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Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

Customers and suppliers - even potential new employees - are increasingly looking at how businesses are improving their environmental sustainability.

Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

Customers and suppliers - even potential new employees - are increasingly looking at how businesses are improving their environmental sustainability. As a result, for many businesses, reducing the carbon footprint and improving the environmental sustainability of their operations is a key component of maintaining and enhancing their competitiveness.

What is a Carbon Footprint?

A "carbon footprint" measures the total greenhouse gas emissions generated by an individual, organization, product or event. Calculating the carbon footprint of your business's operations can be the first step towards making meaningful, measurable progress on reducing your organization's contribution to climate change.

Calculating the carbon footprint of your business's operations requires taking into account a variety of factors, including:

  • Energy used within buildings
  • Fuel used within vehicles
  • Travel by employees
  • Waste generation

Take Action

The Turn Back the Tide website outlines useful information for taking action to reduce the carbon footprint of your business's operations, including information on:

Helpful Resource

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed a Guide to Greenhouse Gas Management for Small Business and Low Emitters, which can help you calculate your business's carbon footprint. This process will also help identify the best areas within your operations to take action to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions.