So, in specific areas of our methodology we do seek extra information from the user to increase the accuracy of the footprint.
Are there any wider benefits?
In the grand scheme of things, we all have a similar goal of fighting climate change and making sure the impact we have on the planet is severely reduced.
Think about your brand and how you market yourselves. Using carbon accounting tools and taking steps to reduce the emissions your company produces will help attract potential employees and at the same time keep the employees you already have! On top of this it will keep board members and investors happy.
Essentially carbon accounting helps drive better business decisions that work for the planet and for the people as well as profit for business.
SME Case study: Spherics empowers Vocacio to complete their B Corp certification
SME Case study: Spherics becomes “trusted point of authority” for Ghyston Software
About Spherics
Spherics is an award-winning carbon accounting software helping businesses measure and reduce their carbon emissions, in minutes, from as little as £9pm.
Spherics has two software solutions, one for SMEs and one for larger enterprise businesses looking to better understand their supply chain carbon footprint/scope 3 carbon emissions.
For information on our SME carbon accounting software click here.
For more information on our Enterprise solution click here.
A beginners guide to carbon accounting - by self-proclaimed net zero novice Chloe England
I confess, when I first started working at Spherics I was overwhelmed with sustainability jargon. From B Corporation to Greenwashing to Wish-Cycling and so much more. Let’s not forget the dozens of acronyms that fly around such as SBTi (Science-based targets initiative) and GHG (Greenhouse gas). If I could give you any piece of advice regarding this, it would be to stick with it and don’t give up! It will all start to make sense soon and you’ll be name dropping those technical terms with confidence.
When looking at Carbon accounting, that too can sound daunting. As businesses are working towards becoming carbon neutral or reaching net zero emission, carbon accounting tools are progressively being sought out to calculate emissions impact and map out a plan for reduction.
So perhaps you need to understand sustainability jargon for work or even to simply educate yourself, here is a beginner’s guide to understanding carbon accounting.
What Is Carbon Accounting?
To dive straight in, it is a type of carbon footprint calculation based on spend (or accounting data) hence carbon accounting. Effectively turning pounds spent into CO2e. (Don’t worry, I will explain CO2e below).
For example here at Spherics, we use your accounting data from software such as Xero, Quickbooks, Sage and Excel and map that to carbon conversion factors to calculate the CO2e from each purchase.
*CO2e stands for Carbon Dioxide equivalent. Because there are more than one Green House Gas (CO2, Methane, F-gases , NOx etc) we use conversion factors for each to convert them all back to CO2. This gives us a level playing field for all further impact calculations.
E.g. 1kg HFC 404A (an F-gas) = 3,920kg CO2.
What does Carbon Accounting allow you to do?
Carbon accounting allows you to measure the amount of Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) your business is emitting into the atmosphere. These emissions are broken down further into three scopes, see our blog on scope 1,2 & 3 emissions.
Not only this, but it helps you set goals based on the resulting data to reduce your business’s environmental impact. Carbon accounting is a great way to help a business identify emission hotspots’.
Why is Carbon Accounting software useful for small businesses?
We know all businesses have accounting data, it is reconciled, audited and a very good reflection of your full business activity. So using it as a base of a carbon footprint saves you having to find data from elsewhere.
Does Spherics only use spend based methodologies?
Spend based methodologies or pure carbon accounting are great for many of the areas of the GHG protocol break down. This method does however fall down in some areas, such as staff commuting. So, in specific areas of our methodology we do seek extra information from the user to increase the accuracy of the footprint.
Are there any wider benefits?
In the grand scheme of things, we all have a similar goal of fighting climate change and making sure the impact we have on the planet is severely reduced.
Think about your brand and how you market yourselves. Using carbon accounting tools and taking steps to reduce the emissions your company produces will help attract potential employees and at the same time keep the employees you already have! On top of this it will keep board members and investors happy.
Essentially carbon accounting helps drive better business decisions that work for the planet and for the people as well as profit for business.
