The carbon footprint model of a telecommunications company and estimation of carbon costs

Številni primeri iz prakse in analize potrjujejo ključno povezavo med uspešnostjo podjetja in okoljskim delovanjem le-tega. Ogljični odtis organizacije in ogljični odtis za proizvode oziroma storitve sta ena izmed možnosti za okoljsko ozaveščanje podjetja, uporabnikov proizvodov ter storitev podjetja. Ogljični odtis (angl. »Carbon footprint«) je seštevek toplogrednih plinov, ki jih je neposredno in posredno povzročil posameznik, organizacija, dogodek ali proizvod in je izražen kot ekvivalent ogljikovega dioksida (CO2-ekv). Izračun ogljičnega odtisa je za podjetje koristen zaradi upravljanja z emisijami toplogrednih plinov (TGP), nižanja stroškov, primerjave emisij med podjetji v panogi ter zaradi poročanja tretjim osebam. Glavni cilj magistrske naloge je postavitev modela ogljičnega odtisa za telekomunikacijsko podjetje po mednarodno uveljavljeni metodologiji GHG Protocol. V ta namen smo ugotavljali emisije TGP po procesih oz. aktivnostih v izbranem podjetju in ugotovili, katerim virom emisij TGP velja posvetiti še posebno pozornost. Ogljični odtis je smiselno primerjati s podjetji v panogi, zato smo opravili primerjavo kazalnikov ogljične intenzivnosti z nekaterimi IKT podjetji v Evropi. Rezultat dela je prikaz korakov pri določevanju ogljičnega odtisa ter sam izračun. Izračun ogljičnega odtisa je pokazal, da v vseh treh poslovnih letih prispeva največ emisij TGP raba električne energije. Prevozi zaposlenih v službo in nazaj, uporaba lastnih avtomobilov podjetja za transport ter ogrevanje prostorov predstavljajo naslednje večje povzročitelje emisij TGP. Razveseljivo pa je dejstvo, da smo ugotovili negativen trend oz. zmanjševanje količin emisij TGP v poslovnih letih. V pričujoči raziskavi gre za poskus postavitve modela za določevanje ogljičnega odtisa. Na izračunan ogljični odtis vplivajo predpostavke in omejitve v modelu. Zaradi tega so lahko končni rezultati ogljičnega odtisa iz tega vidika pogojno veljavni. Količine emisij TGP običajno dobijo dodatni pomen za podjetje, če postane to zanj neposreden strošek. Emisije TGP v večini primerov za gospodarstvo še vedno pomenijo eksternalije ali negativne zunanje posledice, ki se jih še ne plačuje v takšni meri, kot bi bilo potrebno. Eno izmed možnosti za boj proti podnebnim spremembam predstavlja koncept določevanja t.im. cene ogljika (angl. carbon price). Cena ogljika je znesek, ki mora biti plačan za izpust vsake tone CO2-ekv v ozračje. Tako s pojmom stroški ogljika (angl. carbon cost) obravnavamo stroške emisij TGP, kar predstavlja vrednotenje emisij TGP v finančnem smislu. Številna podjetja, ki pričakujejo prihodnjo regulacijo emisij TGP, že vključujejo stroške ogljika v procese odločanja s pomočjo notranje, interne ali senčne cene ogljika. To daje slutiti, da se podjetja že pripravljajo na svet z omejitvami in cenami za emisije TGP. Zato izpostavljamo uporabo interne cene ogljika ter izračun stroškov ogljika v podjetništvu kot proaktiven pristop k obvladovanju stroškov. Finančno razsežnot emisij TGP prikazujemo z izračunom stroškov ogljika.Numerous examples from practice and analyses confirm the key link between the company performance and environmental performance thereof. The carbon footprint of an organization and the carbon footprint of products or services are one option for the environmental awareness of the company, users of the products and company services. Carbon footprint is the sum of greenhouse gas emissions, which are directly and indirectly caused by an individual, organization, event or product and is expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq). The calculation of the carbon footprint is useful to the company because of the management of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, lowering costs, a comparison of emissions between companies in the sector as well as for reporting to third parties. The main objective of the master\u27s thesis is a layout of a carbon footprint model for the telecommunications company following the internationally established methodology GHG Protocol. To this end, we have established GHG emissions by processes or activities in selected company and found out which sources of GHG emissions should receive our special attention. Carbon footprint is reasonable to compare with companies in the sector, so we made a comparison of carbon intensity indicators with some ICT companies in Europe. The result of the work is an overview of the steps for determining the carbon footprint and its calculation. Carbon footprint calculation showed that in all three business years, the largest contributor of GHG emissions is the electricity consumption. The transport of employees to work and back, use of own cars of the company for transportation and space heating represent the next major emitters of GHG. Especially gratifying is the fact that we found a negative trend or reduction of GHG emissions in the business years. This study is about an attempt of laying out a model for determining the carbon footprint. The calculated carbon footprint is influenced by the assumptions and limitations in the model. Because of this, the final results of the carbon footprint are conditionally valid from this point of view. GHG emissions tend to have additional significance for the company if this becomes a direct cost for the company. GHG emissions in most cases continue to represent negative externalities or external effects for the economy, which are not paid to such an extent as would be necessary. One of the options for combating climate change represents the concept of determining the so-called carbon price. The carbon price is the amount that must be paid for the release of each tonne of CO2-eq into the atmosphere. Thus, the concept of the carbon cost deals with the costs of GHG emissions, which represents a valuation of GHG emissions in financial terms. Many companies that expect future regulation of GHG emissions already include the carbon cost in the decision-making processes through internal or shadow carbon price. This suggests that companies are already preparing for the world with constraints and prices for GHG emissions. Therefore, we highlight the use of an internal carbon price, and the calculation of the carbon cost in business as a proactive approach to cost management. Financial dimension of GHG emissions is shown by carbon cost calculation