Your carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas your business causes in a year, measured in tonnes of CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalent). To make it manageable, it is split into three groups called scopes.
Scope 1: what you burn directly
Emissions from fuel your business burns itself. For most SMEs that means company vans and lorries, diesel generators, LPG for cooking or boilers, and refrigerant top-ups for air-conditioning and cold rooms.
Scope 2: the electricity you buy
Emissions from generating the electricity you use. Your TNB bill (or SESB in Sabah, or SEB in Sarawak) already shows the key number: kilowatt-hours used. For many shops, offices and workshops this is the single biggest and easiest number to find.
Scope 3: everything else in your value chain
Emissions you don't control directly but are linked to your business: the goods you buy, deliveries, business travel, staff commuting, waste, and what happens to your products after you sell them. The GHG Protocol groups these into 15 categories.