Step 1: Measure your carbon footprint
Understand your impact to better reduce it
To embark on the Climate Journey and gain access to 2050Today’s support and tools, the first step is to sign the 2050Today Charter. By doing so, the institution becomes part of the coalition of International Geneva actors already committed to addressing the challenges of climate change through the implementation of concrete actions.
What is the 2050Today Charter?
United by the vision of decarbonisation, 2050Today members have decided to take action to confront the challenges of climate change by implementing concrete measures. Permanent missions, international organisations, academia and civil society entities have resolved to measure and work towards reducing their emissions while expressing their desire to work together for effective, inclusive and sustainable climate action.
By establishing the 2050Today Charter, the signatory institutions have set up a coherent, mutually supportive, and effective framework for reducing the GHG emissions together. The Charter confirms and highlights the international Geneva climate action contribution. It structures the members participation within a common and jointly agreed framework.
The Charter in a nutshell
The 2050Today Charter is a mile setting frame of reference designed to support participating institutions in their journey towards a carbon-neutral International Geneva. The document represents 2050Today’s commitment to harnessing its influence and extensive network to unite institutions, along with key actors and stakeholders in International Geneva, in fostering sustainable practices and behaviours towards effective climate action.
The Charter establishes a unified framework, outlining specific objectives, actions, and targets that each participating institution can adapt to create a tailored action plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It further provides essential guidelines to assist staff and suppliers in grasping the environmental and climate impacts of their activities. In particular it addresses the possible implications on the energy used, the means of transport chosen, the products selected, the food offered, the ICT used, the waste produced, the biodiversity protection and the behavioural changes that might be required.
To achieve the decarbonation of their activities, the Charter signatories express their resolve to take the following actions and measures, consistent with their respective legal frameworks:
- Measure and assess their activities in accordance with internationnaly agreed sustainability and GHG emissions objectives
- Define their own sustainability objectives and action plan to reduce GHG emissions
- Communicate about their actions
The Charter has been drafted with the contribution of the 2050Today participating institutions, the relevant Swiss authorities and expert partners. Its content is the sole responsibility of 2050Today. The Charter was adopted by its first signatories on 5 December 2023. It is proposed to be a common framework and to provide practical guidelines. It is open for signature to all International Geneva institutions.
Learn more about the 2050Today Charter
How the 2050Today Charter works ?
The 2050Today Charter is made of several components. It comprises firstly the climate action references, the principles, the reporting and timeline, the priorities, as well as the sectors of action.
Furthermore, it includes Guidelines by sector that enable the definition of an Action Plan:
- Biodiversity
- Energy
- Food
- Mobility
- Sustainable IT
- Waste management
These Guidelines are supplemented by Thematic Objectives providing detailed indications and resources for the definition of a comprehensive Action Plan sector by sector.
Lastly, an Assessment and Action Plan Tool is available either globally for all sectors or per specific sector to enable an in-depth assessment of the initial situation specific to each institution. Based on their own assessment, participating institutions can then define their action plan using the proposed objectives, actions, and targets.
To assess the climate impact of an institution, a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions measurement should be carried out to identify the main sources of emissions and the potential areas for reduction. This requires collecting data across specific categories in order to calculate the associated GHG emissions
The Methodology in a nutshell
2050Today’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions measurement methodology follows the GHG Protocol. The Protocol provides standards and guidance for organizations to measure and manage climate-warming emissions. It was created in 1998 through a partnership between the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
According to the GHG Protocol, the distribution of emissions is done by scopes:
Scope 1 represents direct emissions linked to the consumption of fossil fuels.
Scope 2 represents indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling consumed by the reporting company.
Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain (i.e. purchased good or services, business travel, employee commuting).
Data collection and Inventory process
GHG data is collected each year through 2050Today Focal Points. Focal Points are 2050Today’s members appointed referents. They are responsible for coordinating the data collection process throughout their respective organization and ensuring its quality. 2050Today’s team guides and supports Focal Points all the way through the data collection process.
Data collection is carried out through the 2050Today digital platform, where activity data must be entered according to the following categories:
Once data collection is completed on the digital platform, 2050Today reviews and validates the submitted data to ensure the quality and completeness of the carbon footprint. The results are then made available directly on the platform. Each institution gains access to key indicators and visual dashboards to effectively analyze its main sources of emissions.
2050Today Charter © 2023 by 2050Today is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
