Corporate Carbon Footprint Assessment: Methods, Scope, and Reduction Plan

Reading time : 12 min
Written by Gwladys Lecomte

Article published in March 2023, updated in October 2026

Measuring greenhouse gas emissions has become essential for companies: a regulatory requirement for some, a strategic lever for all. But between BEGES, Carbon Balance®, scopes, and emission factors, the concepts accumulate and confusion is common. This guide clarifies the essentials (definitions, methods, scope, steps, and link to CSR) to understand what a corporate carbon balance really is and how to make it a concrete management tool.

What is a corporate carbon assessment?

The greenhouse gas emissions assessment (BEGES, or GHG assessment) is the evaluation, over a given period — most often a year — of the quantity of greenhouse gases emitted or captured by the activities of an organisation.

It includes all greenhouse gases recognized internationally: CO₂, methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), fluorinated gases (HFCs, PFCs, SF6, NF3). Each is converted to CO₂ equivalent in order to have a common unit. The results are expressed in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (tCO₂e).

This assessment allows an organization to:

• Take stock of all its direct and indirect emissions over a year of activity
• Identify the largest emitting sources (energy, travel, purchases, waste, transport, digital…)
• Define a transition plan to reduce its emissions with concrete objectives and actions

BEGES and Carbon Assessment®: two terms not to be confused

The term "GHG assessment" is often used generically to refer to any approach to accounting for emissions. Two distinct realities coexist under this term:

The BEGES (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report) specifically refers to the French regulatory framework — it is a legal obligation for certain organizations, governed by specific rules regarding scope and reporting.

The Carbon Assessment® is a registered trademark, designating the methodology developed in 2004 by ADEME and carried since 2011 by the Association for Low Carbon Transition (ABC). It is a voluntary, more detailed approach than the BEGES, which systematically integrates all indirect emissions, particularly scope 3.

In summary: one can be subject to the BEGES by legal obligation. One chooses to conduct a Carbon Assessment® to go further.

Who is concerned by the GHG assessment obligation?

The thresholds for private companies

Article L229-25 of the Environmental Code makes the BEGES mandatory, to be conducted every 4 years, for:

• Companies with more than 500 employees in metropolitan FranceCompanies with more than 250 employees
• in overseas territoriesThe thresholds for public legal entitiesFor public actors, the obligation applies

every 3 years

The services of the StateLocal authorities of :

• Public establishments and other public legal entities of
• more than 250 agentsThe simplified carbon diagnosis for companies with more than 50 employees
• Since the decree n°2022-982 of July 1, 2022

, companies with

Depuis le décret n°2022-982 du 1er juillet 2022, les entreprises de more than 50 employees are required to carry out a simplified carbon assessment. This system allows for a gradual expansion of the approach to medium-sized companies, before incorporating it into a structured reduction trajectory.

Sanctions in case of non-compliance

In case of non-compliance with regulatory obligations — failure to complete the report, failure to meet deadlines, or failure to publish on the official platform — the company risks a fine of up to 50,000 euros. In the event of a repeat offense, the fine can reach 100,000 euros.

GHG assessments are published on the official platform managed by ADEME : bilans-ges.ademe.fr.

Carbon assessment and LCA: what is the difference?

The carbon assessment should not be confused with the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

The carbon footprint focuses on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of an organization over a given period. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), on the other hand, takes a product or service-wide approach—from the extraction of raw materials to its end of life—and covers environmental impacts that are much broader than just GHG emissions: water consumption, biodiversity, land use, human toxicity, etc.

The two approaches are complementary : the carbon assessment provides a global view of the organization's footprint, while the LCA allows for identifying levers at the product level.

The 3 main methods for calculating GHG emissions

Not all methodologies are equal: the studied scope and the quality of data can vary significantly from one method to another. Three main methods coexist.

The Carbon Assessment® (ABC / ADEME method)

This is the most widely used method in France. Developed in 2004 by ADEME and supported since 2011 by the Association for the Low Carbon Transition (ABC), it offers a rigorous framework covering all emission sources — including scope 3 — and relies on ADEME's Emission Factor Database for emission factors. It is recognized as the most comprehensive reference for a thorough analysis of an organization's carbon footprint.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol)

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is the international reference methodology, developed jointly by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). It structures emissions into 3 scopes (see next section) and is used by companies operating internationally or wishing to align with global standards.

The regulatory method V5

The regulatory method V5 is the official framework imposed for the implementation of the BEGES in France. It is published by the Ministry of Ecological Transition with ADEME, and precisely defines the rules for scope, calculation, and reporting for organizations subject to legal obligation.

