How Does Carbon Accounting Software Work for the Fashion Industry?

Fashion brands increasingly care about environmental sustainability, in part to serve their customers, in part to serve their communities, and in part to generate more revenue, more sustainably in the future. But to create a better sustainability program, businesses need some form of carbon accounting in place.

Carbon accounting software can help with this, but how exactly does it work?

And what are the benefits of using it?

What Is Carbon Accounting?

Carbon accounting is a system of various tactics and strategies designed to properly measure a company’s carbon emissions. This can happen at the product level, at the company level, or both.

Better understanding your carbon emissions allows you to achieve a few primary goals:

1.    Reduce carbon emissions

The primary goal of carbon accounting is to eventually reduce carbon emissions. Once you better understand the volume of your carbon emissions and the root causes of those emissions, you can devise plans for eventually reducing them. Sourcing more sustainable materials, reducing transportation distances, and similar tactics can make a huge impact on your company’s carbon emission totals.

2.    Improve transparency and reporting

Many businesses also pursue carbon accounting to improve transparency and reporting. Investors, customers, and stakeholders are increasingly concerned with sustainability, and carbon accounting gives them reliable data they can use to evaluate performance.

3.    Cultivate innovation (and potentially cost savings)

Also, proper carbon accounting can incentivize innovation; better understanding the sources of your emissions incentivizes you to design more efficient and sustainable practices, which can save you money in the long run.

How Carbon Accounting Software Works for the Fashion Industry

Within the fashion industry, how does carbon accounting software help achieve these goals?

1.    Product-based life cycle assessments (LCAs)

Most platforms offer life cycle assessments, or LCAs, at the product level. This means you’ll be able to track and objectively measure carbon emissions associated with each product in your company’s lineup. This makes it easier to calculate your total carbon emissions, but also identify key issues with individual products.

2.    Data gap fill-in

Unfortunately, there’s always a little bit of guesswork involved in carbon emission tracking. No organization has perfect internal transparency, and even if they did, there may still be unknown variables that impact final calculations. That’s why carbon accounting software usually has machine learning aspects to fill in data gaps and to make impressively accurate guesses to fill in the missing details.

3.    Data centralization

Some business owners appreciate how this software functions as a form of data centralization. You can track all your carbon emission and sustainability data in one place.

4.    Sustainability targets and reporting

Carbon accounting software also allows you to set specific targets for sustainability and generate consistent reports to showcase your path to achieving those goals. It’s good for both internal discussions and external showcases.

5.    Scenario analysis and experimentation

Many carbon accounting software platforms for the fashion industry also have scenario analysis and the capacity for hypothetical experiments. You can adjust different variables to see how they impact your bottom-line carbon emissions, then apply those adjustments to real life if they seem favorable.

Using Carbon Accounting Software Correctly

These tips can help you maximize the value of your carbon accounting software.

1.    Choose the right tool

There are many competing carbon accounting software platforms available, so it’s important to choose the right tool for your needs. Ideally, you’ll choose one specifically targeted for the fashion industry.

2.    Gather as much real data as possible

Even though machine learning features may help you fill in gaps, it’s still important to gather as much real data as possible. This allows you to be more objective and accurate in your forecasts.

3.    Drive thoughtful experimentation

Experimenting with various scenarios is the primary way you’ll drive change within your organization. Tinker with the variables frequently so you can keep inching toward your goals – and don’t be afraid to try unorthodox methods.

4.    Apply changes aggressively

Once you find a scenario capable of improving your carbon emissions, apply the necessary changes to your organization to make it a reality. Carbon accounting tracking doesn’t help your organization much unless it leads to practical changes.

5.    Report transparently

Today, nearly all of the world’s 250 biggest companies report on sustainability efforts at least annually. Whether you’re motivated by external pressure or an internal drive to pursue greater sustainability, you should follow suit. Be as transparent as possible, even if you fall short of your sustainability goals; honesty and transparency are more important than perfection.

If your business is in the fashion industry, you owe it to your investors, your stakeholders, and your fellow citizens to appropriately track and manage your carbon emissions. With the help of better carbon accounting software, this task becomes much easier.

Article Submitted By Community Writer