Carbon Literacy: Making informed decisions for a low-carbon future
The need to reduce global carbon emissions has never been more urgent. In order to make meaningful progress, we must first understand where these emissions come from and what actions we can take to minimise them. This brings us to an important question:
What is carbon literacy?
Carbon literacy it is the ability to understand the sources, costs, and impacts of carbon in everyday activities, decisions, and policies—and to take action based on this knowledge. It goes beyond awareness: it’s about turning understanding into action. By making informed choices, we can reduce emissions and contribute to a sustainable future.
Why it matters for businesses
In today’s economy, it is no longer optional for businesses to understand concepts such as carbon footprint, decarbonisation and net zero emissions — it is essential for success.
- Carbon footprint refers to the greenhouse gas emissions released by a person, organisation, product or activity. The larger the footprint, the greater the contribution to the climate crisis.
The calculation of each carbon footprint may vary. For an organisation, for example, we calculate scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, whereas for a product, we determine whether the criteria are cradle-to-gate or cradle-to-cradle. In both cases, it is important to note that the calculation includes all emissions caused throughout the value chain or product lifetime, not just your direct emissions.
- Decarbonisation involves reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing absorption, which requires changes to energy, production and land management.
Examples of decarbonisation would be switching from energy sources like gas or coal to renewable sources or even installing solar panels. But it may go much further, including how employees travel to work or the policy for business travel, reducing waste and stimulating a circular economy, as well as choosing the products we purchase and where they’re coming from.
- Net zero is achieved when remaining carbon emissions are balanced by removal efforts, thereby stopping further increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases.
Carbon literacy empowers organisations to:
- Make smarter procurement decisions, such as prioritising local sourcing and optimising the supply chain, for example by trying to find the most efficient transportation solution.
- Reducing operational costs by increasing energy efficiency.
- Complying with evolving regulations.
- Enhancing brand credibility and customer trust.
A commitment to carbon transparency
At Christeyns, we recognise that understanding the climate crisis and carbon literacy is essential for making sustainable choices. That’s why we provide training to all our staff, acknowledging that we all have an impact and that every small action counts. It’s also why we provide our customers with reliable carbon footprint data, including:
- Product carbon footprint– the emissions associated with a product, from cradle-to-gate, including raw materials, all packaging and the energy required to produce the product.
- Corporate carbon footprint – the overall impact of our operations – is available per production site (Scope 1 & 2). We are also refining our group’s Scope 3 emission calculations, as well as our plan to reduce our footprint at all levels.
By sharing information, we empower our customers to make informed decisions that support their sustainability goals and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Together towards a low-carbon future
