Welcome to the first video of this module! Last module, we paid attention to the role of governments and international institutions. This module, we will focus on the role that companies can play – it includes private companies, public organisations and non-profit organisations like schools, hospitals, et cetera. In this first video, Kornelis Blok provides an overview of the type of actions that companies can take to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Key takeaways

• There are 3 different emission categories: Scope 1 is the direct emissions, Scope 2 are all the emissions related to energy purchased by the company, most of which are connected to the purchase of electricity. And scope 3, which is all the other emissions caused by the company, both upstream and downstream.
• Tackling Scope 1 impacts companies’ day-to-day operations. It’s an effort for efficiency (material and energy) and decarbonisation of the energy supply.
• The first way to reduce Scope 2 emissions is by decarbonising electricity consumption. Companies can do that in different ways, for example, by buying electricity combined with renewable energy certificates or entering into a long-term power purchase agreement. However, the best way is to generate electricity yourself. To summarise, there is a clear hierarchy of options to use green electricity with increasing additionality impact.