Carbon Footprint of Projects, Products or Events

What the carbon footprint of projects, products or events is

The carbon footprint is the quantification of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with an activity, expressed in tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Unlike the organisational carbon footprint — which measures the entire activity of an entity — this service focuses on three specific scopes: the footprint of a specific project (for example, a construction works or an installation), that of a product across its life cycle, and that of a one-off event (conference, trade fair, festival), the latter expressly incorporated by Spanish Royal Decree 214/2025.

Calculating the footprint is the essential first step: you cannot reduce or offset what you have not measured.

When it is needed

• For events seeking to demonstrate their climate commitment and, where applicable, register the footprint in the Spanish carbon footprint registry (MITECO, Spain's Ministry for the Ecological Transition).
• For products requiring an Environmental Product Declaration or needing to communicate their footprint to clients and tenders.
• For construction or infrastructure projects that must quantify their emissions within an environmental study or tender specification.
• As an increasingly common requirement in public procurement and in the ESG criteria of clients and financiers.

Methodology

1. Definition of the scope and boundaries: what is measured (project, product or event) and which emission sources are included (scopes 1, 2 and 3).
2. Collection of activity data: energy consumption, travel, materials, waste and other relevant sources.
3. Application of recognised emission factors (national factors, GHG Protocol, life-cycle databases as appropriate).
4. Calculation in accordance with standards: ISO 14064 for organisation/project, ISO 14067 for product, and the applicable specifications for events.
5. Results report and reduction plan, identifying the critical emission points and prioritised measures.

Common mistakes

• Poorly defining the calculation boundaries, leaving out significant emission sources.
• Using outdated or non-officially-recognised emission factors.
• Confusing the product footprint with the organisational one, applying methodologies that do not correspond.
• Presenting offsetting as an alternative to reduction, when the regulatory priority is always to reduce first.

Why choose Ideas Medioambientales

We calculate the carbon footprint of projects, products and events applying the reference standards and recognised emission factors, with an approach focused not only on the calculation but on the effective reduction of emissions. We are familiar with the operation of the Spanish carbon footprint registry under Royal Decree 214/2025 and support clients with registration where appropriate.

Tell us what you need to measure — a project, a product or an event — and we'll propose the appropriate scope and methodology.