How is Bilan Carbone® integrated within a low-carbon transition approach?
What is the place of Bilan Carbone® in a transition pathway?
The low-carbon transition approaches are multiple, with a common objective. Transition pathways adapt to the profile and maturity of each organisation, but also of territories, states, individuals, projects, or products, with various tools, methods and regulations available to them.
The Bilan Carbone® is a comprehensive method that intervenes at several stages in a transition approach, seeking to inform an organisation's strategy. The Bilan Carbone® allows for carbon accounting, on a voluntary or regulatory basis, while being firmly action-oriented.
To position the role and interest of the Bilan Carbone® in a low-carbon transition approach, the following are presented below:
The place of the Bilan Carbone® within the different carbon accounting scales or how the Bilan Carbone® integrates at the organisational, territorial, individual, or product scale.
The place of the Bilan Carbone® among the current organisational carbon accounting standards, that is a comparison of the Bilan Carbone® with other recognised standards, in order to highlight its specificities and complementarities.
The place of the Bilan Carbone® in relation to regulations or how the Bilan Carbone® meets the legal and regulatory requirements regarding accounting and reporting carbon.
The place of the Bilan Carbone® in its transition pathway in order to illustrate how the Bilan Carbone® integrates into an organisation's overall low-carbon transition pathway, from emissions analysis to implementation and continuous improvement of reduction actions within the framework of a genuine transition strategy.
1️⃣ The different carbon accounting scales
In the context of carbon accounting, four main scales are generally distinguished:
Territories : this scale applies to a specific geographic region, such as a city, a region or a country. It includes the organisations located there, the individuals living there, and thus all activities taking place there. Two complementary methods exist: one focuses on GHG emissions produced strictly on the territory (inventory or cadastral approach). The other also accounts for indirect emissions produced outside the territory but necessary for its functioning and the activities taking place there (footprint or responsibility-based approach). As with organisations, the cadastral approach concerns emissions for which the territory is a direct contributor—occurring within it—whereas the footprint approach allows conclusions on the territory's dependence on fossil fuels and its vulnerability with respect to low-carbon transition issues.
Individuals : this scale focuses on GHG emissions attributable to a person's activities. A reference method frames the method for estimating an individual's footprint in order to provide comprehensive and educational information about their climate contribution and levers for action.
Products : this scale assesses the GHG emissions associated with a product (good or service) throughout its life cycle, from design to end of life. Several complementary methods focus on the product-specific carbon footprint. ABC notably conducts work with its partners to better integrate product footprint into transition strategies.
Organisations : this scale concerns the GHG emissions induced by all the activities of an organisation, whether it is a company, an association or a public establishment. The activities taken into account by organisations' carbon accounting are included within an organisational boundary. Several complementary methods complementary ones focus on organisations' carbon footprint.
The present method focuses on the organisation scale. This is referred to as Bilan Carbone® Organisation.
⏳[WIP] The methodological principles of the Bilan Carbone® Organisation also apply to Product or Territory approaches. They will be the subject of further reflection over the coming years.
All these accounting scales are relevant, allowing adaptation to the responsibilities, dependencies, and specific levers for action of each of these stakeholders.
2️⃣ The place of the Bilan Carbone® among the current organisational carbon accounting standards
Among the most recognised current standards for organisational carbon accounting, we find:
The French regulatory method for conducting GHG emissions assessments (BEGES-R)*
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG-P)
ISO 14064-1:2006 and ISO 14069:2013 (ISO)
*the BEGES-R is a regulation associated with a method, so it will also be discussed in the following paragraph concerning regulations.
The Bilan Carbone® and these standards present similarities, complementarities but also specificities.
These standards meet complementary uses : the GHG-P and ISO standards are generally used for reporting outside France, and the BEGES-R for reporting in France. The Bilan Carbone® allows these reports to be carried out in the formats required by the different standards, but also to produce a strategic analysis of the organisation (notably vulnerabilities and transition opportunities) and to trigger and steer its low-carbon transition.
