Carbon Prices On the Rise: How and Why to Measure the Carbon Footprint of Your Hotel or Tourism Business

Image: Chun Lee

Contributed by Angela Nagy, GreenStep Solutions

With the re-election of a Liberal minority government in Canada, carbon pricing, which is supported by a wide range of academic, public sector, energy executives, and other business leaders, is here to stay and it's on the rise. Measuring and reporting on your carbon footprint is just the beginning, and is something that you should plan to do on an annual cycle. If you want to better understand the risks and opportunities that come with an increasing price on carbon, read on for the break down of the how and why of measuring your corporate carbon footprint.

Since 2019, every jurisdiction in Canada has had a price on carbon pollution, and currently the federal price for carbon is set at $30 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). In 2022, this price will increase to $50 per tonne, and by 2030 it will reach $170 per tonne of CO2e.

Measuring your carbon footprint is actually not that complicated, and similar to financial accounting standards, greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting standards exist. Most tourism related businesses will follow the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard published by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). This is the international accounting tool most widely used by global government and business leaders to understand, quantify, and manage GHG emissions.

Based on these standards, there are five key steps to measuring your carbon footprint:

• Step 1. Determine Your Organizational and Operational Boundary

• Step 2. Determine Your Reporting Year and Base Year

• Step 3. Selecting Emissions Sources that Apply to Your Organization

• Step 4. Identify Data You Need to Collect and How to Track it Over Time

• Step 5. Report

Next Steps: Reduce and Repeat

Measuring and reporting on your carbon footprint is just the beginning, and is something that you should plan to do on an annual cycle.