Carbon Footprint Measurement and Calculation

1. Introduction to Environmental Protection and Climate Change – basic terminology, environmental issues and their relationship to organisational activities.
2. Development of Environmental Protection and Climate Policy – historical context, fundamental principles of environmental and climate policy, selected legislative and voluntary instruments.
3. Carbon Footprint in the Context of Climate Policy and Organisational Management – development of the carbon footprint concept, legislative, normative and methodological context, importance of carbon footprinting for environmental management and organisational decision-making.
4. Principles of Carbon Footprint Assessment – basic terminology, greenhouse gas emissions and removals, direct and indirect emissions, CO₂ equivalent, organisational and reporting boundaries, organisational and product carbon footprints.
5. Assessment of an Organisation’s Carbon Footprint – Direct Emissions and Indirect Emissions from Purchased Energy – principles of the GHG Protocol, Scope 1 and Scope 2, boundary setting, identification of emission sources, data collection and evaluation. GHG Protocol, as currently amended.
6. Assessment of an Organisation’s Carbon Footprint – Other Indirect Emissions – Scope 3, value chain, categories of indirect emissions, data collection, data quality and evaluation. GHG Protocol, as currently amended.
7. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals Inventory at the Organisational Level – principles of quantification, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions and removals. ISO 14064 series, as currently amended; relationship between ISO requirements and the GHG Protocol.
8. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a Tool for Carbon Footprint Assessment – principles and phases of LCA, system boundaries, functional unit, life cycle inventory analysis and impact assessment; relationship between LCA and the carbon footprint of a product. ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, as currently amended.
9. Product Carbon Footprint – principles, system boundaries, functional unit, quantification and reporting of a product carbon footprint. ISO 14067, as currently amended.
10. Data and Emission Factors in Carbon Footprint Assessment – data sources and quality, selection and application of emission factors, greenhouse gas emission calculations, uncertainty, transparency, consistency and documentation of calculations.
11. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Management and Reduction – identification of emission reduction opportunities, target setting, design and evaluation of measures, decarbonisation strategies, monitoring and evaluation of achieved results.
12. Carbon Footprint in Organisational Management – use of greenhouse gas inventory results in environmental and strategic management, decision-making and supply chain management; practical applications and case studies.
13. Carbon Footprint, Sustainability Reporting and Verification of Information – use of greenhouse gas emissions data in sustainability and ESG reporting, transparency and credibility of information, principles of verification and assurance, and links to relevant normative and legislative requirements, as currently amended.