Item based CO2 emission calculation method

Global warming is one of the main threats to the Earth, caused by the release of greenhouse gases. Gases are measured by their global warming potential (GWP), which is an air pollutant’s relative potency to contribute towards global warming compared to CO2 during a 100-year time period in the atmosphere. The related unit is CO2e (CO2-equivalent), and it commonly accounts for seven greenhouse gases, measured in kgCO2e/kg. GWP and the related CO2e are common climate metrics used in management and policies. Teknikum Oy is a provider of polymer technologies, selling rubber and plastic components and products, used for example in agricultural, mining and railway industries. Teknikum Oy has opted into Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), as such they have undertaken a full companywide CO2e assessment in 2020 following the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol. Since the GHG Protocol does not provide product specific CO2e factors, which are needed for process optimization and requested by clients, another tool is needed. Teknikum Oy’s item based CO2e tool accounts for the cradle-to-gate emissions and is utilizing the data collected for the GHG Protocol calculation. CO2e is calculated on a case-by-case basis for each item and customer. The tool was tested with a case calculation for a rubber component. With the growing interest in environmental effects, reaching reduction targets, along with pressure from the public and governments, the demand for CO2e accounting is increasing. CO2e assessments provide additional marketing bene-fits, help in emission reduction, and provide basis for the analysis. A smaller CO2e value indicates more effective processes. This thesis acts as the theory and validation of a such tool, and manual for the transparency and use of the tool. A tool such as this is tailored by the consultant to meet the needs of the client based on their unique company processes. Whilst a tool can provide a relatively reliable calculation, limited datasets can hinder accuracy and how the result is validated needs to be reported. The accounting results can both guide and imply, but a thorough environmental analysis requires multiple impact categories, and some of them could be qualitative. Overall, shifting from the dependency of the use of fossil fuels is key