The Bilan Carbone® method is compatible with the expectations of the GHG-P, the BEGES-R, and ISO 14064-1. Conversely, following these standards will not systematically meet the requirements of the Bilan Carbone®: these standards may recommend, without requiring, several essential steps of the Bilan Carbone® (notably on uncertainty management, accounting for indirect emissions, stakeholder engagement or on the relevance of the transition plan).
The deliverables Bilan Carbone® are consistent with the information requested by other standards. The export of results and the formality of these deliverables may however differ. The Bilan Carbone® reporting establishes the necessary mappings allowing the Bilan Carbone® method to be followed and toextract results in multiple formats. Precautions may nevertheless be necessary (for example working in significance to follow the philosophy of ISO or BEGES-R, not amortising fixed assets in the case of the GHG-P). The precautions to be identified are specified where applicable.
An important specificity of the Bilan Carbone® lies in its positioning as a approach complete, in which carbon accounting is only one step. Unlike other carbon accounting standards, the Bilan Carbone® method also emphasises stakeholder engagement and action planning. The method's granular requirements allow the organisation to gain maturity with each renewal of the exercise, in a progressive and long-term approach, until it becomes an environmental management tool.
The boundary to be considered in a Bilan Carbone® also includes emissions on which the organisation is dependent. This enables strategic action on the organisation's vulnerabilities. It is not a question of determining a responsible party for emissions, but rather of identifying who can act to reduce them.
Some calculation procedures differ and must be applied with care:
Emissions associated with energy consumption are calculated using a location-based approach in the Bilan Carbone® and the BEGES-R. ISO includes the possibility of doing so also according to a market-based approach. The GHG-P requires calculation of both approaches.
Emissions associated with capitalisable goods must be amortised in the Bilan Carbone® and the BEGES-R. The GHG-P requires that these emissions not be amortised. ISO leaves the choice between the two possibilities.
The emission categories are very similar between these standards, with nevertheless two specificities: ISO includes "GHG removals"; and the GHG-P does not include "visitor travel".
These calculation procedures are set out in the practical guides. It should be noted that it is possible to follow the Bilan Carbone® method, and to export the results, according to other standards, by applying these calculation principles.
The table below summarises the similarities and specificities between the Bilan Carbone® and other current organisational carbon accounting standards:
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3️⃣ The place of the Bilan Carbone® with respect to regulations
The Bilan Carbone® seeks to align regulatory obligation and voluntary engagement of all actors in French and European society, so that a voluntary approach can bring benefits in view of a future obligation, but also that an actor subject to obligation can go further and do more than the regulatory requirement.
The Bilan Carbone® Organisation thus makes it possible to meet, in terms of carbon accounting, two regulations in particular:
The French regulatory method for conducting GHG emissions assessments (BEGES-R)*
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
The French regulation
The Bilan Carbone® method is compatible with the expectations of the regulation:
The Bilan Carbone® at Beginner level meets the regulation on all points.
The Bilan Carbone® at Intermediate level and Advanced level require more.
🔎 Since theevolution of regulation in France in 2023, there is a very strong correspondence between the philosophies of the Bilan Carbone® and the BEGES-R which now also requires emissions management (complete inventory also covering significant emissions, analytical commentary of results, renewal of the assessment and comparison of assessments between the base year and the reporting year).
The Bilan Carbone® retains several complementary specificities (approach logic, or strategic analysis logic for example), complemented by the training, tools and community that accompany this method.
The Bilan Carbone® allows carbon accounting over a free boundary and time step (for example a project, an event, a construction site). If an organisation subject to regulation wishes to use the Bilan Carbone®, two major precautions must be taken:
The temporal boundary must be a full year of activity (reporting year).
The organisational boundary must be that of the Legal Entity subject to the regulation (SIREN).
The CSRD
Following the Bilan Carbone® approach, at its highest level of rigor, enables meeting a large part of the ESRS E1 requirements of the CSRD, which concerns climate change:
The Bilan Carbone® at Beginner level and Standard do not meet all the requirements of the CSRD (ESRS E1).
The Bilan Carbone® at Advanced level covers the majority of the requirements, listed here.
⏳[WIP] A correspondence table will soon be made available listing the data points (specific pieces of information that the organisation is required to disclose under the CSRD) that an Advanced level Bilan Carbone® approach will allow to complete.
