| Title | Developing a Tool for Calculating the Carbon Footprint in SMEs |
|---|---|
| ID_Doc | 16575 |
| Authors | Eleftheriadis, I; Anagnostopoulou, E |
| Title | Developing a Tool for Calculating the Carbon Footprint in SMEs |
| Year | 2024 |
| Published | Sustainability, 16, 5 |
| Abstract | The need to rapidly reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) has accelerated the adoption of circular economy (CE) practices. However, this has proved challenging for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), who lack the financial, organizational, and informational capabilities to adopt circular business models. This paper highlights some of the SMEs' challenges in adopting CE practices. It focuses on the need to calculate their carbon footprint (CF) by drawing on the literature examining the effect of information technologies (IT) on adopting CE strategies. This study aims to present a CF calculation tool used to calculate the CF of SMEs. The tool's design is based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, which assesses the environmental impact of a particular service or product over the different stages of its life cycle. The tool was tested in a small cheese factory in northern Greece, an SME representative of the country's average SME. The production process was mapped, a GHG inventory was created, and the total emissions related to the production of a specific product were estimated. Our results show that adopting such CF calculation tools can have various implications regarding the organizational structure of SMEs, leading to cost reductions and reducing potential environmental impacts. The final aim is to test this tool at a large scale. |
| https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/5/1905/pdf?version=1708938097 |
Similar Articles
| ID | Score | Article |
|---|---|---|
4175
|
Dey, PK; Malesios, C; Chowdhury, S; Saha, K; Budhwar, P; De, D Adoption of circular economy practices in small and medium-sized enterprises: Evidence from Europe(2022) | |
| 658
|
Ormazabal, M; Prieto-Sandoval, V; Santos, J; Jaca, C Guiding SMEs Towards the Circular Economy: A Case Study(2020) | |
| 1018
|
Prieto-Sandoval, V; Torres-Guevara, LE; Ormazabal, M; Jaca, C Beyond the Circular Economy Theory: Implementation Methodology for Industrial SMEs(2021)Journal Of Industrial Engineering And Management-Jiem, 14, 3 | |
| 3199
|
Walker, AM; Opferkuch, K; Lindgreen, ER; Simboli, A; Vermeulen, WJV; Raggi, A Assessing the social sustainability of circular economy practices: Industry perspectives from Italy and the Netherlands(2021) | |
| 1260
|
Leal, W; Frizzo, K; Eustachio, JHPP; Tsani, S; Özuyar, PG Integrating climate change practices in a circular economy context-The perspective from chemical enterprises(2024)Sustainable Development, 32, 3 | |
| 20932
|
Das, A; Konietzko, J; Bocken, N How do companies measure and forecast environmental impacts when experimenting with circular business models?(2022) | |
| 3719
|
Dey, PK; Malesios, C; De, D; Budhwar, P; Chowdhury, S; Cheffi, W Circular economy to enhance sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises(2020)Business Strategy And The Environment, 29, 6 | |
| 21736
|
Bjornbet, MM; Vildåsen, SS Life Cycle Assessment to Ensure Sustainability of Circular Business Models in Manufacturing(2021)Sustainability, 13.0, 19 | |
| 2887
|
Pinuer, FV; Andreu, JL; Belbeze, PL Environmental sustainability and circular economy in SMEs: a qualitative approach from the Spanish experience(2024)International Journal Of Entrepreneurship & Small Business, 51, 3 | |
| 4828
|
Dorado, AB; Leal, GG; Vila, RD EMAS environmental statements as a measuring tool in the transition of industry towards a circular economy(2022) |