What carbon accounting actually is
Carbon accounting converts your business activity into greenhouse gas emissions to build an audit-ready inventory. Litres of diesel, units of electricity, tonnes of waste, kilometres travelled, rupees of materials purchased, each multiplied by an emission factor, and totalled.
- Whether your boundary is defined properly
- Whether your activity data is complete
- Whether you used the right factor from the right source and cited it
- Whether anyone could reproduce your number from your workings later
What are Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions?
Scope 1 and 2 are usually straightforward; the data is in your bills. Scope 3 is where the work is, and it is also the part European buyers increasingly ask about.
| Scope | What it means | Everyday examples |
|---|---|---|
| Scope 1 | Emissions from things you own and burn directly. | Diesel in your generators, LPG in the canteen, fuel in company vehicles, refrigerant leaking from your air conditioning. |
| Scope 2 | Emissions from the electricity you buy. | Grid power for machines, lighting, HVAC, IT and pumps. |
| Scope 3 | Supply chain emissions and everything else across your value chain, upstream and downstream. | Materials you purchase, transport by your vendors, employee commuting, business travel, waste disposal, and how customers use your product. |
Which carbon accounting service do you actually need?
| GHG inventory services | Carbon reporting | Carbon reduction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | The carbon footprint measurement exercise. Establishes your baseline year and where emissions come from. | Disclosing the figures and tracking them year on year. | Actually cutting emissions: what can be reduced, at what cost, in what order. |
| When you need it | Always first. Nothing else is possible without it. | Once you have a baseline and someone is asking for the number. | Once you know where the emissions actually are. |
| Typical trigger | A buyer or bank asked for a carbon number and you have never calculated one. | You are producing a report or filling in a customer disclosure. | Your board has committed to a reduction, or a buyer wants a trajectory. |
| Roughly how long | 6–10 weeks for a single site with reasonable records. | Runs alongside your report cycle. | Ongoing. The roadmap is built once; execution is annual. |
Karbon: carbon accounting adapted for Indian operations
The calculation runs on Karbon, our carbon accounting platform built for precise GHG inventory services. It exists because generic international tools get India wrong, and correcting them manually every time is how errors get introduced.
- CEA grid emission factors built in by grid region
- A maintained factor library with source, version and year recorded against every factor used
- Activity data entered by source and by meter
- All Scope 3 categories, with the calculation method recorded per category
- Intensity metrics calculated against your own output units
- Year-on-year comparison against a locked baseline
The European regulation impact on emissions
EU regulations now reach Indian companies directly.
| Regulation | What it requires |
|---|---|
| CBAM — Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism | Puts a carbon cost on certain imported goods and requires embedded emissions data per unit of product. A corporate GHG inventory is the foundation, though CBAM requires its own product-level calculation on top. |
| EUDR — Deforestation Regulation | Requires proof that specific commodities, including natural rubber, were not produced on recently deforested land. |
What you receive with our GHG inventory services
- A complete GHG inventory for your baseline year, by scope and Scope 3 category
- Emission intensity metrics: per unit produced, per square foot, per employee
- A documented methodology annexure with every formula, factor and source
- A hotspot analysis showing where your footprint actually exists
- A prioritised reduction roadmap with indicative impact and cost per action
- Your data set up in Karbon, so you can keep managing and monitoring as you go
Case study: Manufacturing
Footwear manufacturer, Kozhikode
The problem
Their brand customer had begun asking about carbon as part of a wider ESG assessment. The company had never measured its emissions and had no basis to answer.
What we did
A full GHG inventory for baseline year FY 2025-26 across both units. Scope 1 covered diesel used in DG sets and owned fleet fuel, calculated using IPCC Tier 1 factors. Scope 2 was calculated using the Central Electricity Authority’s emission factor for the Southern Grid region, rather than a national or global average. This is the detail that makes an Indian carbon figure defensible under scrutiny.
What came out of it
A documented baseline with the full methodology published inside the sustainability report itself, so the figure could be checked by their buyer rather than simply accepted on trust. The baseline also gave visibility into six operational initiatives already running that reduce emissions.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a GHG inventory take?
For a single site with reasonable records, six to ten weeks. Scope 3 extends this, because it depends on how quickly your suppliers respond.
Do we have to do Scope 3?
Not always. Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions satisfy many requests. But if your buyer is European, or you are reporting under GRI or BRSR Core, Scope 3 emissions will come up.
Our data is incomplete. Is that a problem?
It is normal. We use documented estimation methods for gaps and disclose them as estimates. What matters is that the method is defensible and the same one is used next year so the trend is real.
Can you help us reduce emissions, not just measure them?
Yes. The roadmap is part of the deliverable, and it is built around what is actually feasible at your site, not a generic list.
Will this number be audited?
Not by us. We prepare it and document it so that it can be audited. If your report requires assurance, we hand over an evidence pack the assurance provider can work from.
Find out where you actually stand.
Book a 30-minute discovery call. We will tell you honestly whether a full assessment is the right next step.
Book a discovery call