CSRD declarations require an audit by an independent third-party body. ABC and the National Council of the Order of Chartered Accountants have drafted an evaluation guide for a Bilan Carbone®, a BEGES-R and a CSRD-specific exercise so that evaluation practices are common and shared, to seek ever greater synergies and clarify transition issues for all organisations.
4️⃣ The Bilan Carbone® in a low-carbon transition approach
An organisation encounters several needs throughout its maturity journey on transition issues:
Know its context : What are its stakeholders' demands? What are its regulatory obligations? What are the best practices in its sector? An organisation first needs to motivate its transition action. Several resources are available, notably the sectoral guides from ADEME, but also the content offered by ABC. The Bilan Carbone® proposes here to define several boundaries (organisational, operational, temporal) in order to size the exercise appropriately in light of the organisation's context. A risk and transition opportunity analysis is required within the Bilan Carbone® to begin developing a long-term vision for the organisation's low-carbon transition.
Know its emissions profile (GHG profile): what are the emission categories? how are they structured? what is the priority or priorities for the organisation in terms of reduction? The international standards but also the French regulation propose methods and reporting formats on this issue, for reporting purposes. The Bilan Carbone® goes further, supporting the organisation from data collection through to producing the GHG profile and its interpretation. Several sectoral adaptations of the Bilan Carbone® allow organisations in the relevant sectors to focus on sector-specific issues. The Bilan Carbone® also proposes stakeholder engagement activities to communicate initial conclusions and encourage action. The Bilan Carbone® proposes a voluntary audit process to ensure optimal quality of its results and the actions that follow.
Develop and evaluate a transition strategy : how to define reduction objectives? how to create a transition plan that enables achieving these objectives? how to integrate this transition plan within the organisation's overall strategy? how to monitor and improve the organisation's carbon accounting approach? Several complementary methods and tools are available here to address all these issues: the Science-Based Targets initiative supports large companies to define targets that enable respect for theParis Agreement and the recommendations of the IPCC ; Empreinte Projets is the new version of Quanti GES carried by ADEME, aimed at estimating the impact of a project; ACT Step by Step and ACT Evaluation, two sister approaches supported by ADEME in France and internationally, allow creation and evaluation of a transition strategy coherent with the GHG profile, ambitious and credible across all aspects of the organisation. The Bilan Carbone® links with these approaches so that the organisation can easily use the carbon accounting work and the transition plan within these four approaches. The Bilan Carbone® becomes for the most mature organisations the tool for steering the transition trajectory.
Understand the different action possibilities in favour of the transition: what is the interest of developing new low-carbon goods and services? how to integrate sequestration within the organisation's strategy? The Bilan Carbone® relies on the principles of the Net Zero Initiative, designing climate action in three forms : reduction of emissions "at home" (what the Bilan Carbone® organisation enables) - Pillar A, reduction of emissions "elsewhere" via new goods & services - Pillar B - and increasing GHG sequestration within natural spaces or via capture and storage technologies - Pillar C. These three forms of carbon accounting are not interchangeable, as an organisation should maximise its action across the three pillars simultaneously. Note that efforts made on Pillars B and C are also valued in transition strategy evaluation approaches, notably ACT.
Communicate its commitment to the transition: What should I communicate to highlight my transition action? How can I communicate it and to whom? Many institutions today require organisations to publish their GHG assessment, whether for investors (such as CDP), the State (regulation BEGES-R), the European Commission (CSRD), their clients who produce their own GHG assessment or who want to select engaged suppliers. While each stakeholder will tend to request different information, the Bilan Carbone® strives to offer a methodological and technical framework synthesising the expectations of each reference to facilitate the organisation's reporting.
The transition pathway is non-linear. Each of these approaches feeds the organisation's thinking and helps it gain maturity. The pathways are multiple, and within a logic of cycle, continuous improvement and renewal, the Bilan Carbone® meets the need for regular steering of emissions and results.
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⏳[WIP] The third ABC panorama on the different transition pathways will be updated soon and will detail the different tools and methods available.
Do you have a question about understanding? Consult the FAQ. The method is living and therefore likely to evolve (clarifications, additions): find the tracking of changes here.
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