As the movement towards more environmentally sustainable business practices gains traction, carbon accounting has become the next big thing for executives to do their bit.
But is there even more to this trending topic than meets the eye?
On the face of it, carbon accounting sounds like the simple matter of counting up the emissions of each business area and assessing them for any outlying statistics.
The reason behind this practice might appear to be simple due diligence with little to no value to be gained from such insights. However, there is so much more to professional carbon accounting.
That’s what WolfPeak provides and we’re here to tell you that it is now far more than a trend. Indeed, carbon accounting is just as mandatory for businesses as taxation or a business permit.
Allow us to tell you why and answer any questions you have about the benefits of carbon accounting in general. If you have more specific questions about its application to your business, get in touch and allow us to guide you through the process.
Discover room for improvement
Both environmental and operational performance can be enhanced by carbon accounting.
Many businesses may think that their in-house techniques for calculating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are sufficient, but a closer inspection can reveal gaps they had never considered.
By diving into these gaps and assessing the full scale of their operation through a different lens, businesses can discover loopholes, shortcuts and bottlenecks that can be implemented or mitigated, respectively.
Examples of this may include the optimisation of fleets and routes, bulk goods orders, or sources of materials.
What was deemed most cost-effective 10 years ago may no longer be the case and more efficient means may have become available without detection and assessment.
Only expert carbon accounting may uncover these instances and allow a business to grow.
Find value in regulation
Under Australia’s National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007, any registered entity must report their GHG emissions, as well as their energy production and consumption.
This data must be provided to the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) by 31 October each year, or else the entity will receive substantial penalties and cause harm to its brand as a responsible business.
Carbon accounting allows a business to turn this arduous regulation into a point of difference. Rather than meeting the bare minimum to satisfy the CER, businesses can hire carbon accounting services to reshape their brand and satisfy their customers.
In 2020, McKinsey & Co conducted their US consumer sentiment survey and found that 60% of consumers would pay more for a product with sustainable packaging.
Closer to home, in 2022, one survey found that 80% of Australian consumers expect brands to do all they can to be environmentally responsible.
The bottom line is: there is a definite appetite for more sustainable brands.
All it takes is the initial investment to find your business’s opportunity for sustainability and the marketing team to turn those findings into saleable value.
Avoid greenwashing
By contracting a carbon accounting consultant like WolfPeak, you can be sure to qualify any eco-marketing that comes from your company.
Many companies have been stung for greenwashing – the act of spruiking your environmental practices when your company isn’t truly that eco-friendly, for the purpose of improving your reputation.
Some examples include Volkswagen in 2015 when the car manufacturer botched its emissions reporting so that its latest models appeared much more efficient than in reality.
Another example was made by Starbucks in 2018 when it released a “strawless lid” to gain favour with environmentalists. But in fact, the ploy actually used more plastic than the original design, making it less eco-friendly than it first appeared.
Once revealed to the public, greenwashing can only serve to hurt a business’s reputation in the long run. Instead, carbon accounting seeks to avoid these kinds of PR nightmares by confirming the validity of any environmentally slanted claims.
Contact WolfPeak
To understand how carbon accounting applies to your business, get in touch with our friendly team. They’ll walk you through the process of accounting for every emitter in every business area.
We also provide environmental consulting services to benefit the economy and environment equally. No project is too big or small for the WolfPeak team.
