In 2026, conducting a carbon footprint assessment has shifted from a voluntary commitment to a strategic obligation. With the CSRD directive now in force, measuring greenhouse gas emissions across Scopes 1, 2, and 3 is the prerequisite for regulatory compliance and access to institutional financing.
A carbon footprint assessment quantifies an organisation's greenhouse gas emissions in tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e). The objective: identify your highest-emission activities and steer a credible, auditable decarbonisation trajectory.
What is a carbon footprint?
A carbon footprint measures the total greenhouse gases : primarily CO2 : emitted by an individual, organisation, event, or product across its lifecycle. This metric, expressed in tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) per year, covers emissions from energy use, transportation, production, procurement, and waste disposal.
Understanding a company's carbon footprint is now a compliance and business imperative. It enables organisations to assess their environmental impact, prioritise emission reduction efforts, and satisfy the reporting obligations of investors, clients, and regulators.
Why should companies conduct a carbon footprint assessment?
To comply with regulations
Many countries mandate corporate carbon reporting. In France, the Grenelle II law requires companies with more than 500 employees to conduct a greenhouse gas assessment (BEGES) every four years. The EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) extends this obligation to companies with more than 250 employees starting in 2025, requiring full GHG disclosure under ESRS E1.
In the UK, the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) policy mandates large companies to disclose their energy use and carbon emissions annually.
To improve brand image and stakeholder trust
According to a 2023 Deloitte study, 69% of employees want their companies to prioritise sustainability. Transparent carbon reporting builds credibility with customers, investors, and future employees : and protects against greenwashing accusations.
To reduce costs and improve competitiveness
Identifying emission sources reveals inefficiencies. Reducing energy consumption, optimising logistics, and renegotiating procurement terms generate direct cost savings alongside emissions reductions.
To manage climate risks proactively
The TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) framework and CSRD both require companies to assess physical and transition climate risks. A carbon footprint assessment is the foundation for this risk quantification.
Which companies must conduct a carbon footprint assessment?
In France, all companies with more than 500 employees (250 in overseas territories) and local authorities with more than 50,000 residents must produce a BEGES covering Scopes 1, 2, and 3 : renewed every four years. Non-compliance carries fines of up to €50,000 (€100,000 for repeat offences).
Since January 2023, Scope 3 is mandatory for all companies subject to the BEGES obligation.
Indirectly, many companies are required to measure their carbon footprint to respond to public tenders or meet the requirements of institutional investors under France's Article 173 of the 2015 Energy Transition Act.
BEGES, GHG Protocol, ISO 14064, or ADEME Bilan Carbone®: which methodology to choose?
Four frameworks structure the market. They are complementary but serve different purposes.
Framework | Scope | Mandatory? | Third-party verification
BEGES (Grenelle II) | France : >500 employees | Yes, every 4 years | Not required
GHG Protocol | International : Scopes 1/2/3 | No (but global reference) | Recommended
ISO 14064 | International : certifiable | No (unless contractually required) | Yes, by third party
ADEME Bilan Carbone® | France : ADEME methodology | No | No
GHG Protocol is the global standard published by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. It underpins the CSRD/ESRS E1 requirements and SBTi target-setting.
ISO 14064 is an internationally certifiable standard in three parts: GHG inventory (14064-1), emission reduction projects (14064-2), and verification/validation (14064-3). Relevant for international tenders and investor-grade reporting.
For most mid-market European companies, combining BEGES compliance (legal obligation) with GHG Protocol alignment (CSRD readiness) is the most pragmatic approach.
How to conduct a carbon footprint assessment: the step-by-step guide
Step 1 : Define the scope
Scope definition is the most critical decision. An error here distorts all subsequent results.
Organisational boundary: which legal entities, subsidiaries, and sites are included? The GHG Protocol offers two approaches: operational control (you include what you control) or equity share (proportional to ownership stake). For a group, operational control is generally preferred.
Operational boundary: which Scopes?
- Scope 1: direct combustion (gas, fuel oil, fleet vehicles), industrial processes, fugitive emissions.
- Scope 2: purchased electricity and heat.
- Scope 3 upstream: purchased goods and services, business travel, upstream freight, capital goods.
- Scope 3 downstream: use of sold products, end-of-life treatment, franchises, investments.
Common mistake: excluding Scope 3 to "simplify" the assessment : when Scope 3 typically accounts for 70-80% of a service company's emissions. A Scope 1+2 only assessment gives a misleading picture.
