How to reduce your company's carbon footprint: a step-by-step guide to start from scratch
5/20/2025
by :
Lucile de Castelbajac
In the context of the climate crisis, companies play a key role in the transition toward a more sustainable economic model. Reducing the carbon footprint — that is, the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated directly or indirectly by an organization — is both a social responsibility and a growing regulatory requirement, especially with new policies such as the CSRD in Europe, which demands detailed reporting on sustainability and environmental performance. Moreover, environmental responsibility provides a competitive advantage with increasingly conscious consumers and investors. But above all, it is a necessary step toward a fairer, more sustainable, and resilient future for all.
So the question is not why — but where to start?
In this article, we share a clear and progressive path to designing a carbon emissions reduction plan tailored to your organization.
Before measuring or acting, it’s essential to understand. Why does climate change matter? What is our role? What can we do individually and collectively?
This stage sparks key conversations and aligns the team in a shared direction. Understanding the mechanisms of climate change and the impact of our activities is essential to make informed and effective decisions — and to avoid greenwashing practices. In response to the importance of environmental education, at Nosotrxs we offer workshops such as The Climate Fresk or 2Tonnes, which combine scientific rigor, participatory methodologies, and a collaborative experience to mobilize people to act at all levels: individual, collective, and organizational.
You can’t improve what you don’t measure.
This stage involves quantifying the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with all company activities. It’s important to consider every business activity, including the full life cycle of products — from raw material production, distribution, and usage, to end-of-life. Both direct (energy, in-house transport) and indirect emissions (suppliers, travel, product use) are analyzed. This diagnostic helps identify priority action areas and determine where to start for the greatest impact. At this stage, working with technical partners can be crucial to carry out a rigorous and tailored emissions inventory. Experts use international methodologies like the GHG Protocol and digital tools to visualize, analyze, and audit emissions with accuracy. This ensures the data is useful, auditable, and aligned with global standards.
With a clear objective, you can chart a path.
This stage is about turning diagnosis into concrete goals and reduction strategies tailored to each organization’s context. To reduce the carbon footprint, actions may range from energy efficiency and transportation changes, to supply chain decisions, eco-design, or waste management. What matters most is to prioritize actions with the greatest impact relative to their feasibility. Goals should be clear and include quantitative targets — for example, reducing a specific percentage of emissions in a given area — with short-, medium-, and long-term milestones. Here, too, experts can assist with developing and implementing plans.
Once the plan is defined, it’s time to activate it.
In this stage, team commitment at all levels is key to accelerating the process. That’s why raising awareness from the beginning facilitates informed decision-making, boosts motivation, and strengthens the willingness to adopt sustainable processes. Forming “green ambassadors” within the organization from stage 1 is an effective strategy to keep momentum going. These individuals act as internal references, help with cross-team communication, and contribute to sustained, coherent efforts over time. It is also essential to establish follow-up mechanisms, track progress indicators, and create spaces for continuous improvement.
After implementing actions, validating progress through external certifications reinforces the company’s commitment and builds trust with customers, suppliers, and investors. Certifications like B Corp or evaluations like Ecovadis assess environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, and position the company within a network of purpose-driven organizations. Beyond formal validation, these tools help identify continuous improvement opportunities and ensure alignment with increasingly demanding international standards.
hese stages are key to effectively reducing your carbon footprint in a way that fits your business. However, reducing GHG emissions should be part of a broader strategy that considers the organization’s full environmental impact: resource use, waste generation, pollution, and the effect on biodiversity and communities.
All of these elements are part of a solid corporate social responsibility strategy and require a structured approach, with processes similar to the ones described here. It’s a path that transforms how we do business — but also opens up new opportunities when we rethink the current business model.
📩 If your organization wants to start a reduction plan, contact us at hola@nosotrxs.co to define your needs. We’ll support you from awareness to action.