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Carbon Footprint Assessment
Ground Truth
You cannot reduce what you have not measured. A carbon footprint assessment counts your greenhouse gas emissions across scopes 1, 2, and 3, tells you where they come from, and gives you the baseline every reduction plan needs.
Key Takeaways
- A carbon footprint assessment inventories your greenhouse gas emissions across scopes 1, 2, and 3 over a defined period.
- Scope 3 (supply chain, business travel, purchased goods) typically represents 70 to 80% of total corporate emissions.
- The BEGES is mandatory in France for companies with 500+ employees; the CSRD extends disclosure obligations across Europe.
- The assessment produces a ranked list of emission sources, enabling targeted reduction actions with the highest impact.
- Bleen delivers a complete assessment in 4 to 8 weeks: scoping, data collection, calculation, and prioritized action plan.
What Is a Carbon Footprint Assessment?
A carbon footprint assessment (or bilan carbone) is a systematic inventory of the greenhouse gas emissions generated by an organization over a defined period, usually one year. It follows established methodologies: the French ADEME Bilan Carbone method, the GHG Protocol, or both.
Emissions are categorized into three scopes. Scope 1 covers direct emissions from sources you own or control: fuel burned in your boilers, company vehicles, industrial processes. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased energy: electricity, heating, cooling. Scope 3 covers everything else in your value chain: purchased goods and services, business travel, employee commuting, transportation, waste, and the use of your products by customers.
Scope 3 is where most of the emissions sit. For a services company, it can represent over 80% of the total. For a manufacturer, 60 to 75%. Ignoring scope 3 means ignoring the majority of your climate impact. The CSRD and the GHG Protocol both require scope 3 disclosure for a reason.
Why Measure Your Carbon Footprint?
Regulation is the most immediate driver. In France, the BEGES (bilan d'emissions de gaz a effet de serre) is mandatory for companies with more than 500 employees, updated every four years and filed with ADEME. The CSRD extends this: companies meeting EU size thresholds must disclose their emissions under ESRS E1, with third-party assurance.
But compliance is not the only reason. Companies that have completed their assessment and acted on it report 10 to 30% energy cost reductions within three years (ADEME data). The assessment identifies waste: energy you pay for but do not need, logistics routes that could be shorter, suppliers whose emissions inflate your scope 3.
Investors and clients ask for it. Over 88% of institutional investors screen for climate data. Large companies under scope 3 obligations need emissions data from their supply chain. If you cannot provide yours, you are a procurement risk.
The assessment also serves as a management tool. It gives every department a number they can act on. Procurement sees supplier emissions. Logistics sees transport emissions. Facilities sees energy consumption. Shared data creates shared accountability.
How Bleen Conducts a Carbon Footprint Assessment
The process runs in four phases over 4 to 8 weeks, depending on your size and data readiness.
Phase 1: Scoping. We define the organizational and operational boundaries, select the reference year, and identify data sources. We confirm which methodology applies (ADEME Bilan Carbone, GHG Protocol, or both) based on your regulatory context and client requirements.
Phase 2: Data collection. We work with your teams to gather activity data: energy bills, fuel consumption, travel records, procurement volumes, logistics data, waste records. We identify data gaps early and set up proxy methods where primary data is not yet available.
Phase 3: Calculation and analysis. We apply emission factors from ADEME's Base Empreinte and the GHG Protocol databases. Each emission source is quantified in tonnes of CO2 equivalent. We produce a breakdown by scope, by category, and by business unit. The result is a ranked map of your emission sources.
Phase 4: Reporting and priorities. You receive the full assessment report with a clear breakdown, methodology documentation, and a prioritized list of reduction opportunities. We present the results to your leadership team and explain what the numbers mean in terms of action, cost, and regulatory compliance.
Who Needs a Carbon Footprint Assessment?
Companies with 500+ employees in France: it is a legal obligation under the BEGES regulation. Non-compliance carries fines and, more importantly, reputational risk when competitors publish theirs.
Any company subject to CSRD reporting: the ESRS E1 standard requires climate disclosures including a full emissions inventory and transition plan.
SMEs in the supply chain of larger clients. Scope 3 pressure means your biggest customers will ask for your carbon data. A complete assessment gives you a credible answer and keeps the contract.
Companies preparing a decarbonization strategy. You cannot set reduction targets without a baseline. The assessment tells you where you start, so you can measure where you go.
What Makes Bleen's Carbon Assessment Different?
We deliver assessments that hold up to regulatory scrutiny and investor questions. Every number has a documented source. Every methodology choice is explained and justified.
We do not stop at the report. The assessment includes a prioritized list of reduction opportunities ranked by impact, cost, and feasibility. You walk out of the final presentation knowing exactly what to do first.
Our team has conducted assessments across manufacturing, services, retail, and logistics. We know where the data gaps are in each sector and how to fill them without delaying the project.
Typical engagement: 4 to 8 weeks. Deliverables include the full assessment report, scope 1/2/3 breakdown, methodology documentation, and a prioritized reduction opportunity list.
They transformed with Bleen
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Know your emissions. Then reduce them.
Book a scoping call. We will assess your data readiness and map the fastest path to a complete carbon footprint assessment.