Scopes 1, 2, and 3: understanding the scope of emissions

The GHG emissions of an organization are classified into 3 scopes, according to their origin.

Scope 1: direct emissions

Emissions generated directly by the organization's facilities and equipment: combustion of fuels in a boiler or a fleet of vehicles, industrial processes, refrigerant leaks. These are the emissions that are easiest to identify and most directly controllable.

Scope 2: indirect emissions related to energy

Emissions generated by the production of the energy consumed by the organization (electricity, heat, steam) but whose combustion occurs outside its walls. Scope 2 depends on the energy mix of the grid and the carbon intensity of electricity.

Scope 3: other indirect emissions

It is the broadest scope — and often the most significant. It covers all emissions related to the organization's value chain, both upstream and downstream:

• Purchases of goods and services (raw materials, equipment…)
• Employee travel (home-work, business travel)
• Transport of goods
• Generated waste
• Use of sold products
• End of life of products

For most organizations, scope 3 represents the largest share of total emissions—sometimes over 80%. It is also the area where a structured supplier assessment provides the most value.

How to conduct a carbon assessment in 3 steps

Step 1: define the scope

The first step is to precisely delineate the scope of the assessment: which entities, which activities, and which sources of emissions will be considered. It is also necessary to designate a project manager responsible for coordinating data collection and ensuring the consistency of the exercise.

The scope can be carried out internally or entrusted to an external provider. Depending on the maturity of the organization, a CSR or climate expert can provide valuable methodological security.

Step 2: collect the data

Once the scope is defined, it is necessary to gather the activity data for each selected emission item: energy consumption (kWh, liters), distances traveled (km), volumes transported (tonne.km), purchase amounts (€), quantities of materials (kg, tonnes), generated waste…

There are four types of data distinguished by their degree of reliability :

• Primary data : directly derived from the company's activities (invoices, statements, analytical accounting)
• Secondary data : coming from reliable external sources when internal data is unavailable
• Extrapolated data : constructed from samples or ratios
• Approximated data : used as a last resort when information is partial

The quality of a GHG assessment depends less on the quantity of data collected than on their consistency, traceability, and the transparency of the assumptions retained.

Step 3 : calculate and identify the levers for action

Each activity data point is multiplied by an emission factor to obtain the emissions in tCO₂e. The results are then distributed by category and consolidated into a global total. This detailed reading is essential: it allows for the immediate identification of dominant sources and directs reduction actions towards the most impactful levers.

The result of the GHG assessment leads to a transition plan : quantified reduction targets, priority actions, milestones, and monitoring indicators. This plan must then be updated regularly to ensure that the trajectory is being followed.

Conducting a carbon assessment : a first step, not an end in itself

The most common mistake is to treat the carbon assessment as a one-time compliance exercise. A total figure, even if well calculated, is not enough.

What matters is what we do with it : identify the areas that concentrate emissions, define credible and progressive reduction targets, and establish regular monitoring of the actions taken.

For industrial companies as well as service companies, the levers of action are often found where one does not look for them: in the supply chain, business travel, real estate, or the purchase of digital services. The carbon footprint is the only tool that allows mapping these levers with factual data.

A relevant carbon footprint is never read solely through a total figure, but through the structure of emissions.
(Source: economie.gouv.fr)

Carbon footprint and Positive Company® Label

At Positive Company®, conducting a carbon footprint is a necessary condition to obtain the 2nd and 3rd star of the Label. This requirement is not arbitrary: it reflects a fundamental conviction, a structured CSR approach cannot do without an objective measurement of the organization's carbon footprint.

Without a carbon footprint, there is no credible reduction trajectory. Without a reduction trajectory, there is no serious CSR approach.

That is why the Positive Company® Label integrates this tool as a fundamental basis: not as a checkbox obligation, but as an essential management lever for companies that wish to progress sustainably on their environmental issues.

Does your company want to structure its CSR approach and progress towards the Positive Company® Label?

The carbon footprint is one of the key steps to access the higher stars. Positive Company® supports you from the first diagnosis to the labeling.

🔗Sources

• Economie.gouv.fr. How to establish the greenhouse gas emissions balance of a company? October 20, 2025.
• Légifrance. Article L229-25 of the environmental code. legifrance.gouv.fr
• Légifrance. Decree No. 2022-982 of July 1, 2022, relating to greenhouse gas emissions balances.
• ADEME. GHG balance platform. bilans-ges.ademe.fr
• Consultis Environment / Timothée Sainte-Fare-Garnot. GHG balance: The complete guide in 2026. January 2026.
• Association for Low Carbon Transition (ABC). abc-transitionbascarbone.fr