As most companies need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, so they turn to a carbon footprint calculator. Organizations can now much more easily recognize their greenhouse gas emissions, put in place measures to reduce and then assess benchmarks to see how they are progressing.

Standards for calculating, reporting and verifying greenhouse gas emissions are handled by the Climate Registry — a nonprofit agency and are also covered under the US Clean Air Act. Membership in the registry is voluntary, but the majority of states, territories, provinces and sovereign nations within North America are taking part in the effort to reduce carbon emissions.

Data about daily facility operations can be entered into a carbon footprint calculator, and this information is expected to contribute greatly to greenhouse gas emission reduction. The main areas playing a major role in harmful gas emissions are energy use, waste generation, purchased materials and transportation.

It is imperative that carbon emissions are reduced, and that businesses measure their carbon footprint accordingly. As the future health of our planet depends on it and research shows that certain gases deplete the ozone layer, steps must be taken now to slow this damage. Gases are expected to remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years hence.

By using a carbon footprint calculator, businesses will be able to measure how much of the environmentally harmful gases they use. These substances include carbon dioxide, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs). According to scientists, these gases contribute to the earths warming, which could lead to extreme heat waves, rising sea levels and severe harm to humans, animals, plant life and marine life, if no action is taken to stop the damaging effects.

A carbon footprint calculator enables a business of any size to, among other things, identify the extent of their greenhouse gas emissions, create an inventory management plan, establish goals and report their emissions as outlined under EPA requirements. A calculator is of particular importance to companies with multiple buildings or locations.

A carbon footprint calculator uses data to calculate emission amounts from all direct and indirect sources. Direct emissions are those from equipment or other sources owned or operated by a company, such as commercial refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) systems or heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Indirect emissions are used by a company during daily operations, but are supplied by another source, such as the use of electricity or heat.

The task of monitoring, tracking and reporting greenhouse gas emissions is a somewhat cumbersome and tedious one. Companies are required to input complex data into a carbon footprint calculator so many companies who use HVAC systems in stores, warehouses, offices or hospitals are turning to computerized refrigerant management programs to help them achieve the task.