Introduction

The Carbon Footprint of an organisation is a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted as part of the organisations everyday activities and physical operations. One of the main drivers that has led companies to consider determining their carbon footprint is the desire to establish the likely tax liability with respect to proposed carbon taxation, which is certain to become a reality in the Republic of Ireland within the lifetime of the current government (it is already in place for large scale industrial developments) and which will be introduced in the UK for manufacturing, financial and services companies in 2009. The EU is currently debating carbon taxation proposals, with a target date of 2012/2013 for implementation.

Carbon emissions vary significantly from company to company, depending on the operations of the company, the degree of thermal energy required to operate buildings, the size and nature of the vehicle fleet and the electrical consumption of buildings. Once companies are appraised of their likely tax liability, cost/benefit analysis of carbon off-setting schemes or carbon reduction programmes, through fuel substitution or equipment efficiency gains, can be integrated into a Carbon Management Plan to ensure the business risk associated with carbon usage is minimised.