Carbon footprint and LCA: two levers for the environmental transition of your business

At the start of a CO2 balance or Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), organizations will be able to develop and implement concrete actions aimed at reducing its impacts on the environment and setting new goals. By seeking to reduce their impact on the environment, everyone can access and position themselves in new markets and meet new customers by making “low-carbon” products available.

” From any environmental study or diagnosis linked to an activity or an organization, it is possible to draw up a CO2 balance and start a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), explains Yannick Masquelier, partner at ABV Development design office. Such an approach allows any organization to better quantify and therefore better control its environmental and climate impact in the long term. In this way, by considering market indicators in particular, it can initiate a process of continuous improvement aimed at reducing its overall carbon footprint..”

The objective of a carbon assessment is to identify your “carbon” challenges, to quantify your carbon footprint, to define your levers for reducing CO2/GHG emissions and to determine the effectiveness of your actions to be implemented to limit your carbon footprint. The purpose of life cycle analysis (LCA) is to identify and quantify, throughout the life of products, the physical flows of matter and energy associated with human activities. It assesses the potential impacts on the environment and society and then interprets the results obtained according to its initial objectives.

Integrating environmental value into the balance sheet

The environmental value of organizations is increasingly integrated into the balance sheets in the same way as the economic and societal values they generate. CO2 emissions and other climate impacts, for example through the introduction of quotas, are a cost that must be taken into account. “Tools such as the CO2 balance and the LCA make it possible to establish a reference situation for any organization, the starting point for any improvement process, for the evolution of its activities, products, services and markets in which it operates”, assures Yannick Masquelier.

Anticipate regulations and future opportunities

There is no doubt that, gradually, thecarbon and climate impact of each activity must be better evaluated and controlled. ” The regulations under discussion, including the “carbon tax” envisaged at European level (carbon inclusion mechanism at European borders - Commission Green Deal) and the concept of “new industrial ecosystems”, clearly indicate the direction and direction that private and public organizations should take. All of these must be perceived and understood as development opportunities, says Yannick Masquelier. New markets are going to develop. In this context, organizations can consider new products and meet new customers. ”

The CO2 balance and LCA, two performance levers

Engaging in such an approach can create value. ” Organizations in a position to objectify their emissions through a CO2 balance and a LCA will be able to better understand risks and more easily seize new opportunities. ”, assures the partner of ABV Development. Establishing a CO2 balance and an LCA is a performance lever in a society and economy in total transition.