Carbon Footprints and Emission Reduction Plans

CE Delft supports organisations—including businesses and public authorities— in assessing and reducing their climate impact. We help quantify greenhouse gas emissions from an organisation’s own operations, energy consumption, and the procurement of goods and services (Scopes 1, 2 and 3). Depending on your needs, we apply recognised methodologies such as the Dutch CO₂ Performance Ladder and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

Whether your organisation is just starting to develop a carbon footprint and emission reduction plan, or you are already underway and require expert support to overcome specific challenges, we are here to help.

Why develop a carbon footprint?
Many organisations aim to understand, report and reduce their climate impact. Establishing a carbon footprint is the essential first step. It provides valuable insights into emission hotspots, identifies opportunities for reduction, and increasingly serves as a regulatory requirement.

Several internationally recognised frameworks—including the CSRD and the Dutch CO₂ Performance Ladder—provide a structured approach for measuring, reporting and improving an organisation’s environmental and social performance. These frameworks also promote transparency and accountability towards stakeholders while providing a robust foundation for sustainability claims.

Expert guidance from CE Delft
While these standards clearly define the requirements for carbon footprint assessments and emission reduction plans, translating them into practice is often the greatest challenge. Questions organisations frequently face include: Which data are required? Where can these data be obtained? Which emission reduction measures are feasible and what impact will they have? How can we develop an ambitious yet realistic emission reduction plan?

The carbon emission reduction process
Reducing an organisation’s climate impact is an ongoing process consisting of the following stages:

• Baseline assessment
  We calculate the organisation’s carbon footprint and conduct a hotspot analysis to identify the activities and processes that contribute most significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.
• Setting emission reduction targets
  Together, we define ambitious yet achievable targets. These may be based on the organisation’s own ambitions or aligned with recognised frameworks such as the CO₂ Performance Ladder or the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
• Identifying and implementing reduction measures
  We assess which measures are technically and economically feasible and estimate their potential to reduce emissions.
• Periodic monitoring
  We regularly update the carbon footprint to monitor progress and assess changes compared with the baseline or previous reporting periods.
• Evaluation and continuous improvement
  We evaluate whether reduction targets are being achieved, identify where adjustments are needed, and recommend additional measures where appropriate.

We help organisations answer these questions and provide support throughout one or more stages of the process, depending on their needs. Throughout the process, we ensure compliance with relevant standards and, where requested, extend our analyses beyond greenhouse gas emissions to include impacts on water, biodiversity, material use and circularity. In addition, we advise and support organisations seeking certification under the CO₂ Performance Ladder (Handbook 4.0). We have extensive experience guiding organisations through the transition from Handbook 3.1 to Handbook 4.0.

Our role is tailored to the needs of each organisation. For some clients, we deliver the complete analyses. For others, we work closely with internal teams, providing guidance and building capacity so they can progressively carry out the work independently, allowing our involvement to be gradually phased out.