Carbon Footprint Calculation and Comprehensive Sustainability Consulting

Lival, a lighting expert, is committed to emissions management and corporate responsibility in partnership with Ecobio.

Lival is a Finnish electronics and lighting technology company specialising in lighting solutions designed primarily for commercial and office spaces. The company is a global market leader that operates internationally. Lival focuses on maximising energy efficiency using the latest technologies and sustainable production practices.

Despite its global sales scope, Lival’s operational model is remarkably agile: a single production facility and a compact organisation enable effective sustainability management.

Ecobio has supported Lival for nearly two decades, with intensified collaboration beginning in 2020 following the first carbon footprint calculation.

A collaboration built around carbon footprint calculation

Lival and Ecobio’s partnership is centred around carbon footprint calculation. Alongside yearly carbon footprint calculations, Ecobio has conducted various one-off projects and assessments, including product life cycle assessments (LCA), evaluations and calculations related to low-carbon solutions, sustainability expert statements to support customer communications and contributions to the company’s Code of Conduct development. In addition, Ecobio has annually aided Lival in customer-facing reporting on emissions and sustainability topics.

Carbon Footprint Calculation for Companies – What and How?

Carbon footprint calculation helps identify emissions from business operations. In climate impact reporting, emissions are typically classified into Scopes 1, 2, and 3, according to the GHG Protocol

• Direct emissions (Scope 1)
• Indirect emissions from energy use (Scope 2)
• Other indirect emissions (Scope 3) are often the most challenging to quantify due to the complexity of value chains.

“From a company’s perspective, the most challenging part is calculating Scope 3 emissions and gathering the necessary baseline data. The data may not be readily available in-house, so companies often need to make the best estimates and reach out to customers and suppliers,” explains Ecobio consultant Marianne Santala.

Carbon footprint calculation provides insight into the climate impacts of a company’s operations and forms a foundation for developing business in a more sustainable direction. It also supports customer communication and sustainability reporting.

The company collects the necessary input data in Ecobio’s outsourced carbon footprint calculation. After the first round, data collection becomes increasingly routine, and the workload decreases as expertise grows.

“The basic workflow of carbon footprint calculation is the same for the first and subsequent updates. From the client’s perspective, the steps remain the same. Of course, experience makes data collection easier as you know where to find the relevant information,” Santala adds.

An additional task at the outset involves designing appropriate calculation models for each Scope and category.

When done well, carbon footprint calculation becomes an annual tool integrated into a company’s sustainability strategy. Each year, baseline data and emission factors are updated as necessary.

Lival’s Carbon Footprint Calculation

From the beginning, Lival’s carbon footprint has been calculated using an Excel-based model tailored to their needs. Lival provides the necessary data, and Ecobio’s experts perform the calculations, a process that has proven effective.

Lival initially started the calculation with Scopes 1 and 2, but in recent years, Scope 3 emissions have also been added to the calculation.

The calculations’ results have led to concrete actions whose impacts have been jointly evaluated by Ecobio and Lival. The carbon footprint enables measuring and demonstrating the effectiveness of emission reduction measures. Lival has successfully reduced its Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and thanks to new energy-efficient lighting solutions, its Scope 3 emissions are expected to decrease. These improvements also bring energy savings to Lival’s customers.

“Most of Lival’s emissions come from electricity used by long-lasting lighting products and are therefore indirect Scope 3 emissions. Measures have been taken to address these, and results have already been achieved,” Santala summarises.

Lival’s carefully curated product portfolio and streamlined production process ensure high-quality, comprehensive calculations. Ecobio’s product-specific LCA calculations have been integrated into the company-level carbon footprint, further enhancing result accuracy.

Tailored Consulting Support Based on Client Needs

The collaboration between Ecobio and Lival is built on expertise, a practical working approach, and trust. Although Lival’s in-house sustainability team is small, significant progress has been achieved.

“We’ve supported them both through ongoing annual cooperation and one-off projects. Even though people and roles have changed on both sides over the years, the continuity and expertise have remained,” Santala recalls.

The partnership on carbon footprint calculation will continue. The most important thing is that Lival receives timely and relevant information on its emissions and overall sustainability to support decision-making.

“Some companies prefer to manage everything themselves, but Lival’s team trusts our work. This model is as effortless as possible for the company: we take care of nearly everything,” Santala concludes.

Learn more about Ecobio’s carbon footprint services here.