Temporal boundary: one calendar year or fiscal year. Choose a stable reference year (not a COVID year or a major restructuring year) to ensure year-on-year comparability.
Step 2 : Collect the data
Data collection is the most time-consuming phase : accounting for 60-70% of total effort for a first assessment.
Internal sources to mobilise:
- Energy: gas, electricity, and fuel oil invoices; sub-meter readings
- Fleet: logbooks or telematics data, fuel consumption, kilometres driven
- Procurement: ERP/accounting exports, supplier invoices, Scope 3 supplier data
- HR: employee commuting data (mobility survey), travel expense reports
- Production: raw material quantities, waste produced and treatment pathways
External sources:
- Energy suppliers: electricity mix certification (guarantees of origin)
- Logistics providers: freight data in tonne-kilometres
- Strategic suppliers: their own Scope 3 emissions or sector-average default data
Common formats: CSV/Excel (direct import), ERP API connectors (SAP, Oracle, Sage), PDF invoices (OCR or manual entry). Kabaun supports CSV/Excel imports (GDD-001) and automated data collection via API (AUT-001).
Realistic timeline: 4 to 8 weeks for data collection on a first ETI-level assessment. Assign a data owner per department (Finance, IT, Logistics, HR) to accelerate.
Step 3 : Apply emission factors
An emission factor (EF) converts an activity data point (kWh, km, kg, €) into kg CO2e. It depends on the source, country, and reference year.
Reference databases:
- ADEME Base Carbone®: French reference covering energy, transport, materials, and services. Regularly updated. Natively integrated in Kabaun (API-003).
- DEFRA: UK reference, widely used for fleet and international transport emissions.
- IPCC AR6: Global Warming Potential (GWP) values for different GHGs : methane at 29.8 over 100 years.
- Exiobase / ADEME EORA: monetary emission factors for Scope 3 upstream when physical data is unavailable.
Prioritisation rule: primary supplier data > physical sector averages > monetary factors. Primary data produces the most accurate and auditable results.
Basic calculation: Emissions (kg CO2e) = Activity data × Emission factor
Example: a Paris-London round trip by Eurostar (900 km × 2 = 1,800 km) × 0.004 kg CO2e/km (DEFRA EF for rail travel) = 7.2 kg CO2e : versus 216 kg CO2e for the equivalent short-haul flight.
Kabaun integrates customisable emission factors (CBC-003) with version tracking to ensure year-on-year traceability (GDD-005).
Step 4 : Calculate and verify
Once data is collected and emission factors applied, consolidation by Scope and category reveals relative contributions.
Essential quality checks:
- Order-of-magnitude coherence: compare against sector benchmarks
- Double-counting detection: the same transport flow should not appear in both Scope 3.4 (business travel) and Scope 3.1 (purchased services)
- Unit verification: kWh vs MWh, km vs miles, kg vs tonnes : a frequent import error
- Year-on-year coherence if prior data is available: a variation of more than 20% on a category without justification should trigger a review
Third-party verification: not mandatory for a standard BEGES, but required for CSRD reporting (limited assurance from year one, reasonable assurance from 2028) and SBTi commitments. ISO 14064-3 governs third-party verification.
Kabaun generates an immutable audit trail (CERT-003) and includes an uncertainty analysis module (CBC-005a) to qualify the reliability of each emission category.
Step 5 : Consolidate and present results
A carbon footprint is reported in tCO2e by Scope, category, and activity. Standard reporting formats:
- BEGES report: regulatory ADEME format, published on the national platform
- CSRD/ESRS E1 report: GHG data integrated into the sustainability report, with intensity metrics (tCO2e/€ revenue, tCO2e/employee)
- Internal dashboard: monthly or quarterly tracking of priority emission categories
- Supplier report: shareable summary for value chain partners
The disclosure should include: total by Scope, top 5 emission categories, comparison with reference year where available, uncertainty level by category.
Step 6 : Define the reduction action plan
A footprint without an action plan has no strategic value. The transition plan must:
Prioritise actions across three criteria: reduction potential (tCO2e), cost of the measure (€/tCO2e), and implementation timeline.
Examples by emission category:
- Buildings: insulation upgrades, renewable energy procurement, demand-side management
- Fleet: electrification of vehicles under 50,000 km/year, carpooling policy
- Business travel: travel policy (train vs. flight threshold), systematic video conferencing for meetings under 4 hours of travel time
- Procurement: carbon clauses in supplier contracts, CO2 criteria in tenders
- Production: process optimisation, waste heat recovery
Paris alignment: the plan must be compatible with a 1.5°C trajectory. SBTi targets provide the most recognised scientific framework : at least 42% reduction in Scope 1+2+3 emissions by 2030 from a base year.
