Disclosing Downstream Emissions

Companies attempting to address climate change by decreasing their carbon footprints face the challenge of measuring how their operational, product design, and purchasing decisions affect the emissions generated in their supply chains. In a previous article, we introduced a robust carbon-accounting method (the E-liability system) for just this purpose. By applying this system, companies can produce environmental (or E-) ledgers of their own emissions—and those of their supply chains—that are as accurate, timely, comparable, and auditable as financial statements. An increasing number of companies are finding that the E-liability approach is an important tool for themselves, their customers, and other stakeholders in tracking real progress toward reducing global emissions in their supply chains.