On the initiative of three Baltic States banking associations and financial companies, a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission calculator has been created, which will help companies assess the carbon footprint of their activities. The tool is free of charge and freely available for use by any business, public authorities, and other organisations.
To contribute to the European Union’s GHG emission reduction targets, the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian banking associations and financial companies are launching a GHG emissions calculator developed with Deloitte. The calculator allows for the assessment of Scope 1 and Scope 2 of GHG emissions, i.e. the direct GHG emissions from a company’s or organisation’s activities and the GHG emissions from the consumption of electricity and heat.
“Calculating GHG emissions is one of the first steps that can be taken to measure the environmental impact of a business. The new calculator will be particularly useful for small and medium-sized enterprises and other organisations that want to measure real data but do not know where to start. Large companies already calculate their emissions by hiring external or having internal experts, while small businesses find it too expensive. That is why we have initiated a project to create a simple and free of charge tool that would help more companies to start assessing their greenhouse gas emissions”, says Irina Kuzmina, head of the Sustainable Financing Working Group at the Finance Latvia Association.
The new calculator is based on widely recognised databases (DEFRA, AIB, CIBSE, etc.) and the international GHG protocol. The calculator is based on national emission factors and is available in Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and English. Additional training material is also available.
The European Union and national authorities are increasingly demanding and requesting data related to companies’ climate change mitigation policies and environmental impacts. Such information is increasingly requested by consumers, partners, and investors.
Information on GHG emissions of companies is also required in some cases by financial institutions, as they play an important role in financing the transition to climate neutrality. Banks and credit unions need to be compliant with EU legislation on disclosure of GHG emissions from financed projects, to report to the relevant authorities on the credit institution’s management of the climate and environmental challenges associated with the financed projects, and to assess whether their clients take environmental objectives into account in their operations. Each bank or credit union decides individually what data is needed in a particular case, considering the service provided and the specific nature of the company’s activities.
The European Union has been very active in reducing greenhouse gas emissions since the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. GHG emissions are to be reduced by 55% below 1990 levels by 2030, with the aim of achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
A free GHG emissions calculator is available here: https://ej.uz/GHG_emission_calculator