Tracking: define annual KPIs, assign a responsible owner per action, allocate a budget. Kabaun enables real-time tracking of reduction targets (RV-004) and scenario simulation for decarbonisation pathways (IA-005).
How much does a carbon footprint assessment cost?
Costs depend on company size, perimeter complexity, and delivery mode (internal, consulting firm, platform).
Company size | Internal (FTE cost) | Consulting firm | SaaS platform
SME (<50 employees) | €3,000-8,000 | €5,000-15,000 | €1,500-5,000/year
Mid-market (50-5,000) | €15,000-40,000 | €20,000-80,000 | €5,000-20,000/year
Large enterprise (>5,000) | €50,000-150,000 | €80,000-250,000 | €15,000-50,000/year
These ranges cover data collection, calculation, reporting, and the action plan. Third-party verification (ISO 14064) adds €5,000-20,000 depending on complexity.
How long does a carbon footprint assessment take?
A first full assessment takes 3 to 6 months for a mid-market company:
Phase | Duration | Common blockers
Scoping and boundary setting | 2-3 weeks | Organisational boundary decisions, data access
Data collection | 4-8 weeks | Scope 3 supplier data availability
Calculation and verification | 2-3 weeks | Missing emission factors, anomalies to resolve
Reporting | 1-2 weeks | Management validation, BEGES/CSRD formatting
Action plan | 2-4 weeks | Prioritisation, budget commitment
Total | 3-5 months
Subsequent assessments take 4 to 8 weeks once the process is established and data pipelines are in place.
Internal team vs. external consultant: when to bring in an expert?
Criterion | Internal | Consulting firm | Platform + internal
Budget | FTE time (hidden cost) | High | Medium, recurring
Expertise | Requires training | Immediate | Guided (onboarding)
First assessment timeline | Long | Short to medium | Short
Year-on-year comparability | Turnover risk | Vendor dependency | Strong (centralised data)
CSRD / external audit readiness | Risk | Strong | Strong if certified
Practical recommendation: engage a consulting firm for the first assessment (boundary setting, methodology, initial data collection), then internalise using a platform from the second year onwards. This combines initial expertise with operational continuity.
What the CSRD says about carbon footprinting (ESRS E1)
The CSRD, applicable progressively since January 2024, mandates sustainability reporting under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).
ESRS E1 : Climate Change directly governs carbon footprint reporting:
- E1-6: Gross GHG emissions Scopes 1, 2, and 3 in tCO2e, with intensity metrics
- E1-4: GHG reduction targets aligned with 1.5°C (SBTi or equivalent)
- E1-3: Climate transition plan actions and allocated resources
- E1-9: Financial exposure to physical and transition climate risks
Double materiality: the CSRD requires companies to assess both how their activities impact the climate (impact materiality) AND how climate risks affect their financial performance (financial materiality). The carbon footprint feeds the impact dimension; TCFD-aligned risk analysis feeds the financial dimension.
External assurance: the CSRD report must be reviewed by a statutory auditor or independent third-party organisation. Limited assurance is required from year one; reasonable assurance from 2028. This means carbon data must be traceable and verifiable.
Kabaun generates CSRD/ESRS E1-compliant reports (REG-002) with an immutable audit trail (CERT-003) : ready for external assurance.
Common pitfalls to avoid
Scope too narrow: limiting the assessment to Scope 1+2 misses 70-80% of actual emissions. CSRD and SBTi both require full Scope 3 disclosure.
Double counting: including the same flow in two categories (e.g., a business taxi counted in both Scope 3.4 and Scope 3.1). Always verify category definitions against the GHG Protocol.
Outdated emission factors: using a generic "European electricity" factor instead of the national grid mix, or a 2015 factor for a 2024 assessment. Check the vintage of every emission factor.
Undocumented estimates: estimating a category without recording the estimation method makes the assessment unauditable. Every estimated data point must be qualified with its source, assumption, and uncertainty level.
No action plan: a footprint without a reduction trajectory is a compliance checkbox, not a management tool. The action plan is mandatory in the BEGES and central to the CSRD transition plan.
Why use a platform to conduct a corporate carbon footprint assessment?
Most carbon footprint assessments are still conducted in Excel : a tool with significant limitations: files become complex and error-prone, data is not updated automatically, and collaboration is difficult.
