Like many companies right now, you’re probably looking for ways to reduce your carbon footprint and position yourself as a sustainable leader. If this is the case, understanding Scope 2 Emissions is an important prerequisite to your journey. Our experts have written this article to give you a better understanding of Scope 2 Emissions and how real-time data monitoring can help you get closer to your net zero goals.
Environmental data monitoring is proving a vital tool for any business striving to be more sustainable. By measuring energy consumption, temperature fluctuations, efficiency and more, organisations can gain valuable insights into their emissions and identify areas for proactive improvement.
Whether you’re a small business or a multinational corporation, understanding Scope 2 Emissions, including how you can measure and manage them effectively, will be a huge help in your sustainability work!
What Are Scope 2 Emissions?
Scope 2 emissions refer to indirect greenhouse gas emissions that are released when using purchased electricity, heat or steam. While they are not directly controlled by the company itself, they are a crucial component of your overall carbon footprint.
Why Are They Important?
If you’re aiming to measure your environmental impact, you need to have a basic understanding of the factors affecting it. Knowing where your Scope 2 Emissions are coming from, and how much they contribute to your overall footprint, will help you to develop effective strategies to mitigate and reduce them.
This knowledge is also crucial for reporting and compliance purposes, helping you to meet those all-important regulatory requirements and industry standards.
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What’s The Difference Between Direct & Indirect Emissions?
Scope 2 Emissions are indirect, which means they are generated by other companies (such as electricity providers) but are still a consequence of your company’s actions.
Direct emissions - also known as Scope 1 Emissions - are greenhouse gases released from sources owned or controlled by your own company. Examples include emissions from company-owned vehicles, on-site manufacturing processes and the like.
What Is The Most Common Source of Scope 2 Emissions?
Scope 2 Emissions can come from a variety of sources depending on the nature of your company, but the main culprit is usually grid electricity.
The emissions can be particularly significant in areas where electricity production relies heavily on fossil fuels. If your business operates in one of these regions, you should be paying close attention to Scope 2 Emissions and finding ways to reduce your reliance on fossil fuel-based energy, e.g. through renewable energy sources, like solar and wind.
Other common sources of Scope 2 Emissions include heat or steam generated by external sources. Some companies will rely heavily on thermal processes, including those in the manufacturing or food processing industries. Again, monitoring and optimising the energy used for heating or steam generation can make a big difference on the amount of Scope 2 Emissions that your company is responsible for.
How Energy Monitoring Can Limit Scope 2 Emissions
Energy monitoring can help you paint a bigger picture of energy consumption across your business, including Scope 2 Emissions. By implementing real-time monitoring solutions such as smart meters, internet of things (IoT) devices and data analytics, you can track and analyse when, where and how your company is using energy. This makes it much easier to identify patterns, trends, areas of inefficiency and ultra-intensive processes.
With these insights on hand, you can act upon areas for improvement and develop strategies that will ultimately help you to optimise energy consumption and reduce emissions.
Having all of this information in one place also allows you to assess the effectiveness of energy-saving initiatives and track your progress towards sustainability goals. You can compare historical and current data, set benchmarks, and measure the impact of your strategies to further improve your Scope 2 Emissions.
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Monitoring Energy with Invisible Systems’ Real-time Solutions
Invisible Systems’ smart monitoring solutions let you accurately measure your energy consumption in real time.
We provide a range of devices depending on your company’s individual needs and goals, from smart meters that gather data on electricity usage to IoT devices that can be installed on equipment, machinery and other infrastructure.
All of these solutions feed data directly into Live by Invisible Systems - an online dashboard that delivers real-time insights straight to your phones, tablets and computers. With live updates stored in one central location, you can spot patterns, find areas of high energy usage and identify issues before they escalate.
It also means that compliance is automated for you; everything you need for audits or regulatory paperwork is automatically stored within the system and can be exported into comprehensive reports.
How Can Temperature Monitoring Reduce Scope 2 Emissions?
Through smart temperature monitoring, you can gain a better idea of how to reduce your Scope 2 Emissions, especially if your industry relies heavily on heating or cooling processes.
Invisible Systems’ real-time temperature monitoring solutions let you accurately track temperature fluctuations across various processes and equipment. By analysing this data, you can identify temperature inefficiencies, detect anomalies, and implement measures to optimise energy consumption throughout your company.
Let’s take a look at a couple of examples…
A manufacturing facility could use real-time temperature monitoring to identify areas where excessive heating or cooling is taking place. By adjusting temperature settings within optimal ranges, the facility could reduce its energy consumption and minimise Scope 2 Emissions.
Similarly, a company housed in a commercial building could adopt smart temperature monitoring to optimise heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, ensuring energy-efficient operations and reducing its overall emissions.
How Can Environmental Monitoring Reduce Scope 2 Emissions?
Environmental monitoring solutions allow organisations to track parameters like air quality, humidity and other atmospheric conditions. All of these determine how much energy your company uses, in turn affecting your contribution of Scope 2 Emissions.
Deployable both indoors and outdoors, Invisible Systems’ smart sensors send environmental data to Live by Invisible Systems, where your team can identify correlations between certain environmental conditions and your company’s energy consumption. You can then improve these conditions to lower the amount of energy your company is using in certain areas.
An example could be installing smart sensors in a residential housing block. If humidity levels within homes are particularly high, residents may be turning the heating on more often to stay warm. Equipped with this information, the housing association could tackle the root of the issue - the humidity - to lower energy usage.
Conclusion: Monitoring Energy Usage Reduces Scope 2 Emissions
By monitoring energy consumption, temperature fluctuations and environmental impact, your business can quickly identify ways to drive down Scope 2 Emissions - a key contributor to your carbon footprint.
Real-time monitoring solutions from Invisible Systems, which combine smart meters, IoT devices and live data dashboards, provide the necessary tools for using energy more efficiently across your organisation.
Whatever the size of your business, our team can equip you with the tools you need to reach your environmental goals and position yourself as a green leader in your industry.
To see how our smart monitoring solutions can be tailored towards your business, book a free consultation with our team.