Sustainability experts highlight need for global carbon reporting model

News Article - 02 December 2009
Category: Environment

A recent webcast on AccountancyAge outlined the need for a pan-industry carbon reporting model and the positive effects it would have on the future of sustainable development. Alan McGill, sustainability partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers, and David Lyon, principal at Arthur D. Little's sustainability and risk practice, discussed whether regulations could become more centralised in the near future.

Whilst initiatives exist that aim to harmonise carbon-reporting procedures, such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, there are over 100 models businesses can use to account for their carbon emissions. Many of these are sector-specific. Discovering the highly carbon-intensive industries, key to focusing regulatory resources in the most effective areas, is therefore challenging. The problem is compounded because firms who operate globally are affected by legislative and regulatory differences that make it difficult for them to use their carbon-output data effectively.

The need for a regulatory standard on carbon-output reporting is particularly topical, as many of the upcoming carbon reduction schemes are being prepared with global and pan-industry measures in mind. Over the next five years, the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will allocate emissions credits centrally based on emissions data, removing this power from national governments. Without cross-sector regulations allowing comparability based on criteria other than industry-type, such as size or business model, it will become increasingly difficult for governments and regulatory bodies to allocate resources fairly.

Many organisations are aware of the need to integrate carbon-tracking with their current business models. Companies who adopt strategies early will benefit as carbon-tracking regulations become more centralised. And this could happen sooner rather than later: both of the sustainability experts mentioned above believe the environmental urgency of investing in carbon-reduction will increase the likelihood of regulatory bodies working together to provide cross-sector solutions.

All businesses looking to integrate carbon-tracking with their current strategies must think long-term. Access understands carbon-reduction programmes can be difficult to integrate with current business models and systems. That's why it was first-to-market with a carbon-reporting application built within the heart of its Access Dimensions business software package. This makes it as easy for a company to report on its carbon footprint as it is to extract financial reports from the system.

That way carbon output statistics are readily accessible, allowing transparent, up-to-date information to be available to stakeholders on demand. Businesses will also be in the best position to take advantage of the economic benefits available to those who consistently integrate regulatory standards with their existing business models.

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