Calculating the carbon footprint of a company operating in the aviation sector

The carbon footprint calculation contributes to shaping an organization's sustainability efforts and setting reduction targets. For example, in this study, the corporate carbon footprint of an aviation company operating in Eskişehir province was calculated; this calculation helped the company to understand its environmental impacts and find ways to improve them. The carbon footprint was calculated by measuring the company's greenhouse gas emissions, taking into account CO₂ emissions in production processes, energy use, logistics and supply chain. Data were collected and calculated separately from each department in the company. The findings obtained in this research show that the total amount of emissions from natural gas emissions is 1880 tons CO₂e, total emissions from refrigerants 47,488 tons CO₂e, total emissions from generators 32,65 tons CO₂e, total emissions from fire extinguishers 0, 1188 tons CO₂e, the total emission amount of the company's service vehicles is 998,63 tons CO₂e, and the emission amount of the company's own vehicles is 502,37tons CO₂e. The total amount of emissions from electricity use in the company is 7038,58 tons CO₂e, the amount of emissions from business travel accommodation is 237,33 tons CO₂e, the total amount of emissions from waste in the company is 28.892, 97 tons of CO₂e, 68,465 tons of CO₂e from water consumption and 39.367.82 tons of CO₂e from logistics (transportation). The company's total emissions amount to 79.066 tons of CO₂e. The results show that the company's total carbon footprint is largely driven by logistics operations, waste management and electricity consumption. In particular, 39367.82 tons of CO₂e emissions from logistics and 28.892.98 tons of CO₂e emissions from waste account for a significant portion of the company's environmental impact. Emissions of 15.624.85 tons of CO₂e from electricity use are also significant. The information obtained in this study shows that in order for the organization to reduce its carbon footprint, it must first implement strategic improvements and sustainability policies in these three areas. Increasing energy efficiency, reducing waste and adopting more environmentally friendly logistics methods can significantly improve the company's environmental performance.