A platform centralises information from multiple internal sources (ERP, CRM), integrates up-to-date emission factor databases, ensures accurate and traceable calculations, and generates detailed reports for internal and external stakeholders. It also enables teams to define reduction trajectories and track progress against targets.
Why choose Kabaun for your corporate carbon footprint?
At Kabaun, we have built a Carbon Management Platform that covers the entire carbon footprint process : from data collection to trajectory tracking and action plan management.
Our AI assistant Klem simplifies complex tasks such as emission factor matching and anomaly detection, improving accuracy across the assessment. Our REST API (OpenAPI 3.0) integrates with existing systems to automate data flows and enable real-time monitoring.
Kabaun supports full CSRD/ESRS E1 reporting (REG-002), multi-entity management (GDD-004), and immutable audit trails (CERT-003) : designed for companies that need a defensible, auditable carbon footprint.
FAQ : Frequently asked questions about carbon footprint assessments
What is the difference between a BEGES and a carbon footprint assessment?
The BEGES (Bilan d'Émissions de Gaz à Effet de Serre) is the mandatory French greenhouse gas reporting obligation under the Grenelle II law. "Carbon footprint assessment" is a broader term covering any GHG quantification exercise : whether voluntary or mandatory, using the ADEME Bilan Carbone®, GHG Protocol, or ISO 14064 methodology. A BEGES is a regulatory carbon footprint; not all carbon footprints are BEGESs.
How long does a first carbon footprint assessment take?
For a mid-market company, a first full assessment takes 3 to 6 months: 4 to 8 weeks for data collection, 2 to 3 weeks for calculation and verification, 2 to 4 weeks for reporting and the action plan. Subsequent annual assessments take 4 to 8 weeks once the process is established.
Is Scope 3 mandatory in a carbon footprint assessment?
Since January 2023, Scope 3 is mandatory for all companies subject to the BEGES obligation (>500 employees in France). Under the CSRD, ESRS E1-6 requires disclosure of Scopes 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Even outside legal obligations, Scope 3 is essential for a representative assessment: it accounts for 70-80% of total emissions for most service companies.
What is the difference between Scopes 1, 2, and 3?
Scope 1 covers direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company (fuel combustion, industrial processes). Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased energy (electricity, steam, heat). Scope 3 covers all other indirect value chain emissions: purchased goods and services, business travel, upstream freight, use of sold products, and end-of-life treatment.
How much does a carbon footprint assessment cost for a mid-market company?
For a mid-market company (50 to 5,000 employees), a consulting firm-led assessment costs between €20,000 and €80,000. A SaaS platform with internal support brings this to €5,000-20,000 per year. These costs cover collection, calculation, and reporting. Third-party verification (ISO 14064) adds €5,000-20,000 depending on complexity.
Does a carbon footprint assessment need to be verified by a third party?
Third-party verification is not mandatory for a standard BEGES. It becomes necessary for CSRD reporting (limited assurance from year one, reasonable assurance from 2028), SBTi commitments, and any report shared with institutional investors. ISO 14064-3 governs third-party verification procedures.
What is double materiality in the context of carbon footprinting?
Double materiality, introduced by the CSRD, requires companies to assess two dimensions: the impact of their activities on the climate (impact materiality) AND their exposure to physical and transition climate risks (financial materiality). The carbon footprint assessment feeds the impact materiality dimension; TCFD-aligned risk analysis feeds financial materiality.
Additional resources
- ADEME Base Carbone: [bilans-ges.ademe.fr](https://bilans-ges.ademe.fr)
- GHG Protocol : Corporate Standard: [ghgprotocol.org](https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard)
- ESRS E1 : EFRAG: [efrag.org](https://www.efrag.org/en/projects/esrs-e1-climate-change)
- BEGES regulatory platform: [bilans-ges.ademe.fr](https://bilans-ges.ademe.fr)
Conclusion
Conducting a carbon footprint assessment in 2026 means following a structured six-step process : scope definition, data collection, emission factor application, calculation, reporting, and action plan : that transforms raw operational data into a concrete management tool. Between the BEGES obligation, CSRD requirements, and growing investor expectations, companies that master their carbon accounting today are building a durable competitive advantage.
The next concrete step: identify your three highest-emission Scope 3 categories and verify that your data collection covers them.
Kabaun supports your carbon footprint journey → [kabaun.com/contact](https://kabaun.com/contact)
