This blog takes you further into environmental sustainability and GHG account, by giving you ideas for goals and sustainable initiatives your cleaning company could take to meet your sustainable goals. Furthermore, we give you an overview of important factors of the GHG account and how to formulate a report on GHG.
What to Know Before Creating the GHG Account: Scopes and KPI
The global, standardised measurement is called the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG), where every company reports their collected climate footprint. The creation of an annual GHG account is time-consuming, but the first time is the most difficult because the CO₂ data needs to be sought from scratch. Next year, you have a starting point. There might be changes in method, results, and goals, but then you have your template from last year. Here is a guide on what to report and which goals could be realistic and useful for a cleaning company:
What to Report: Scopes
The three scopes are a categorisation of a company’s different types of emissions and wider value-chain. They are used in the GHG protocol and account for the total CO₂ emissions of a given company. The 3 scopes according to the Office for National Statistics:
- Scope 1: direct emissions from owned or directly controlled sources.
- Scope 2: indirect emissions from purchased energy that come from where the energy was produced.
- Scope 3: all other indirect emissions, from producing and transporting goods and services, including the supply chain.
Your KPI Goals and Environmental Sustainability Initiatives for the GHG Account
KPI’s will be your goals to follow and later evaluate your cleaning company’s achievements at the end of the year. These KPI goals can both be long-term and short-term, and it is better to start simple and have relatable goals, like a goal of changing light bulbs to LED. Goals are usually directed towards CO₂ emissions, but other initiatives to save resources or recycle are essential too. Here are a handful of environmental sustainability initiatives you could implement into your cleaning company for KPI goals:
Reduce energy using renewable energy sources
- Windmill and/or solar energy for your building
- Hybrid- or electric cars for your employees
- Bicycling if possible
Switch cleaning products
- Cleaning products with less or no plastic, or made of biodegradable materials
Investing in technology
- Invest in LED-lighting
- High-tech cleaning with less water and soap
- Software for wage, time tracking etc. to remove paperwork and save time. (paperless office)
Recycling or waste-management
- Second-hand clothing for staff
- Recycling bins for you and your clients
- Encourage less use of paper at your own facility and at your clients
KPI Example
A KPI goal could be: “Reduce the company’s carbon emissions by 25% over the next ten years.” This is an overall goal, which could include concrete goals, like having 20% of company cars be electric by the end of the 10 years. However, the long-term goal is specific and measurable, and opens up for creativity from your company to find environmental initiatives. This is an effective KPI for assessing a cleaning company’s progress in environmental sustainability. Such a goal not only aligns with the environmental aspect of ESG but also demonstrates commitment to reducing your climate footprint.
How to Write the GHG Account
It is important to note that data on CO₂ emissions cannot stand alone. The data require context and written explanation. This is why you need to write a report. These are the five principles for the GHG protocol that you should base your GHG report on:
Relevance
Use GHG data, methods, criteria, and assumptions that are relevant and suitable to the organization’s environmental impact.
Completeness
Collect all relevant and make sure no significant emissions are omitted from the report to provide a full picture of your company’s environmental impact.
Consistency
You should apply the same GHG data, methods, criteria, and assumptions for a homogenous emission calculation every year.
Transparency
You should publish clear and adequate information, so readers can easily judge if your emission report is trustworthy and reliable.
Precision
Try to avoid uncertainties to the best of your ability, and strive for continuous improvement in data quality.
The Importance of Stakeholders when Choosing KPI Goals
Stakeholders are on many levels the successful factor when it comes to environmental sustainability. Your cleaning company needs to know who the important stakeholders are, and what they expect from you. A stakeholder such as the government could change or add ESG regulations, which is critical to keep up with. Or stakeholders such as clients could have new and ambitious sustainability goals that you need to follow if you want to keep them as clients.
Some stakeholders are not only the ones who might pressure environmental sustainability, but some stakeholders, like other companies, are a part of your scope measures as well.
Cleaning companies’ main stakeholders are clients and staff. Without them, there would be no income and no cleaning service. The Government and investors are also relevant stakeholders for environmental sustainability. The Government have legal authority over your demands with ESG and GHG accounts. If your cleaning company needs investors, then environmental sustainable and good GHG accounts are essential for attracting, and attaining them. Keeping these stakeholders’ opinion, laws, or interests for environmental sustainability in mind while creating KPI goals will ensure competitive, economic and safety benefits for your cleaning company.
Securing Your Company’s Future with GHG accounting and Environmental Goals
Now the real challenge begins… writing the GHG account! We have mentioned the essential factors that goes into the GHG account, and how it should be formulated to be transparent and trustworthy reporting. These annual accounts require sustainable goals, where several climate-friendly initiatives have been proposed. Embracing these practices not only aligns with global sustainability efforts but also positions your company as a frontrunner within the cleaning industry, contributing to a greener, more sustainable future.
If you’re interested in more knowledge about environmental sustainability and its relation to GHG accounts and ESG reports, then check out our other article, Climate-friendly Cleaning: An Explanation of Environmental Sustainability.
Or do you need more time in your daily work to create a GHG account? Then consider exploring our commercial cleaning software at CleanManager. Our digital solutions can help you manage your cleaning company and save time for more important things, like environmental sustainability and GHG accounting.
