Sustainability and carbon accounting: An application in iron-steel company

Today, the main purpose of industrial production enterprises is to reduce industrial pollution in order to both have high sales profits and to minimize the damage they cause to nature by considering the demands of consumers for sustainability. Thus, the social and environmental benefits that businesses care about will play an active role in the preferences of consumers. In line with these needs, carbon accounting, which is one of the most important actors of the sustainable environment as a result of recording and reporting carbon emissions, is of great importance. With the industrial revolution, the spread of developing technology, increased human activities and the desire to have better living standards cause an increase in greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide has the largest share of greenhouse gases with 82% and therefore it is the most common gas in global warming. Most of the carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere consists of fossil fuels. Since the 19th century, carbon dioxide gas has increased by 31% in the world. Thus, the increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes a decrease in biological diversity and the destruction of natural resources, which is a global threat. Considering these problems, studies on the analysis of carbon dioxide gases have increased in the world and the concepts of carbon accounting and carbon footprint are being developed. Nowadays, the demand for iron and steel is increasing to meet the increasing social and economic needs. It is known that iron and steel production directly cause carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, innovative approaches are needed to support low-carbon production in the iron and steel industry. In the study, the carbon footprint of the enterprise was calculated by using the input data that causes carbon emissions of an enterprise that produces in the iron and steel industry. Also, carbon accounting, carbon trading and carbon tax issues were discussed. Keywords: Carbon footprint, Carbon Accounting, Sustainability, Iron-Steel industry.