1. Climfoot training session
The definition of the perimeter is a highly important step for any carbon footprint project, if not the most important. At least it is one of the very first question to adress at the beginning of the project.
Many questions are related to this, but also many misunderstandings. So it is important to understand the main principles behind the definition of the perimeter, as we’ll see now.
20-21 April 2016
Perimeter definition

2. Which perimeter?
Question : which perimeter should we consider to calculate the carbon footprint of an organization?
A company organizing events and congress?
A car manufacturer?
A local authority?
To introduce this subject, I propose you to think about the following examples.
Let’s imagine you have to prepare the carbon footprint of each of those organisation.
First a company which organizes events and congresses in different places.
Second a car manufacturer : Fiat, or VW which ever you want
And finally a local authority for a city or a region.
For each of those organisation, can you tell me what would be the main activities to consider to elaborate their carbon footprint.

3. The perimeter and the final objective
Basically two main objectives:
Reporting: providing information and data to report the carbon impact of the organization to the outside world.
Internal use: like an internal audit to include energy and climate challenges in the company’s risk and opportunities analysis.
The primary question to ask before defining the perimeter is, what is the final objective of the organization for the carbon footprint calculation.
Basically we can identify two main objectives:
Either the organization wants to be able to provide information about its carbon emission, within a reporting process. Since reporting means providing internal information to the outside world, this has several consequences on the perimeter topics :
- common rules are needed to make sure all similar organization are reporting emissions the same way. And this relates to the different standards such as ISO, or GHG protocol or local mandatory standards, in which rules are defined on what to take into account, and then how to organize the calculation results.
- the other aspect is that the organization who has to report carbon emissions, will try to show the best possible “image” to the outside world, considering that a high value of emissions has a negative impact of the image (and image has a huge value). And as a consequence of this, all solutions to reduce the end result will be implemented such as : reducing the perimeter to activities the organization is officially responsible for, and/or subtracting some avoided emissions or subtracting carbon credit from carbon offset investments for instance.
The other main objective is to calculate carbon footprint much more in an internal audit type of approach. Here the objective is no longer to report emissions, and therefore to communicate information outside, but much more to integrate this dimension in the overall organization’s risks and opportunities analysis. With that objective in mind, the definition of the perimeter is completely different as the intention will be to run the carbon footprint calculation the more objectively possible, and to take into account all sources of emissions that could have direct or indirect impact on the organization’s core activity.

4. The perimeter definition : internal use
ADEME Formation - Edition 2007
The perimeter definition : internal use
Draw the cartography of all flows that characterize how the organization is actually functioning over a one year period.
Take into account all flows
Those the organization is officially responsible for
And those on which the organization is dependent (upstream / downstream)
The question to ask:
How would my organization be impacted if I delete one particular flow?
In order to define the perimeter of you carbon footprint, the first thing I recommend you to prepare is a cartography of all flows that characterize how the organization is functioning over the period of the analysis (which is generally the calendar year). Here I’m talking about flows of people, of products or goods, of energy etc…
From a practical standpoint, you draw this cartography during a meeting with people who have an indepth understanding of the organization’s activities.
Then, for the carbon footprint, you’ll take all flow into account. Both those the organization is officially repsonsible for, which is often what is related to Direct emissions, and, AND all those on which the organization is dependent (both upstream and downstream). And with the cartography you’ve designed, the principle that can help you taking or not into account one activity ie one flow or another is to answer the following question: is that flow doesn’t exist, what would happen to the organization? Ould this have a significant impact or not? For instance if congress participants do not travel any more, either becaus they don’t want to or they cannot. What would happen to the organizing company? In doing so, you’ll rapidly see that very few flow, if any are not essential to an organization. Therefore, what has to be taken into account for a complete carbon footprint, will be quite a large perimeter from the upstream to the downstream.
After you might have more or less difficulties to get the activity data that are necessary for the calculation. But that should not be a reason to not include one given flow in the perimeter.
BILAN CARBONE 4

5. initial manufacturing
ADEME Formation - Edition 2007
Cartography of flows
Inputs materials
initial manufacturing
Energy & Process
transformation
Transport
upstream freight
Transport
downstream
Transport
internal freight
Transport
employees / visitors
Product use
Here is an example of a very simplified cartography of flows. In « real life » that could be much more complex.
Waste
End of life
Immobilisations
BILAN CARBONE 5

6. The answers of examples
ADEME Formation - Edition 2007
The answers of examples
Congress and events organizer
All standard flows + transportation and accommodation of congress and event participants.
Car manufacturer
Energy, row material to manufacture cars (iron, plastics, aluminum etc…) and energy consumption of cars when used by customers during their complete life time.
Local authority organization
All emissions related to the internal functioning (energy of building, transportation of people tc..), and all emissions related to their official competencies such as transportation, schools, roads building and maintenance etc…
Going back to our examples of the beginning, if we apply the principles I just developed, we have:
For all there are « obvious » sources of emissions such as, direct energy consumption, employees transportation, or material purchase.
Generally things are less obvious for the indirect sources, and more specifically for the downstream ones. In the case of congress organizer the main source will be transportation of congress participant, and their accommodation. For the car manufacturer the energy consumption during the complete life of the car sold is an important part of the footprint. For local authorities, beyond their « obvious » sources, they have to take into account all emissions related to their official competencies, ie all the services they deliver to the population (transports, education, road maintenance etc…)
BILAN CARBONE 6

7. Conclusion
When defining a large perimeter, the objective is not to add emission sources for fun. With a larger perimeter and number of emission sources, we can identify a larger number of potential risks and opportunities, and therefore, a larger number of possible actions.
We systematically consider both the responsibility, and the dependency notions.
In addition, the perimeter definition strongly depend upon the final objectives, as well as the level of detail. Both will define time and resources needed.