Comparative Assessment of Carbon Footprints of Selected Organizations: The Application of the Enhanced Bilan Carbone Model

Željko Jurić and Davor Ljubas
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Željko Jurić: Department for Renewable Energy Sources, Climate and Environmental Protection, Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar, 10001 Zagreb, Croatia
Davor Ljubas: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 22, 1-18

Abstract: Making organizations aware of their carbon footprint (CF) and proposing measures to reduce it are important segments of climate change mitigation. As a part of this process, an enhanced Bilan Carbone model with incorporated country-specific greenhouse gas (GHG) emission factors was applied for CF calculations of three organizations (Agency, Faculty, and Institute). The model, fully in line with international CF calculation standards, can be applied to calculate the CF of any organization on the global level. The paper provides a comparative assessment of CFs of considered organizations and preconditions for a reliable comparison. The calculated CFs values for 2017 were 513.4 t CO 2 e for the Agency, 4254.7 t CO 2 e for the Faculty, and 477.0 t CO 2 e for the Institute. Comparing specific CF, the Faculty had the highest value per employee (9.4 t CO 2 e/employee) and the lowest value per heated area (131 kg CO 2 e/m 2 ), followed by the Institute (5.4 t CO 2 e/employee and 222 kg CO 2 e/m 2 ) and the Agency (4.5 t CO 2 e/employee and 294 kg CO 2 e/m 2 ). Using the enhanced Bilan Carbone model, adapted to national conditions, could lead to the harmonization of the organizations’ CF calculation and enable the identification of significant emission sources. This will facilitate the definition of GHG reduction targets and the identification of mitigation measures for achieving the targets, as presented in the example of the Institute.

Keywords: carbon footprint; climate change mitigation; emission factor; greenhouse gas; Bilan Carbone model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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