Digital CO2 calculator paves the way for more precise climate action at educational institution
Reference: VIA University College
VIA University College integrated the climate tool CarbonKey to update continuously their emissions in scope 1, 2 and 3. This provides the educational institution with climate accounting that is far more accurate especially in scope 3 and requires less manual work.
When VIA University College set out to prepare their ESG-report for 2022, it was with a significant addition in their toolbox: CarbonKey.
The total amount of emissions turned out to be almost 9 times higher compared to the previous year – which according to VIA University College and vocational college director Kirsten Suhr Bundgaard is a positive thing as it is the result of VIA’s more accurate data.
“We have learned a lot about our emissions in this process, but most importantly we have uncovered what we need to know more about. We have the overview, and now we need to start understanding our emissions better, so that we can focus our efforts,” she says.
In 2021, without CarbonKey, VIA’s indirect emissions in scope 3 amounted to 47%. That figure rose in the latest climate report to 93.4%. VIA University published its first ESG-report in 2021 and knew beforehand that the result of the climate accounting would change.
“We chose to present the figures for 2021, knowing that our tools for calculating the climate impact had to be improved, and now they are by applying, among other things, CarbonKey. We must now use the improved results to work wisely and set targets for reducing CO2-emissions and develop an effective climate action plan for VIA University College,” says Kirsten Suhr Bundgaard.
Reference: VIA University College
Contract period: 2023
Climate accounting month by month
CarbonKey delivers a unified and automated account across scope 1, 2 and 3, which is based on high-precision emission factors and loading data from invoices. It happens continuously, and it offers a completely new way of relating to your climate account, says Ida Stokkebye Rueskov from Viegand Maagøe, who has developed the tool in collaboration with KMD.
“This means that companies and others who use the tool can auto-generate a monthly account in the same way as they do their financial accounts today. It gives a completely different insight and the opportunity to adapt the effort on an ongoing basis. It will create a quantum leap in ESG reporting,” she says.
Calculations in CarbonKey are based on international standards and cover more than 80,000 product categories, and the CO2 calculator itself collects the relevant data from e.g. the purchasing system. It ensures a minimum of prior and resource-intensive collection of data from the company.
