Verkefni

What is a carbon footprint

The carbon footprint of goods and services informs us the amount of emissions of greenhouse gases accompanies their production and usage.

The carbon footprint of energy production is generally measured by the emissions of CO2 per unit of energy produced, or as grams of CO2 per every kWh of electrical and thermal energy. The lesser the carbon footprint, the lesser effect the goods or services have on global warming and climate change.

CO2 emissions from energy production

The carbon footprint from energy production is one of the most significant factors of climate change in the modern world. The world is facing a massive challenge to substantially reduce the use of fossil fuels in energy production and use renewable energy sources instead. According to a report from the UN´s The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 35% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2010 came from the production of electricity and thermal energy.

With a predominantly renewable energy production, such as geothermal and hydropower, Iceland has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world.

ON Power’s carbon footprint

ON Power determines its carbon footprint by adhering to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. The protocol takes into account all operations of a given business, that have a carbon footprint, including direct and indirect areas of operations.

Emissions directly from production processes or automotive vehicles are categorized as „Scope 1“ (Umfang 1). Emissions from a business´s energy use (electrical and thermal energy) are categorized as „Scope 2“ (Umfang 2). „Scope 3“ (Umfang 3) covers emissions that are closely related to operations, such as employee travel (air travel, workplace commute, etc.), waste management, and so forth.

Greenhouse gas protocol

Greenhouse gas protocol