Carbon footprint calculations, evaluation and research of mitigation methods for the automotive industry

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced directly or indirectly, usually expressed in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). In addition to human activities, all types of existing institutions and organizations have a significant impact on international greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change refers to significant changes in the variables of climate, such as temperature and precipitation patterns at a given location, compared to past values. Given that organizations are mostly responsible for greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to Climate Change, their role in mitigating their impact is crucial. In this study, the Carbon Footprint of an automotive factory located in Adana province has been calculated, evaluated and carbon footprint reduction methods have been put forward. The operational, corporate and social activities studied were analyzed in detail and the activities that can be evaluated within the scope of carbon footprint were determined. Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions were calculated based on the "ISO 14064-1 Greenhouse Gas Standard" and the operational control principle outlined in the 'Greenhouse Gas Protocol: Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard' was applied. During the calculations, carbon dioxide equivalent factors of carbon dioxide (CO2), CH4, N₂O were utilized. Global Warming Potential (GWP) coefficients are taken from the 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5), emission factors are taken from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), DEFRA 2021 and 2022, International Energy Agency (IEA), National Greenhouse Gas Report (NIR), Elektrik Isleri Etüt Idaresi Genel Müdürlügü (EIE), T. C. Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, IPCC AR5 sources and compound tons of CO2-e data were calculated by multiplying by global warming coefficients. The results show that 34.4% of the carbon footprint of the factory is caused by scope 1, 14% by scope 2 and 52% by scope 3 emissions. In order to reduce the carbon footprint of the facility, it was concluded that 45% of the factory emissions could be prevented as a result of improvements such as expanding the use of green energy in both energy generation and company activities and production, preferring renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels in vehicles used within the company, switching to more environmentally friendly and low-emission methods in production and logistics-related transportation activities, and reusing wastewater.