What is the impact of your environmental footprint and how can you reduce it?
Sustainable strategy: Shrinking your environmental footprint
According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), global energy-related COâ‚‚ emissions reached 37.4 billion tonnes in 2023, marking a new high, driven largely by industrial activity and power generation. As accountability frameworks become more stringent, accurately measuring and managing this footprint has become essential for long-term resilience, compliance and climate mitigation by achieving net zero targets.
Let's explore the structure of your environmental footprint, the consequences of it on the natural environment and your business operations, and how you can reduce it using measurable and scalable practices.
Understanding your environmental footprint
Your environmental footprint captures the total impact of your business activities across the three defined scopes:
- Scope 1
Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources
- Scope 2
Indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heating, and cooling
- Scope 3
Indirect emissions occurring across the value chain, such as upstream from suppliers, and downstream from customers
Beyond metrics: Mapping your full environmental impact
Unlike isolated metrics, your environmental footprint incorporates the full lifecycle of materials and energy used across the entire operations of your business, including your value chain, upstream and downstream. From sourcing and manufacturing, to deployment of electrical equipment and end-user disposal of your products, it reflects a detailed map of your complete environmental impact.
According to the IEA, industrial operations account for over 24% of global energy-related CO₂ emissions, underscoring the urgency to act.
Precise tracking of your environmental footprint enables organisations to:
Uncover inefficiencies in production and energy use
Accurately report results following international sustainability frameworks
Reduce long-term operational costs through targeted efficiency-related measures
Build stakeholder confidence with transparent and traceable actions.
As noted by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Scope 3 emissions typically make up more than 70% of a company's total emissions. This underscores the need for comprehensive environmental data across all operational touchpoints.
Several operational aspects contribute significantly to the environmental footprint. Among them:
Energy consumption
Devices such as HVAC systems, lighting networks, and industrial machinery, especially when outdated, can consume large amounts of power and lead to elevated emissions.
Procurement activities
Suppliers with high-emission operations or poor efficiency standards add significantly to Scope 3 upstream impacts.
Product use and lifecycle
Electrical equipment with high operational energy demand or limited durability can increase downstream emissions over time.
Logistics and warehousing
The fuel type, frequency, and distance of deliveries contribute notably to the environmental footprint, especially in decentralised distribution models.
Organisations can employ a range of measures to lower their environmental footprint across all scopes, while at the same time enabling continuous improvement of business processes and improving productivity.
Upgrade to efficient systems
Deploying high-performance electrical devices with lower energy requirements significantly reduces your Scope 1 and 2 impact. Incorporating automation and energy-monitoring tools into key infrastructure can also cut waste in your systems.
Use Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) tools
LCA provides insight into the material and energy flow across product stages from raw material extraction to disposal. This helps organisations identify which components or processes need re-engineering or replacement.
Incorporate monitoring and reporting platforms
Digital systems to monitor resources use can track real-time data on power usage, equipment load, and system-level efficiency. These platforms support continuous optimisation and fast responses to anomalies.
Strengthen supplier collaboration
Scope 3 upstream emissions can be addressed by requiring environmental disclosures from vendors and promoting accountability through structured evaluation frameworks.
Design for low-impact use
Product design should consider energy efficiency during use, compatibility with newer systems, and ease of repair or upgrade. These elements reduce long-term impact and extend service life.
Transition to sustainable power sources
Where applicable, businesses can shift to more efficient and low-emission power sources. Adopting decentralised systems, microgrids, or energy storage solutions to optimise power consumption, or virtual power purchase agreements based on renewable sources, can further stabilise supply and reduce dependency on fossil-based grids.
A report by McKinsey shows that companies which deploy renewable energy strategies alongside digitalised tracking tools can see up to a 40% improvement in transparency of their environmental footprint.
Your environmental footprint can only be reduced once it is accurately measured. Digital systems offer structured approaches to capture, evaluate, and act on environmental footprint data.
For Scope 1 and 2: Integrated tools connect with building infrastructure and on-site equipment, measuring energy use, identifying inefficiencies, and guiding improvements.
For Scope 3 Upstream: Platforms that assess supplier footprints and incorporate external datasets enable procurement teams to compare vendors and prioritise lower-impact partners.
For Scope 3 Downstream: Predictive models based on usage profiles, repair rates, and disposal data help product teams evaluate long-term customer-related impact of their offerings.
These systems ensure organisations are not just compliant but also able to identify cost-saving opportunities and performance enhancements.
Working with Schneider Electric on measures to reduce your environmental footprint provides a significant advantage, enabling you to:
Access advanced instruments and equipment that are built for efficiency and compliance
Deploy integrated systems that monitor, control, and optimise resource use in real time
Incorporate tailored energy and operations strategies across facilities with expert support
Improve system reliability and reduce failure-related downtime through durable components
By engaging with Schneider Electric organisations can accelerate the implementation of systems to reduce environmental footprints, meet compliance goals, and maintain operational excellence.
Your environmental footprint is not merely a metric; it is a reflection of how each operational decision impacts the natural environment. Reducing it requires precision, systems thinking, and the support of reliable technologies. By measuring across all scopes and deploying data-driven tools, businesses can make tangible progress towards more responsible operations.
Those that prioritise managing their environmental footprint today will be better equipped to meet tomorrow's regulatory, economic, and environmental expectations.
