Decarbonization is underway. In recent years, many companies have calculated their carbon footprint, which has become the first step to quantify and reduce their contribution to climate change, both from their activity and their products. In some cases, it has been so because Law 11/2018 required it, which obliges large companies to report on their greenhouse gas emissions. Beyond the need to comply with the carbon footprint and reduce it, it is also a strategic necessity. Calculating the carbon footprint is a fundamental tool when making decisions regarding sustainability; becoming more sustainable and efficient allows, in addition to reducing expenses, accessing new markets or customer segments and being, therefore, more competitive; it also contributes to improving corporate reputation.

The carbon footprint is the greenhouse gases that an organization emits into the atmosphere over a year, whether directly or indirectly. Thus, emissions generated by buildings, machinery and own assets, logistics and energy consumption, as well as the supply chain, the generation and management of waste and the use of products once commercialized are considered. Its calculation informs us of what our starting point is in terms of emissions and identifies in which links of our value chain they are concentrated.

In other words, it is the diagnosis that serves as the basis for defining emission reduction objectives and a plan to achieve these objectives. This plan is what is known as a decarbonization plan and includes a battery of actions to carry them out accompanied by a calendar, the list of agents involved and monitoring indicators to evaluate the execution. Among the planned actions there may be, for example, the transition to energy sources lower in carbon emissions, promoting more sustainable mobility, both in the own fleet and in in itinere travel, integrating ecodesign practices in our products, or involving our suppliers in decarbonization.

Decarbonization is a process that requires profound transformations within organizations. Despite being a strategic necessity, it is usually delegated to small teams with limited resources and little internal influence. Therefore, it is necessary to place sustainability at the center of the business strategy. On the other hand, decarbonization is not only a transversal challenge that affects different departments, it is also a challenge shared with the entire value chain. In fact, in many non-energy intensive companies, between 60% and 90% of emissions come from this chain, because the purchasing and sales teams have a key role in the articulation of a collaborative dialogue with customers and suppliers.

Until now, companies were obliged to calculate and communicate their carbon footprint, they were not explicitly required to have any decarbonization plan, but very soon things will change. On March 18, the Council of Ministers approved Royal Decree 214/2025, which creates the registry of the carbon footprint, compensation and carbon dioxide absorption projects. The new regulation, which will enter into force on June 12, establishes that the companies affected by Law 11/2018 must not only calculate their carbon footprint each year, but must also establish and publish a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for five years.

Then, the new Royal Decree will be a driving element of a decarbonization that is already underway. And not only that, but it will activate a B2B demand for environmental information for a simple reason: if large and medium-sized companies are required to have more faithful calculations of their value chain, these, in turn, will ask their suppliers to provide them with accurate data about the reality of their value chain, these, in turn, will ask their suppliers to also provide them with accurate data on their carbon footprint both at the organization level and at the product level, because they will need them as emission factors for the calculation of their indirect emissions. This will be a challenge for the value chains. In this way, having quality data on their carbon footprint will be a differentiating element for SMEs and will undoubtedly add value to their customers.

To facilitate this task, companies have at their disposal tools that allow them to automate the calculation of the organization's carbon footprint and make massive calculations for tens, hundreds and even thousands of product references. As is the case of l''Èdit, Inèdit's environmental qualification tool; it is a tool fully adaptable to the specifications of the sector or the company with the objective that the calculations are as accurate as possible.