Farnek has launched a state-of-the-art online carbon footprint calculation tool, ‘CarbonTek’ which can measure and analyse carbon emissions and identify carbon emission hotspots. The online tool caters to any type of business and has the flexibility to adapt to any operational activity, said a press release.

Farnek said the product was a result of an urgent demand in the market and has been developed by Farnek’s in-house carbon management experts, with support from software developers from sister company HITEK. The digital tool calculates carbon emissions across all three scopes of emissions – Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions in accordance with Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG) – a widely used greenhouse gas accounting and reporting standard.

The online solution can also be customised to generate carbon emission reports for industry sectors such as hospitality, manufacturing, commercial offices and logistics, according to the type and scope of business operations, accommodating access from multiple users in multiple locations.

Commenting on the launch, which was held at Farnek’s control and command centre in Farnek Village, Habiba Al Marashi, Founder & President of Arabia CSR Network, The Co-Founder, Chairperson of Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) and Co-Founder and Treasurer of Emirates Green Building Council (GBC), said: “In October 2021, the UAE announced its Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative and more recently raised its 2030 climate target to 31% from the original 23% and to help the UAE achieve its commitment, the private sector has a vital role to play.

“Initially that should be assessing the carbon footprint of business operations and it is with the support of innovative digital tools such as CarbonTek that many companies can now begin their journey confidently and methodically towards net zero.”

Farnek provides a five-step approach from assessment-to-communicate throughout the whole process of the net zero journey – training about the net zero concept and climate change; carbon footprint calculation; identifying emissions hotspots and setting reduction targets; preparing a plan for decarbonisation and finally monitoring and communicating milestone achievements.

“Farnek offers a turnkey market proposition, combining the attributes of CarbonTek with a team of certified carbon auditors and net zero consultants, which define operational boundaries and set the baseline year for carbon emissions.

“Once baseline emissions have been determined, science-based targets and recommendations can be implemented, to further reduce emissions and help businesses accelerate their net zero journey,” said Nadia Ibrahim, Associate Director – Consultancy and Sustainability, at Farnek.

According to Ibrahim, there is an array of generic tools to calculate a business’s carbon footprint on the market, however, they are mostly developed in other parts of the world.

“As such, these tools mostly use emission factors that are relative to the country it has been developed in and often cannot reflect the actual emission requirements relevant to the UAE.

“These tools can also be somewhat rigid and difficult to customise to an individual business and therefore cannot accurately measure nor identify the exact carbon footprint of a UAE business. Measuring carbon emissions and identifying hotspots is essential if UAE organisations are to achieve their decarbonisation goals,” added Ibrahim.