SME Case study: Spherics empowers Vocacio to complete their B Corp certification
SME Case study: Spherics becomes “trusted point of authority” for Ghyston Software
About Spherics
Spherics is an award-winning carbon accounting software helping businesses measure and reduce their carbon emissions, in minutes, from as little as £9pm.
Spherics has two software solutions, one for SMEs and one for larger enterprise businesses looking to better understand their supply chain carbon footprint/scope 3 carbon emissions.
For information on our SME carbon accounting software click here.
For more information on our Enterprise solution click here.
Contact
References
You may also like
.png)
A beginners guide to carbon accounting - by self-proclaimed net zero novice Chloe England
I confess, when I first started working at Spherics I was overwhelmed with sustainability jargon. From B Corporation to Greenwashing to Wish-Cycling and so much more. Let’s not forget the dozens of acronyms that fly around such as SBTi (Science-based targets initiative) and GHG (Greenhouse gas). If I could give you any piece of advice regarding this, it would be to stick with it and don’t give up! It will all start to make sense soon and you’ll be name dropping those technical terms with confidence.
When looking at Carbon accounting, that too can sound daunting. As businesses are working towards becoming carbon neutral or reaching net zero emission, carbon accounting tools are progressively being sought out to calculate emissions impact and map out a plan for reduction.
So perhaps you need to understand sustainability jargon for work or even to simply educate yourself, here is a beginner’s guide to understanding carbon accounting.
What Is Carbon Accounting?
To dive straight in, it is a type of carbon footprint calculation based on spend (or accounting data) hence carbon accounting. Effectively turning pounds spent into CO2e. (Don’t worry, I will explain CO2e below).
For example here at Spherics, we use your accounting data from software such as Xero, Quickbooks, Sage and Excel and map that to carbon conversion factors to calculate the CO2e from each purchase.
*CO2e stands for Carbon Dioxide equivalent. Because there are more than one Green House Gas (CO2, Methane, F-gases , NOx etc) we use conversion factors for each to convert them all back to CO2. This gives us a level playing field for all further impact calculations.
E.g. 1kg HFC 404A (an F-gas) = 3,920kg CO2.
What does Carbon Accounting allow you to do?
Carbon accounting allows you to measure the amount of Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) your business is emitting into the atmosphere. These emissions are broken down further into three scopes, see our blog on scope 1,2 & 3 emissions.
Not only this, but it helps you set goals based on the resulting data to reduce your business’s environmental impact. Carbon accounting is a great way to help a business identify emission hotspots’.
Why is Carbon Accounting software useful for small businesses?
We know all businesses have accounting data, it is reconciled, audited and a very good reflection of your full business activity. So using it as a base of a carbon footprint saves you having to find data from elsewhere.
Does Spherics only use spend based methodologies?
Spend based methodologies or pure carbon accounting are great for many of the areas of the GHG protocol break down. This method does however fall down in some areas, such as staff commuting. So, in specific areas of our methodology we do seek extra information from the user to increase the accuracy of the footprint.
Are there any wider benefits?
In the grand scheme of things, we all have a similar goal of fighting climate change and making sure the impact we have on the planet is severely reduced.
Think about your brand and how you market yourselves. Using carbon accounting tools and taking steps to reduce the emissions your company produces will help attract potential employees and at the same time keep the employees you already have! On top of this it will keep board members and investors happy.
Essentially carbon accounting helps drive better business decisions that work for the planet and for the people as well as profit for business.
SME Case study: Spherics empowers Vocacio to complete their B Corp certification
SME Case study: Spherics becomes “trusted point of authority” for Ghyston Software
About Spherics
Spherics is an award-winning carbon accounting software helping businesses measure and reduce their carbon emissions, in minutes, from as little as £9pm.
Spherics has two software solutions, one for SMEs and one for larger enterprise businesses looking to better understand their supply chain carbon footprint/scope 3 carbon emissions.
For information on our SME carbon accounting software click here.
For more information on our Enterprise solution click here.
