Carbon footptint: how to measure and control it?

Law 7/2021, of 20 May, on Climate Change and Energy Transition establishes that companies will be obliged to reduce their carbon footprint, moving from a voluntary to a mandatory measure. The obligations of Spanish companies are specified in Royal Decree 214/2025 of 18 March, which creates the carbon footprint, offsetting and carbon dioxide absorption project register and establishes the obligation to calculate the carbon footprint and to draw up and publish greenhouse gas emission reduction plans.

• Mandatory areas of application
  • Companies That must include non-financial information in accordance with: Art. 49.5 of the Code of Commerce and Art. 262.5 of the revised text of the Capital Companies Law. This applies to large companies that:
  • Draw up consolidated accounts, or
  • Have more than 500 employees,
• And are either public interest entities or meet at least two of the following three criteria for two consecutive financial years:
  • Total assets: > €20 million
  • Turnover: > €40 million
  • Average workforce: > 250 employees
• State public sector: Ministerial departments, autonomous bodies, management entities and common services of the Social Security system.
• Required scope
  • Scope 1 : Direct emissions.
  • Scope 2 : Indirect GHG emissions from energy.
  • Scope 3: This will only be mandatory for the state public sector for the calculation of the carbon footprint for 2028 and beyond.
• Publication / Registration
  • Companies: Required to publish their footprint
  • Public sectorRequired to register on the state footprint registry.

The carbon footprint generated by each emission source is the result of multiplying the result of the consumption data (activity data) by its corresponding emission factor. Activity data is the parameter that defines the degree or level of activity that generates GHG emissions. For example, amount of natural gas used for heating (kWhPCS of natural gas). The emission factor (EF) represents the amount of GHG emitted per unit of the "activity data" parameter. These factors vary depending on the activity in question. For example, in relation to the activity described above (natural gas consumption for heating), the emission factor for 2022 would be 0.183 kg CO2 eq/kWhPCS of natural gas. As a result of this formula, we will obtain a specific amount (g, kg, t, etc.) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 eq).

To calculate your carbon footprint, we need to: Establish organisational boundaries and operational limits: this will involve deciding which areas of the organisation will be included in the information gathering and calculations, as well as identifying the emission sources associated with operations within those areas, differentiating between direct and indirect emissions. Select the period for which the carbon footprint will be calculated: this will normally coincide with the calendar year immediately preceding the year in which the calculation is made. Collect activity data from these operations: this is usually consumption data.

The main ways to reduce your carbon footprint are to reduce energy consumption and use clean energy. Some examples are: Generate your own electricity with photovoltaic solar energy. Install aerothermal systems as a solution for climate control. - Improve insulation in rooms and throughout the building. - Switch to electric mobility. - Achieve energy efficiency by controlling your consumption. - Best practices in making green purchases.

If you can't reduce your emissions any further, you can offset your carbon footprint: Neutralise your organisation's CO2 emissions through financial support for environmental projects. You can do this through Carbon2Nature, where you can purchase carbon credits to offset emissions. These credits are allocated to a project that captures an equivalent amount of CO2 or prevents the emission of the same amount of carbon dioxide.