The first comprehensive calculator to measure the carbon footprint, environmental footprint and circularity indicators of organisations, products and services launched

• The Climate&Circularity Calculator is a free web tool that integrates different environmental metrics using the same baseline data, and thus streamlining the calculation for organisations

• The tool created by Ihobe allows organisations to assess the environmental performance of their products and services, while facilitating their tendering to Basque public administrations

• This innovative calculator will allow organisations to meet their carbon footprint reporting obligations arising from the recently passed Basque Energy Transition and Climate Change Act.

The first web tool is now available to calculate the carbon footprint, environmental footprint, and a series of circular economy indicators from an organisation approach, along with the simplified life cycle assessment and carbon footprint from a product and services approach; while all using the same baseline information. It has been created by Ihobe, the environmental management agency of the Basque Government.     

The tool draws on the expertise on the integrated calculation of organisation and product metrics generated by Ihobe over the last 10 years, thanks to the work of the Basque Ecodesign Center, the most important ecodesign and circular economy public-private partnership in Spain.

 Its design allows environmental assessments to be conducted both from an organisation and product & services approach.  Access to the tool is through the Ihobe website and is free for Basque companies. 

The calculations are based on proven methodologies such as the UNE-EN ISO 14064-1:2019 and UNE-EN ISO 14067:2019 standards in the case of the carbon footprint; UNE-EN ISO 14040:2006 and UNE-EN ISO 14044:2006 for the environmental footprint and life cycle assessment; and the circular economy indicators are calculated as per the “Circular Transition Indicators 3.0” methodology, which are compatible with the future ISO 59020 to measure and assess circularity.

The Climate&Circularity Calculator is designed to provide organisations – particularly SMEs – with an assessment and monitoring tool to improve their environmental performance from a life cycle perspective; it can also be used for ecodesign simulations. That is a particularly important in the current climate, both in order to comply with ever more demanding legislation – such as the timeline to become carbon neutral no later than 2050 established by the recently passed Basque Energy Transition and Climate Change Act 1/2024 – and to convert good environmental performance into a competitiveness factor on the market. 

The Climate&Circularity Calculator can be accessed through this link: https://www.ihobe.eus/climate-circularity-3

Its main features and benefits

The Climate&Circularity Calculator is innovative mainly thanks to its integrated approach, which combines the possibility of measuring different environmental indicators. The tool comes with training programmes for working professionals, courses for young people, and other self-training options.

Unlike other calculators, this one can be used to maximise performance as the same documentation collected is used and available for all the metrics; in other words, the same input information is automatically used to calculate the carbon footprint, the environmental footprint, and, in the case of organisation, the circular economy indicators.

Another of the main advantages over other calculators is the launch of a service to update and increase the tool's database regulatory, which ensures that the appropriate methodologies and factors are used.

In short, it is a resource that provides an advance, streamlined and efficient response to meet current and future needs related to environmental assessment metrics.

The Climate&Circularity Calculator and the Energy Transition and Climate Change Act

The web calculator will directly contribute to a solution for specific aspects of the Basque Energy Transition and Climate Change Act, passed in February 2024. The tool will facilitate compliance of the obligation to calculate the carbon footprint and to prepare a decarbonisation plan, as part of the future Basque Register of Energy Transition and Climate Change Initiatives, established in Article 55 of that legislation.

Calculating the carbon footprint, which measures all the greenhouse gas emissions associated to an organisation or to the life cycle of a product or service, is the first step to establish a plan to reduce those emissions. 

The contracting authorities of the Basque Public administrations and of the other public sector entities, in accordance with Article 57, will ensure that their administrative and technical specifications for their contracts include the obligation to have the carbon footprint of the products, services supplies, provided that obligation is linked to the purpose of the contract. The calculations performed with the Climate&Circularity Calculator may be used to comply with that obligation.

Specific training

In 2022 and 2023, a pilot was run in order with young people to apply the tool in nearly 200 companies in nearly 200 companies, mainly SMEs, in order to become familiar with the tool and facilitate its use in the Basque business environment; a training programme was also organised for working professionals, with 11 courses held and self-training material distributed.

The programmes will continue in the coming months, along with other training initiatives on this new calculator and aimed at young people and teaching staff, or the possibility of grants for students to drive the decarbonisation of SMEs.