Direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions: differentiating them to reduce them more effectively

In mid-September, the European Commission announced its intention to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2020, compared with the 40% initially planned. This ambitious target will be the subject of an amendment to the climate law, which will then have to be approved by the European Parliament and the member states. To better understand the levers for action, we first need to differentiate between direct and indirect emissions, classified in 3 categories called “scopes”.

Direct emissions – scope 1

ADEME (Agence de l’environnement et de la maîtrise de l’énergie) defines direct emissions as coming from fixed or mobile installations located within the organizational perimeter, i.e. emissions from sources owned or controlled by the organization, such as : combustion from fixed and mobile sources, non-combustion industrial processes, ruminant emissions, biogas from landfill sites, refrigerant leaks, biomass… In other words, emissions linked to the use of petroleum in a product’s manufacturing process, or those produced by the exhaust gases of a company’s truck fleet.

Indirect emissions – scope 2

These are emissions associated with the production of electricity, heat or steam imported for the organization’s activities. The manufacture of a product, for example, will require energy consumption by factories. This energy, which is not produced by the plant, has nevertheless emitted greenhouse gases, and is therefore classified in Scope 2.

Other indirect emissions – scope 3

These are emissions not included in Scope 2, but linked to the entire value chain. They are not directly linked to the manufacture of a product, but rather to its entire life cycle. The extraction of materials used in the manufacture of raw materials, the transport of goods upstream or downstream, or the recycling of a product are all part of scope 3.

Reducing overall emissions from refrigeration therefore involves reducing both types of emissions. Direct emissions linked to refrigerant leaks, and indirect emissions linked to the plant’s energy consumption.

Constant monitoring of the installations will ensure that these objectives are met:

• Thanks to real-time data, you can react quickly as soon as a leak occurs
• The right refrigerant charge to avoid unnecessary over-consumption
• With the help of alerts and advice dedicated to optimizing plant energy consumption

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