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our footprint

Elements has been calculating its carbon footprint (CO2e) since 2019. This project was initiated together with our sustainability coordinator and CO2logic, an independent environmental consultancy agency. One’s emissions must be calculated first to be able to draw up emission reduction plans.

Here’s how it works:
Emissions are calculated on the basis of data provided by a company such as amount of kWh consumed for electricity, liters of gasoline, incoming goods, outgoing packages, as well as emission factors drawn up by specialized institutes such as the English DEFRA or the French ADEME. The emissions of all greenhouse gases are converted into CO2 equivalents, i.e., CO2e.

Emissions are divided into 3 categories depending on where they occur in the supply chain.

Source: Greenhouse Gas Protocol

Elements measures the following activities:

The idea behind this breakdown is that if every company in the world reduces its scope 1+2 emissions, we can achieve global reductions. The reality is that not every organization does this, which is why we also measure and reduce scope 3 emissions.

Our current scope 3 reflects those activities where we have direct access to the data ourselves (own data, direct from transporter, waste management company).

Inbound transport from other brands, production and use of all the products we sell are currently not measured. We hope to add these in the future in a reliable and time-efficient way.

With our Brand Responsibility screening, which allows us to consider the impact of a potential new brand, we are already trying to move in the right direction in these categories, although this is currently not quantifiable.

Today, we calculate our footprint using Carbon+Alt+Delete.
You can find our emissions in our annual impact report.

reduction 2019-2021

Since 2019, we have had a reduction plan that mainly focuses on scope 3, our largest emission category (79% over the years):

Aim to transport 90% of incoming goods (in tons) by boat or train
Business travel within Europe without aircraft, limit travel outside Europe
Reuse cardboard boxes and other materials, and monitor waste
Mobility plan to promote cycling and public transport use

It proved to be a success, since we’ve seen a 51% reduction in our footprint in 2021 compared to 2019, mainly thanks to our focus on ocean transport (scope 3).

science-based target

We aim to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 46% by 2030 compared to 2019.

With a Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) validated reduction target, we are confident that our target is in line with keeping climate change below 1.5°C.
We continue to reduce scope 3 emissions with our own targets as mentioned above.

We will share the highs and lows in the pursuit of this goal here and through our blog.