This tool calculates greenhouse gas emissions from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It is prepared for companies with activities in the crop, livestock and food industry sectors, but is also applicable to companies from other sectors that want to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions of their activity.
As a result of climate change, legislation related to the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions is developing at the European and national level. There is already a European directive that requires such reporting by large companies operating within the EU (CSRD - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/). And while small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are not yet covered, they will be indirectly affected as suppliers and partners to larger companies subject to mandatory emissions reporting. In this regard, it is important that SMEs are also prepared to provide complete and reliable information about their activities that generate greenhouse gas emissions.
ProCredit Bank, as a long-standing partner of small and medium-sized businesses, presents a solution with which Bulgarian companies can be aware of the carbon footprint of their activities and remain competitive on the international market. The calculator was prepared following the principles for accounting for greenhouse gas emissions laid down in the corporate standard of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard. For the crop and livestock sectors, additional activities are included in accordance with The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Agricultural Guidance.
The specific calculation methods are based on the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and its 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines, where there is an opportunity to collect more detailed information and use national emission factors that are applied for tier 2 calculation. In the remaining cases, tier 1 calculation methods were used.
In some cases, adapted calculation methods have been used that are consistent with the IPCC guidelines:
- The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) method was used for emissions from air conditioning and refrigeration equipment.
- For emissions from vehicles and agricultural machinery, a methodology from the European Environment Agency (EMEP/EEA Air Pollutant Emission Inventory Guidebook) was used.
- For emissions due to changes in land use, the methodology in the National Report of Bulgaria from the inventory of greenhouse gas emissions from 2023 was used.
Emissions calculations used national emission factors from the National Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Report, if specific were available there. In the remaining cases, default factors from the IPCC guidelines and in some cases from the EMEP/EEA Air Pollutant Emission Inventory Guidebook were used. For the Global Warming Potential (GHP) values, the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report was used, utilizing the 100-year GHG value (GWP100).