Carbmee: How Tech Can Help Companies Manage Their Carbon Emissions

(Photo : Christian Heinrich in interview with Startup Valley)

Almost one-third of the largest European companies (more than 1000) aim to reach net-zero by 2050, according to Accenture, pushed not only by the European Union's (EU) measures (such as the upcoming carbon tax) but also by the urgency of the climate crisis emergency. It's a political and social demand that also includes pressure from customers and investors, who want to see companies doing more to measure and reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

If we are to keep on track with the 1.5ºC goal, reducing and tracking GHG emissions is crucial. Although action has accelerated in the past two years, we are still far from reaching the Paris Climate Agreement (2015). The climate crisis also has a financial impact, and with rising carbon prices and taxation, carbon emissions are also expensive - something that global consultancy firm Roland Berger has called 'profit at risk'.

In that sense, reducing and managing GHG emissions reflects on more competitiveness - an important strategic advantage and socially-responsible business move.

A carbon emission pledge doesn't mean that taking action is simple, but adopting carbon management software solutions can give companies an overview of their supply chain footprint, helping them to analyse and decide what needs to be changed. 

What matters most: the supplier carbon footprint 

The GHG Protocol is the most important standard for measuring and managing emissions. It divides emissions into three categories:

• Scope 1: direct emissions, like boilers and furnace emissions, transportation emissions, and chemical production emissions from owned or controlled processes.

• Scope 2: indirect (but owned) emissions, like electricity, steam, heat, and cooling consumption. 

• Scope 3: indirect emissions (supply chain), outside the company's direct operation.

And while Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are mandatory to report, Scope 3 emissions are not. This means that if a company is not keeping track of their supply chain emissions, they are possibly ignoring a large chunk of their true environmental impact. 

The importance of Scope 3 emissions

Since companies are not obliged to track supply chain emissions, that is often where their biggest impact is. But they are also the most difficult to measure because they are outside the company's direct operations and control. 

To truly have an impact on decarbonisation, however, it's important to understand where all emissions are coming from. Without it, companies are not fully committed to sustainability, transparency, and decarbonisation. Making a change or engaging with suppliers (and supplies), altering product design, and building circular business models is only possible when companies can see their whole product or service lifecycle, making holistic, data-driven choices to reduce their carbon footprint. 

Technology can give us better data - and more impactful choices

Committing to reducing or driving emissions to net-zero is only the first step. The second is analysing data. That is where companies usually find themselves overwhelmed.

The importance of software on the climate crisis

'It is necessary to analyze the emission impact drivers based on consolidated data and track the carbon reduction performance in a workflow-based-system in order to achieve the net zero targets', explained carbmee founder Christian Heinrich in interview with Startup Valley. 

Here, the workflow-based-system means integrating a software that offers data-based solutions relating to a company's lifecycle assessment. Without quality data about a product or service's complete lifecycle, it's impossible to take action. Understanding and contextualizing data is crucial to progress toward net-zero. 

Not only having great data about the scope 3 emissions guarantees a more positive climate impact, but it can also drive companies to efficient cost reductions. 

What can tech do? 

Once the company decides on a software, they can focus more clearly on hotspots, backing up their decision-making with relevant and actionable data. On top of that, it brings more transparency to companies since they can view where the greatest GHG emissions are along the supply chain. 

Software potentially identifies duplicate efforts in handover processes, enabling companies to develop new collaborative opportunities with suppliers, providers, and other business partners - the path to decarbonisation should not be a lonely one. In addition to enabling new partnerships, software helps companies measure progress and effectiveness in decarbonisation. 

After all, they can only have a true climate impact if they can track their performance in a systematic and automated way. 

What do companies need to do?

Until 2030, the pace of emission reduction needs to double in order to reach net-zero by 2050. And between 2030 and 2040, most companies will need to accelerate another 50% or more to meet their reduction goals. 

And these are not representative figures for all industries. The automotive, construction, and manufacturing industries, for example, need to accelerate their efforts even more. 

That doesn't mean that a net-zero goal by 2050 is impossible. With technology as an ally, businesses could easily identify where their problematic emissions are, and make effective decisions in the short amount of time available to meet the deadline. This fast-pace could make them more innovative, and drive digitisation in more industries, too. 

Carbon management technology, then, is not only improving the future of our planet - but also driving a better, more transparent way of building a business.