1. Introduction

The ability of an organisation to calculate its carbon footprint allows it to determine which of its activities is having the greatest impact and enable it to put in place a prioritized programme to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It will be able to track its progress over time.

There are many calculators available on the internet. The Technical and Standards Committee of the TSA recommends the Carbon Trust Calculator. The Carbon Trust was created by the UK government to help businesses and public organisations to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, through improved energy efficiency and development of low carbon technology. It is easy to access through its website www.carbontrust.co.uk and has a large selection of publications which TSA members may find useful. It is also the portal for access to government loans which are intended to help businesses move to low carbon technology.

The Calculator focuses on key emission sources from the use of fossil fuels, electricity and transport. However, it does NOT cover the wider greenhouse emissions your organization may be responsible for through its supply chain, production of waste and other activities. If you want to accurately quantify these impacts you will need to undertake a Life-Cycle Analysis, usually with the help of a trained consultant.

If you wish your carbon footprint calculations to be independently assessed there are consultants who will act as third party verifiers to check the accuracy of your results.

Although there is a 'calculator help' document on the Carbon Trust website it is generic.

Using this as a starting point we have written this guide specifically for the textile services industry.

This guide will tell you what information you will need to gather, it will help you convert this information into the correct 'units' for the Calculator and it will take you through a worked example that uses information from a real laundry.

Annex A contains a glossary of terms which are used on the Carbon Trust website. You should familiarize yourself with them before looking through the site.

2. Access to the Carbon Trust Calculator

The Carbon Trust website contains a Carbon Footprint Indicator tool which allows you to carry out a rough estimate of your carbon footprint based on your electricity and gas consumption only. If you want access to the more rigorous Carbon Trust Calculator you will need to register with the Carbon Trust.

This is easy to do by clicking the 'Register' button on www.carbontrust.co.uk. You will be asked for some basic details and to provide a password. Your registration will be confirmed by email.

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To obtain the full copy of this guide, which is free of charge, please email angela at TSA:

angela@tsa-uk.org

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