Carnegie Mellon Folks Expose Flaw in Majority of Carbon Footprint Calculations

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Researchers at Carnegie Mellon have asked organizations to expand their carbon footprint calculations to the entire supply chain if the real environmental impacts of business operations are to be measured.

A recent press release highlights the lack of any universally-agreed principals to base calculations upon, which has resulted in a worldwide havoc due to the presence of several web-based footprint calculators.

The major point raised by researchers was that most calculations are based on two tiers: the first one takes into account emissions resulting from the direct business operations and the second one considering emissions from purchases. What’s missing, according to Carnegie Mellon folks, is a third tier that would encompass other emissions, especially those of the firm’s supply chain.

“By far, most companies are pursuing very limited footprints — toe prints really— instead of comprehensive ones,” stated Associate Professor Matthews.

In their recent article ‘The Importance of Carbon Footprint Estimation Boundaries’ (PDF), the researchers claim two-third American industries would fail to calculate around 75% of their GHG emissions unless they look beyond the traditional two tiers.

The researchers assisted in the development of an all-encompassing screening tool to help businesses in this regard.