More accurate Greenhouse Gas Calculation using the TopDown weight-based Approach

Title data

Kuhn, Nora ; Roppelt, Dominik ; Dreier, Thomas ; Rosemann, Bernd:
More accurate Greenhouse Gas Calculation using the TopDown weight-based Approach.
DFGE – Institute for Energy, Ecology and Economy GmbH
Bayreuth , 2024 . - 19 S. - (Online-Schriftenreihe der DFGE )

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This study addresses the challenge of accurately assessing greenhouse gas emissions in the corporate value chain, particularly focusing on upstream sources. While spend-based calculations are commonly used, they may lack in precision. To enhance accuracy and feasibility, a newly proposed weight-based top-down approach is investigated and compared to traditional spend-based standards. The study applies this new approach to a corporate carbon footprint analysis of chemical goods, comparing 8,500 products across 200 sub-categories and seven main purchasing categories. The study revealed an 11% overestimation by the spend-based approach in a real-life case study. However, deviations within purchasing categories average 61%, potentially leading to incorrect prioritization. In order to reduce the release of anthropogenic greenhouse gases, it is necessary to pinpoint actionable areas through environmental impact assessments. The weight-based method emerges as a more reliable and accurate tool for guiding carbon emission reduction strategies.