Carbon accounting is a process whereby an entity, in this case a business, messures how munch carbon dioxide equivalent they ommit. This is the generally accepted way for a business to messure how much they contribute towards global warming.

So, Is Your Business Aware of Carbon Accounting?

Business software and ERP systems developer Epicor conducted a global survey of businesses (ranging from small start-ups to large corporations) on the issue of carbon accounting and some of the results were staggering.

  • 58% of businesses had not even heard of carbon accounting. This will be no good news for green campaigners as this was supposed to be the adopted model for making businesses greener. Perhaps more shocking is the fact that of the 48% who were aware of the process less than a quarter could accurately describe it.
  • 50% of CEO’s taking no involvement in carbon accounting probably accounts for the general apathy of companies on this issue. The attitude of the boss will shape the company as a whole and if any business is going to have a change in attitude or approach it has to come from the top level.
  • 80% of companies not regularly monitoring their carbon footprint is perhaps the most galling statistic from a green perspective. It seems like forever ago that businesses were first encouraged to get green but the message seems to be falling on deaf ears.

Now, it would be easy to blame these statistics on lazy companies who will not sacrifice time or effort to be more green but this accusation could only really be levelled at large corporations who have the resources to get the correct green measures in place but chose not to. What about the small business? The little guy? The ‘Mom and Pop’ store? What can they legitimately do to monitor their carbon footprint? The government will give advice to small businesses seeking to lower their carbon footprint so check with your local elected officials; but in the meantime small business can use a carbon footprint calculator (simply type “carbon footprint calculator” into a search engine and find the best one for your needs – there are a lot out there) and you can calculate your carbon output from your premises, company vehicles, utilities and so on before, hopefully, working on a way to reduce it.